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The Associated Press
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WASHINGTON - The country is stuck in a slow-growth rut, the Federal Reserve suggested Wednesday. Higher prices for energy, food and other things are pinching people and businesses -- reasons enough for the economy to be Americans' top concern heading into the presidential elections.The Fed's report on business conditions around the nation provided fresh evidence of the toll that housing, credit and financial problems are taking on the economy as a whole. With problems expected to persist into next year, the next president -- be it Barack Obama or John McCain -- is likely to face many challenges. Heading into the fall, "economic activity has been slow" in most of the Fed's 12 regions, according to the report. Businesses described the climate as "weak" or "soft" or "subdued."Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are all but certain to leave a key interest rate at 2 percent when they meet Sept. 16; rates will probably hold through the rest of this year.
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