Fed chief briefs Obama on US economy

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke Monday briefed President Barack Obama about the path ahead for the stricken US economy, the White House said.

The top US central banker joined Obama's senior economic advisers at a daily briefing that lasted about 45 minutes, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

Bernanke gave an update on the economy today and "an idea about where the Fed chair sees the economy going over the next several years, and steps that can be taken to change the course that we're currently on," he said.

Gibbs did not offer further details, but said Obama was "quite pleased" with the level of coordination with the Fed and other US regulatory agencies as his administration battles to haul the economy out of recession.

At a Senate hearing last Tuesday, Bernanke said that various rescue and stimulus programs in place should provide "solid gains" for the crisis-hit economy.

And despite Republican complaints that the government is propping up hopeless banks, the Fed chief said he saw no "zombie" lenders among the major US financial institutions.









Kasahara