There is much to talk about. In these opening remarks of your sessions, I will confine myself to sketching the broad economic picture in which your employment prospects will be determined.
First let me confirm that, in my view, the overall thrust of macroeconomic policy and the pace and scale of budgetary adjustment seems about right to me as a basis for building a sustained recovery. Few are now tempted here to suggest a Keynesian demand expansion fuelled by a larger budget deficit.