WASHINGTON – Federal reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke thinks the recession “probably” will end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system.
In a rare TV interview yesterday, he told CBS’ “60 Minutes,” “We do have a plan. We’re working on it. And I do think that we will get it stabilized and we’ll see the recession coming to an end probably this year.”
Meanwhile, White House chief economist Christina Romer was also upbeat.
“The [economic] fundamentals are sound in the sense that the American workers are sound; we have a good capital stock, we have good technology,” she told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
She qualified her statement, which was similar to comments made Friday by President Obama, by acknowledging that “temporarily, we’re in a mess.”
It was a far cry from comments a week ago by Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, who declared that “fundamentally, the economy is weak.”
The rosy outlook came as Obama prepares to announce today that $730 million in stimulus funds has been allocated to assist small businesses in getting loans.
The plan is designed to make borrowing money easier by cutting lending fees, boosting loan guarantees and expanding other programs.
Lawrence Summers, head of the White House National Economic Council, told ABC’s “This Week” the plan will “put in place a program that addresses the crucial problems and permits stability to be regained.”
The current maximum guarantees are 85 percent of loans under $150,000 and up to 75 percent of larger loans. The guarantee will be raised to 90 percent with the aim of reducing risk and encouraging banks to make loans.
With Post Wire Services