Given the cumulative reduction in the target for the overnight rate of 150 basis points since December, including the 50-basis-point reduction announced last week, the timing of any further monetary stimulus will depend on the evolution of the global economy and domestic demand, and their impact on inflation in Canada. With that, Paul and I would now be happy to take your questions.
A sustained consolidation of public sector finance would tend to increase the savings ratio in the economy as a whole and would hence take account of future demographic change.16 Recently, Alan Greenspan also 14  15  16  See H-J Hansen, The impact of interest rates on private consumption in Germany, Economic Research Group of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Discussion paper 3/96.