Feb 15
Ben S. Bernanke testimony before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
• Bernanke indicated that downside risks to growth have increased and conditions in the labor market have softened • Bernanke’s baseline outlook involves a period of sluggish growth in the first half of 2008 • The speech is consistent with our current expectations of a 0-25 bp cut in the next FOMC meeting The Fed Chairman’s speech did not change drastically from his previous intervention in front of the House of Representatives budget committee last month. The market was expecting a more