不是太溠的經濟前景，做空的風險更大。

不是太溠的經濟前景，做空的風險更大。


Home sales have firmed, housing construction posted a gain last month, layoffs are slowing and consumer spending is showing signs of stabilizing.

When they open a two-day meeting Tuesday, Fed policymakers are widely expected to hold a key lending rate to banks at a record low near zero and repeat a pledge to hold rates there for an extended period. Most economists say that means the Fed will keep its targeted range for its bank lending rate between zero and 0.25 percent through the rest of this year and probably into part of next year to help brace the economy.

Analysts generally think the economy in the current April-to-June quarter is still declining -- perhaps at a pace of 1 percent to 3 percent -- but not nearly as much as it had been. The economy sank at a 6.3 percent rate in the final quarter of 2008 and at a 5.7 percent pace in the first quarter this year. It was the worst six-month performance in 50 years.

Bernanke has predicted the recession will end later this year. Some economists say the economy will start growing again as soon as the July-to-September quarter as the Fed\'s actions so far, along with the federal stimulus of tax cuts and increased government spending, take hold.

Risks to the outlook, however, abound.

Some economists and Wall Street investors have worried that a recent run-up in rates on mortgages and Treasury securities, if prolonged, could choke off prospects for an economic recovery. Some of those fears were eased last week, when rates on 30-year mortgages dipped to 5.38 percent after a string of weekly increases.