Fortunately, programs such as the ones I have highlighted today can help address these challenges in more targeted ways than the Federal Reserve is equipped to do through monetary policy. I want you to know that we applaud your work, and we thank you for doing all that you do to serve the needs of lower-income communities across the country.
The IMF’s forecast for world growth in 2003 is 3.7 per cent. I think these numbers are a reasonable working assumption on which to begin our consideration of policy. In this case, although the next eighteen months or so will not be great, they could hardly be called disastrous.