Bernanke: Economy on Track

In his inaugural economic report to Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke -- citing indicators such as jobs, and retail sales -- said the nation's economic expansion remains on track, but did not rule out future interest rate hikes.

Bernanke, who succeeded Alan Greenspan as Fed chief on Feb. 1, said the economy emerged from an end-of-year downslide and told lawmakers that it has "a lot of staying power."

In the final quarter of 2005, the economy grew a scant 1.1 percent -- its slowest rate in three years.

Bernanke's first meeting to decide interest rates will be March 27-28.

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