Bernanke says the debt to GDP ratio of the US is set to balloon in coming years. Before the financial crisis the debt was roughly 40% of annual output (and decried by critics as unsustainable at those levels) they will reach 60% in the next few years with no new spending plans by Congress like health care reform and will probably go up form there, Bernanke warns.
EUR/USD is consolidating below the 1.4200 level but holding above the rumored Russian bids down toward 1.4180. US equities are down 0.5% on the day.
