Third, tax provisions passed in 2001 and 2003 lower the effective cost of investing in new equipment. Finally, as best as we can tell, expectations and attitudes in the business community - as reflected in surveys, information from business contacts, analysts' expectations of long-term earnings growth, and the like - have brightened somewhat.
Monetary policy and the art of separation  Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti once said: “Germans view economics as a branch of moral philosophy.” I am not sure whether he meant this as a compliment. But John Maynard Keynes probably would have taken it as one.