The acceleration of services prices since the start of the year, now standing at an elevated level of 2.6% for the fourth consecutive month, is partly explained by the impact of the rise in  2  BIS Review 115/2007  German VAT, but is also linked to the better ability of firms to pass higher costs on to customers.
The Federal Reserve considers the ongoing discussion between the Congress and the U.S. banking agencies--and, of course, with the banking industry and members of the public--to be critical to the success of both sets of proposals.