Bernanke Signals Deeper Rate Cuts, Emphasizes Faltering Growth Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled he has resolved months of debate over the competing risks of slower growth and faster inflation, and is ready to make deeper interest-rate cuts. Bernanke yesterday pledged ``substantive additional action'' to insure against ``downside risks'' to the six-year economic expansion. His remarks in a Washington speech led HSBC Securities USA Inc. and Morgan Stanley to predict the Fed will reduce its benchmark rate by half a percentage point this month, up from their previous forecast of a quarter point. The central bank faces the most challenging moment of Bernanke's two years in office as both of the Fed's goals are under siege: unemployment is at a five-year high, while prices are also climbing. Until now, the deliberations produced non- committal statements from the Fed, which used ``uncertainty'' to describe the outlook in December. ``They have to save the economy and let inflation go,'' said Allen Sinai, chief economist at Decision Economics Inc. in New York. ``We are in a recession-like situation right now
