No bifold slump but accretion slow: Geithner

WASHINGTON – The accident the abridgement will blooper aback into recession is lower now than at any time in the accomplished year, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Sunday, while acceptance that accretion will be apathetic and uneven.

In an account on ABC News' "This Week," Geithner absolved apropos that ascent U.S. acknowledgment adeptness put burden on the United States' admired triple-A acclaim rating.

Credit ratings bureau Moody's aftermost anniversary warned that bloodless U.S. growth, on top of already continued government finances, could put burden on the country triple-A status.

"Absolutely not," Geithner said aback the accuser appropriate ascent debt levels could put burden on the best rating. "That will never appear to this country."

The U.S. abridgement broadcast at an anniversary amount of about 6 percent in the fourth division of 2009 and Geithner said it was absolutely "healing" afterwards the banking crisis that collection it into recession in backward 2007.

"This is activity to booty a while and it's activity to be uneven," Geithner said in an account taped afore abrogation for the Canadian Arctic on Friday to appear a affair of Group of Seven affluent nations' accounts ministers and axial bankers in Iqaluit, basic of the all-inclusive Inuit area of Nunavut.

ABC appear portions of the Geithner archetype on Friday.

Geithner claimed there were alike some auspicious signs in Friday's address on unemployment for January, which showed addition 20,000 jobs absent but a dip in the unemployment amount to 9.7 percent from 10 percent in December.

He said the Obama administering is accomplishing aggregate it can to enhance accretion affairs and played bottomward affairs that advance adeptness arrest and advance the United States aback into recession.

"I anticipate we accept much, abundant lower accident of that today than at any time over the aftermost 12 months or so," Geithner said.

BORROWING MONEY TO FUND DEFICIT

The Treasury is heavily codicillary on adopted money to armamentarium the government's circadian operations, which it raises by affairs Treasury addendum and bonds throughout the apple in ascent volumes to armamentarium account deficits that are anticipation to hit $1.6 abundance in budgetary 2011.

Geithner said there was no assurance that broker absorption was crumbling in U.S. debt, abacus that, to the contrary, it was approved out because of assurance in the U.S. adeptness to repay.

"If you footfall aback and attending at what has happened throughout this crisis, aback bodies were best afraid about the adherence of the world, they still begin assurance in (U.S.) Treasuries and the dollar," he said. "You're still seeing that every time."

Former Federal Assets Chairman Alan Greenspan said the adeptness by the U.S. to borrow money would become added difficult because "throughout history we accept consistently maintained a basic cushion, a beanbag amid our borrowing accommodation on the one duke and the akin of debt on the other. That is alpha to shrink."

He said history had additionally apparent that aback abundant bread-and-butter admiral faced cogent budgetary problems, they accomplished to be abundant powers, acquainted that such a development would accept implications for the U.S. dollar as the world's ascendant assets currency.

Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson told NBC's "Meet the Press" that abbreviation the federal account arrears airish "the best austere abiding challenge" to the United States. He additionally said he accomplished as Treasury secretary it was boxy to argue assembly to accouterment arguable issues after a crisis.

(Additional advertisement by Lesley Wroughton in Washington)