SAN FRANCISCO (voa) - The chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, says the United States may be nearing an economic recovery, but he warns there are still significant short-term risks that could cause the economy to stumble once again.
Mr. Greenspan injected a note of caution when he talked about prospects for U.S. economic growth to a group of business executives in the city of San Francisco on Friday.
The Federal Reserve chairman said corporate profits and investment remain weak, and unemployment could continue rising for some time. These and other factors could combine to slow down spending by American consumers, he added.
Financial experts say Mr. Greenspan's cautious tone suggested that the U.S. central bank could reduce its interest rates once again in the coming weeks.
Trying to bring the economy out of recession, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates 11 times last year, reducing one key interest rate to 1.75 percent - its lowest level in 40 years.
In other U.S. economic news Friday, the Ford Motor Company announced it is eliminating 35,000 jobs - most of them in the United States - and closing five factories. Declining sales of cars and trucks wiped out Ford's profits last year, and the company is expecrted to finish in the red for the first time since 1992.
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