In his semiannual testimony to the Congress on Wednesday, July 21, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the economical outlook for the United States remains “unusually uncertain”, thus weak. 

His announcement is a negative surprise since many spectators are already in post recovery mood and expectations were high that the economy would flourish in the near future leaving the financial crisis behind. 

Mr. Bernanke has stated that the recovery of the US economy has been weaker than estimated, mainly due to the financial market turmoil coming from Europe. He also announced that the Fed is would take countermeasures, should the outlook get worse. 

These worrying statements are queuing into a series of bad news on the economies worldwide. Hungary recently announced that it would stop cooperating with the IMF due to their high requirements in fiscal consolidation. 

Investors should remain cautious and follow the worldwide developments carefully. Contrary to that, the Swiss economy is on track and Swiss annuity clients still enjoy their wise investment decision. 

Below you will find the total debt of OECD countries as well as the debt as a percentage of the GDP. Click on the pictures for a larger version.

 

Investors' recent romance with the euro may just be a summer fling. Before taking a midafternoon slide Wednesday, the euro had advanced more than 9% on the dollar since June 7, climbing to $1.30 this week from a four-year low of just under $1.19.

Click here to read the whole article on Wall Street Journal

 

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress he is prepared to take further action to support the economy if the outlook deteriorates, but indicated the Fed's reluctance to do so, given limited options and questions about the effectiveness of any new measures.

Click here to read the article on Wall Street Journal