Bernanke Holds to 2014 Low-Rate Vow Even as Unemployment Falls
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is holding to his pledge to keep borrowing costs close to zero at least through late 2014 even after unemployment unexpectedly fell to a three-year low.
Bernanke told the Senate Budget Committee in Washington yesterday that the decline in the jobless rate to 8.3 percent in January veils weaknesses in the U.S. labor market. Fed officials last month said they didn’t expect such progress until the fourth quarter.