Specifically, the median of the Policy Board members’ forecasts, the year-on-year rate of change, was minus 0.4 percent for fiscal 2010 and plus 0.1 percent for fiscal 2011. We need to be attentive to the fact that those forecasts are associated with both upside and downside risks.
This morning, Philipp Hartmann highlighted several useful factors which are vital for a smooth functioning of financial systems. They ranged from financial innovation to transparency, corporate governance and financial regulation. Needless to say, his approach – based on a comparison of indicators – must be considered with care and its results should not be overinterpreted: Indicators reflect a limited image of reality.