JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- This year's annual Federal Reserve summer retreat in Wyoming occurs against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and slipping indicators, economists say.

"Housing is in the tank. Confidence is going down. The stock market is going down. It's hard to imagine how consumers will spend," Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor and former chief economist for Wells Fargo, told the Los Angeles Times.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is to address the retreat Friday in Jackson Hole, giving a small and high-powered group of bankers, economists and business executives his view of the economy.

Some economists believe the Commerce Department will issue a revised figure on second-quarter economic growth as well Friday, cutting its estimate of growth in gross domestic product from 2.4 percent to 1.3 percent. Unemployment remains high, and housing sales were reported this week to have hit a 40-year low.

"This is a harbinger of weak economic growth to come for quite some time," Sohn said. "Right now, it's hard to see where we will get any sort of strength."