We saw a marked slowdown in growth in the world economy and also here at home, for reasons that are well known. Export volumes were seriously affected, the IT and tourism sectors suffered particularly and the growth in capital formation was much reduced. However, a strong positive factor was the continuing growth in consumer demand.
* 2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  Talking point on fiscal policy as a complement or alternative to monetary policy: As the Governing Council of the ECB has indicated, there are three points which are relevant to the use for fiscal policy today: Fiscal policy must comply with the fiscal rules of the European Union.