EUA e Irão chegam a acordo sobre cessar-fogo após troca intensa de ameaças

[Infoo]

bem, está complicado adecer ao Caldeirão

aqui fica o facto da manhã yankee..

8:15 AM ET, Jun 05, 2007
Bernanke: Home price drops limited to prev. hot markets
Bernanke: Housing demand has weakened so far this yr
Bernanke: Inflation risks remain on upside
Bernanke: Housing drag will last longer than thought
Bernanke: Factors holding down Q1 GDP to be reversed
Bernanke sees core inflation ebbing, but level elevated
Bernanke: Fed expects economy to advance at moderate pace

THE FED: Bernanke upbeat about U.S. economic outlook
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch Last Update: 8:28 AM ET Jun 5, 2007

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Fed chief Ben Bernanke was fairly upbeat about the outlook for the U.S. economy, saying he expects moderate growth in coming months.
"On average, over coming quarters, we expect the economy to advance at a moderate pace, close to or slightly below the economy's trend rate of expansion," Bernanke said in remarks prepared for delivery to a bankers' conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
Economists generally agree the economy's trend rate of growth is around a 3% real gross domestic product annualized rate.
Bernanke said some of the factors that slowed the economy to a crawl in the first quarter "seem likely to be at least partially reversed in the near term."
U.S. GDP growth rose a tepid 0.6% in the first quarter, the slowest pace in four years.
Some of the factors that would turn around are the decline in inventories, the worsening trade gap and the drop in federal defense spending, he said.
Bernanke noted that the downturn in the housing sector is still ongoing and the drag from the sector on the overall economy may last "for somewhat longer than previously expected."
"Thus far, however, we have not seen major spillovers from housing onto other sectors of the economy," Bernanke said.
The Fed chairman's comments on the economy, his first since late March, dovetail closely with the optimistic undertone of the minutes of the Fed's May 9 meeting released last week.
The minutes and relatively strong economic data have erased financial market expectations of any near -term rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Inflation
Bernanke said that while there has been a "gradual ebbing" of core inflation, its level remains "somewhat elevated."
"However, although core inflation seems likely to moderate gradually over time, the risks to this forecast remain to the upside," he said.
"In particular, the continuing high rate of resource utilization suggests that the level of final demand may still be high relative to the underlying productive capacity of the economy," he said.
Housing
In addition to a brief overview of the U.S. economic outlook, Bernanke devoted most of his speech to developments in the housing market.
Bernanke said a close reading of the housing market data indicate that demand for housing has weakened over the first four months of the year.
Housing prices remain quite soft this year, but for the most part outright price declines have been concentrated in markets "that showed especially large increases in earlier years."
Tighter lending standards in the troubled subprime mortgage market will likely restrain housing demand going forward, he said.
There are also likely to be further delinquencies and foreclosures in the next two years as many adjustable-rate subprime loans face interest-rate resets.
"However, fundamental factors - including solid growth in incomes and relatively low mortgage rates - should ultimately support the demand for housing, and at this point, the troubles in the subprime sector seem unlikely to seriously spill over to the broader economy or the financial system," Bernanke said.
ding solid growth in incomes and relatively low mortgage rates - should ultimately support the demand for housing, and at this point, the troubles in the subprime sector seem unlikely to seriously spill over to the broader economy or the financial system," Bernanke said.