Activity remained sluggish and confidence took a hit from the aftershocks of the bubble, in the form of, inter alia, accounting and governance scandals (that is, some of the sorts of things which emerge after every period of excess). During the first half of 2003, growth and confidence were still at a rather low ebb.
Things which did not help confidence were the anticipation of war in Iraq, and the associated rise in oil prices. The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was also very damaging to a part of the international business scene still struggling with the effects of earlier shocks. Then there was the spectre of deflation.