Bernanke said Tuesday that the U.S. economy is stabilizing

I wanted to have this chronicled on the site so i can refer to it when the opposite happens.

1Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the U.S. economy is stabilizing and will begin to rebound later this year, but the recovery will be slow and cautious.

At a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Bernanke said consumer sentiment, the housing market and spending have begun to show signs of life.

But he expects the economy will continue to shed jobs and credit will remain tight for some time. He said the recent frugality trend will continue due to deflated household wealth, and business spending will be slow to bounce back as well.

"We continue to expect economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year," said Bernanke in prepared testimony. "Even after a recovery gets under way ... we expect that the recovery will only gradually gain momentum and that economic slack will diminish slowly."

Bernanke said the recent gross domestic product report, which showed the economy contracted by 6.1% in the first quarter, was disappointing. But he said the economic contraction will "moderate considerably in the near term and recover later this year," as businesses look to replace their liquidated inventories.

0:00 /4:47Regulators ask for more power

The Fed chief said he was encouraged by the recent rally in bank stocks, led higher by some positive earnings in the first quarter, but "substantial concerns about the banking industry remain."