(d) Gains in operational autonomy The mid-1950s witnessed the beginning of serious erosion of autonomy in the monetary policy function due to the emergence of the system of ad hoc Treasury Bills and automatic monetisation.
Business and consumer confidence indicators have trended upwards over the last few quarters and the Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections, as well as those of other organisations, foresee a further rebound in GDP growth in 2010 and 2011. The outlook for growth is also supported by the improvements that we see in the financial market.