Washington, DC, November 28, 2006--The Federal Reserve called a halt to its long string of rate hikes in August because it believed the economy would slow and the inflation picture would improve and three months later this forecast still seems about right, Fed chief Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.
In a rich speech examining most of the hot topics captivating Wall Street economists, Bernanke said the economy is still on track to expand at a moderate pace over the next year without slowing too much.
He said the inflation is already "better behaved of late" and should continue to slow gradually. Much of his speech was used to gently dampen two of the major fears about the outlook - that the housing market would push the economy into a full-fledged recession, or that inflation pressures were like a smoldering campfire, seemingly controlled but ready to burst up in the next strong wind
