Recession likely to end this year: Bernanke

16 March 2009

America will 'probably' overcome recession by the end of this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said in the CBS Television's ''60 Minutes'' programme on Sunday.

"We've seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely," Bernanke said. "But until we get that stabilised and working normally, we're not going to see recovery.''

"But we do have a plan. We're working on it. And, I do think that we will get it stabilised, and we'll see the recession coming to an end probably this year."

But he noted that even if the recession ends this year, the unemployment rate will keep climbing past the current quarter-century high of 8.1 per cent.

And he warned that one of the biggest potential dangers the nation faces is a lack of "political will" to solve the financial crisis.

The financial crisis has thrown millions of Americans out of work and forced a growing number of banks out of business.