The governments have, in its asset portfolio, equity holding and some debts of financial intermediaries that they own, and financial returns on these do impact the fiscal situation. More important, whenever pockets of vulnerability arise in financial sector, the headroom available in the fiscal situation to  6  BIS Review 27/2001  provide succour to financial entities needs to be assessed.
A first insight into the possible causes of inflation differentials in the euro area can be gained by performing an inflation accounting exercise, which breaks down the euro area inflation differentials, measured in terms of the GDP deflator, into their underlying determinants, namely internal factors – such as unit labour costs, profit margins and net indirect taxes – and external factors – such as import prices.