The Fed has a ‘decent chance’ of a ‘soft-ish landing’ that averts full-on recession, Bernanke says

The former Federal Reserve Chair said that the Fed has a decent chance of avoiding a recession.

The landing would depend on supply-side inflation pressures getting better, according to the report.

The US economy is a mixed bag. There's a chance of a recession. I think the Fed has a decent chance of a soft landing, even though economists are terrible at predicting recessions.

What kind of landing would it look like? He said that a mild recession that cools down inflation, the worst in 40 years, or no recession at all would be a good thing.

If the supply side improves, the Fed can get inflation down without imposing the kind of costs we saw in the early '80s.

Lawrence Summers, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, was not so optimistic, however, urging the Fed to temper rosy forecasts and sober up to the reality of inflation and the risk of recession

When inflation is high and unemployment is low, it is almost always followed by a recession.

He said that there is a chance of a recession within the next year and that it will happen within the next two years.