Bernanke warns stock investors

WASHINGTON — A deepening housing slump probably will be a "significant drag" on economic growth into next year, and it will take time for Wall Street to fully recover from a painful credit crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Monday.

Bernanke once again pledged to "act as needed" to help financial markets — which have suffered through several months of turbulence — function smoothly and to keep the economy and inflation on an even keel.

"Conditions in financial markets have shown some improvement since the worst of the storm in mid-August, but a full recovery of market functioning is likely to take time, and we may well see some setbacks," Bernanke said in a speech to the New York Economic Club.