*  *  *  Chairman Spratt, Representative Ryan, and other members of the Committee, I am pleased to be here to offer my views on the near-term economic outlook and related issues. Developments in financial markets Since late last summer, financial markets in the United States and in a number of other industrialized countries have been under considerable strain.
Heightened investor concerns about the credit quality of mortgages, especially subprime mortgages with adjustable interest rates, triggered the financial turmoil.