ALAMEDA, California (Reuters) - The economy is likely to post little growth in the first half of 2008 before starting to recover later in the year, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Wednesday.Yellen's comments to the Bay Area Council's annual outlook conference were similar to those delivered in a speech at Stanford University earlier this month. A copy of the remarks was made available in advance."Economic prospects remain unusually uncertain, and the downside risks to growth are significant," Yellen said.The U.S. central bank's Federal Open Market Committee must be "prepared to act in a timely manner to promote the economy's return to sustainable paths for output and employment," she said.Consumer inflation is likely to decline gradually to somewhat below 2 percent over the next couple of years, "a level that is consistent with price stability," Yellen said.
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