Against this background, President Obama in September 2011 proposed a jobs package worth 447 billion U.S. dollars – about 3 percent of GDP, although it is not clear whether the proposal will gain approval in Congress. If not, fiscal stimulus to the economy in the coming year may be limited. B.
Instability in international financial markets  Not only has the pace of global economic growth been decelerating, in international markets investors have been increasingly risk averse. This reflects growing concerns over the  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  economic performance of the United States as well as the worsening fiscal and financial problems in Europe, which I will touch upon later.