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Markets News Afternoon: Bernanke says low US interest rates required to support a “nascent” recovery; Share prices dip in Dublin
By Finfacts Team
Feb 24, 2010 - 4:31:34 PM
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today that the US economy is in a “nascent” recovery that still requires low interest rates to promote demand by consumers and businesses once federal stimulus expires.
“A sustained recovery will depend on continued growth in private-sector final demand for goods and services,”Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee today in Washington at the start of his two days of semi-annual testimony before Congress.“Private final demand does seem to be growing at a moderate pace.”
The chairman, who began his second four- year term this month, said slack labour markets and low inflation will allow the Federal Open Market Committee to keep the benchmark lending rate, which has been in a range of zero to 0.25% for more than a year, low “for an extended period.” He said the Fed will need to start tightening policy “at some point.”
Bernanke said the job market remains quite weak, with the unemployment rate near 10% and job openings scarce. Of particular concern, because of its long-term implications for workers' skills and wages, is the increasing incidence of long-term unemployment; indeed, more than 40% of the unemployed have been out of work six months or more, nearly double the share of a year ago.
AIB mortgages: AIB Bank has signalled it is not inclined to approve loans to mortgage switchers, although it says it is still eager talk to anyone who wants to buy a property.
A spokesperson for AIB said today that the bank was not interested in lending people who were moving banks for the benefit of its rates.
In a statement this morning AIB said it was not inclined to use its resources to facilitate the replacement of a mortgage contract on one institution with a cheaper one at AIB.
The Financial Regulator said AIB's move did not go against the regulator's voluntary switching code as this applies to personal current accounts.
Bank of Ireland: BoI today announced it has raised $1 billion of 2 year funding through a senior unsecured Government Guaranteed fixed rate transaction.
The transaction was the bank's inaugural USD Government Guaranteed 144a/REG S benchmark deal, a format which allows the sale of such bonds into the US domestic market and to a global investor base.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivers his opening statement at a Congressional hearing on monetary policy and the state of the economy:
Dublin Port: Dublin Port Company today published statistics which shows that trade levels at the port increased for the second successive month compared with the corresponding month in the previous year.
Total throughput in January was 1.4% higher in tonnage terms than trade levels in January 2009. Exports grew by 7.3% from the same month last year, though there was a reduction in imports of 2%.
Dublin Port says the latest figures continue a trend of stabilising trade levels since April 2009.
Greece was gripped by widespread and violent protests Wednesday as thousands stayed away from work and marched through Athens against planned government spending cuts. CNBC's Mark Haines and Erin Burnett report:
US markets
US bank lending fell 7.5% in 2009, the largest annual decline since 1942, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Great Depression era agency which guarantees bank deposits.
Sales of new single-family houses in January 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 11.2% below the revised December rate of 348,000 and is 6.1 percent below the January 2009 estimate of 329,000 - - the lowest since records in the current series began in 1963.
On Wednesday, the Dow rose 100 points or 1.01% to 10,387.
The Nasdaq is up 1.07% and the S&P 500 had advanced 0.97%.
The US Senate Wednesday approved a $15 billion package of tax breaks and highway spending -- a limit series of measures to promote job creation.
By a vote of 70 to 28, the Senate approved the bill and sent it on to the House, which could approve the measure quickly for President Barack Obama to sign into law.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil for April 2010 delivery is trading at $79.55 59 cents from Tuesday's close. In London, Brent crude for April delivery is trading at $77.83 a barrel.
Currencies
The euro is trading at $1.3607 and at £0.8808.
For live currency updates, check the right-hand column of the Finfacts home page.The dollar traded at a record low $1.6038 per euro on July 15, 2008.
