Balancing the US economy and Greece

The most profound event of the past week for investors may not have been either the on-off referendum plans in Athens or the machinations of the Group of 20 in Cannes, but a comment from Ben Bernanke in Washington.
The Federal Reserve chairman essentially pledged to take more action -- if necessary -- to make the US economy stronger.
Looked at from one standpoint, this was like saying to investors that if the euro zone crisis starts dragging Europe into recession, the Fed is there to help bail out world growth and maintain flows into riskier assets.
Conversely, if the euro zone does manage to contain its Greek problem then investors will be able to continue the risk rally that began in the lead up to the latest bailout agreement.
"That's better news than not, but we have to be cautious," said Karen Olney, head of European Thematic Research at UBS.
"The US will probably be one of the stronger pockets of growth in the developed world over the next year or so. The euro zone seems to be the swing factor."
A surprise interest rate cut from the European Central Bank, along with a confident performance from new president Mario Draghi, will have helped risk appetite in the otherwise crisis-ridden euro zone.
It is mainly the improvement in the US economy, however, that may allow for investors to salvage something out of the rest of the year.