And, in terms of the general future outlook for growth, we should bear in mind that the financial crisis has not impaired major growth drivers. Emerging markets, for instance, will still make great efforts to catch up, and technical progress will continue. Thus, the crisis certainly does not mark the end of economic growth.
The recovery that began in 2009 is welladvanced, and we are getting closer to a point where the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the body that formulates monetary policy, can begin a process of normalizing the interest-rate environment. That process will begin with so-called “liftoff” – that is, the first increase in the policy rate.