They have also, one must presume, looked carefully at planned capital expenditure. In addition, the general populace has had a daily diet of reading about the difficulties in the US and other countries.
In light of all this, it is perhaps all the more remarkable that, on the available evidence, the economy seems to have recorded quite reasonable growth through 2001 and, based on the very preliminary data available, into the early part of 2002. The responses of businesses to surveys suggest that they are beginning to increase investment spending again.