Various survey results show that the number of respondents perceiving that prices will rise in the future has been increasing gradually since hitting bottom in 2001-02. The consumer price index (CPI; excluding fresh food) has been decreasing on a year-on-year basis since the middle of 1998 for more than seven years now.
I find the preliminary assessment to be informative, interesting, and at least somewhat reassuring; however, I also feel that it appropriately highlights vulnerabilities in market practices that must be carefully monitored and managed. Because much of the innovation in credit risk transfer involves credit derivatives, attention has been focused on transactions using these instruments and on credit default swaps (CDS), in particular.