Instead of moving gold around to settle payment imbalances, they stood ready to buy or sell these currencies at fixed exchange rates, which enabled them to economize on gold and earn interest on the reserves. Gold coins either did not circulate at all or circulated to only a limited extent in countries operating under a gold exchange standard.
Business fixed investment is expected to be supported by the improvement in corporate profits to date, but a distinct recovery is unlikely for the time being due to, among other things, greater uncertainty regarding overseas economies.