BIS central bankers’ speeches  wealth.8 But the impact on consumer spending by low-income households was probably also magnified owing to their stronger response to wealth shocks. In the context of concerns about inequality, the survey data can be used to assess changing financial pressures on euro area households – as measured, for example, by the debt service-to-income ratio.
Concerns about the strength of the global economy remain, and the emergence of SARS poses a threat to the economic prospects of several emerging-market economies in Asia. To date, however, we have no evidence that the new disease has affected U.S. economic activity. Nonetheless, continued slow growth abroad could have a damping effect on our recovery here.