Obama pressed on economy as Santorum seeks nomination

DESPITE a spate of discouraging economic reports, US President Barack Obama insisted yesterday he is not afraid of the country slipping into a double-dip recession. But at the same time he displayed impatience, saying the pace of the recovery has “got to accelerate”.

“Obviously, we’re experiencing some headwinds,” Obama said at a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He said it was unclear whether the latest jobless data, which showed a slowdown in job growth, was a one-month disappointment or part of a longer trend.

But Obama said his administration was taking a range of steps to boost the economy, and that the nation is bound for long- term economic growth.