  Deposit pricing, particularly for term deposits, has been the major driver of recent changes in funding costs, reflecting the strong competition for deposits. This has obviously been welcomed by the savers in the population.   There has been a rise in the spreads on wholesale debt issued by banks reflecting investors’ concerns about the global banking industry.
Hurricane Sandy is expected to initially depress U.S. economic activity, but then support it over time as reconstruction commences. Monetary policy has been easing across the world economy and is likely to remain very accommodative to softer economic conditions. The European Central Bank recently announced its Outright Monetary Transactions programme, which helped to temporarily calm market sentiment.