*  *  *  Ladies and gentleman, I would like to thank ALFI and American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) for inviting me to participate in this conference. I am sure that this conference will reveal interesting views on the topics regarding principles versus rules-based approach. We will surely return home with new insights and suggestions for further research and developments.
The report is based on the revised national accounts for the 1st half of the year, so the forecast deviates from forecasts published by Danmarks Nationalbank in September and of the Ministry of Finance in August. In addition, a choice has been made to the effect that the higher-than-planned public consumption in 2010 must be counterbalanced in 2011.