WASHINGTON, April 10, 2009 (AFP) – US President Barack Obama said Friday he saw “glimmers of hope” that the US economy was pulling out of a paralyzing recession but warned of “a lot of work” yet to nurse it back to health.
“We’re starting to see progress, and if we stick with it, if we don’t flinch in the face of some difficulties, then I feel absolutely convinced that we are going to get this economy back on track,” Obama said.
His comments came after a meeting at the White House with top economic strategists, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke, and senior Obama economic adviser Lawrence Summers.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation head Sheila Bair, Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman Mary Shapiro and Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan were also on hand for the meeting.
Obama pointed to increases in loans to small businesses, tax cut checks going out, new investments in infrastructure and energy projects and declared: “What we’re starting to see is glimmers of hope across the economy.”
“Now, we have always been very cautious about prognosticating, that’s not going to change just because it’s Easter. The economy is still under severe stress,” said the president.
“And obviously during these holidays we have to keep in mind that whatever we do ultimately has to translate into economic growth and jobs and rising income for the American people,” he said.
“And right now we’re still seeing a lot of job losses, a lot of hardship, people finding themselves in some very difficult situations,” he said.
“We still have a lot of work to do, and over the next several weeks you’ll be seeing additional actions by the administration.”