And third, sharp and abrupt changes in exchange rates of late. Academic economists like to put labels on economic periods. And I have referred to some of these labels earlier in my speech: the “Great Depression” of the 1920s, the “Great Inflation” era of the 1970s and early 1980s, and the “Great Moderation” we have witnessed since then. It is my hope that the increased uncertainty we are facing is conjunctural and does not become structural, and that we are not entering an era which, later on, academic economists could label as the "Great Uncertainty”. I believe that central banks are both willing and able to prevent this from happening. Therefore, at this juncture it is particularly important that the Eurosystem remains focused on its fundamental mandate of maintaining price stability over the medium term. The Governing Council of the ECB has indicated in this respect that it is fully committed to acting in a firm and timely manner to ensure that any risks to price stability over the medium term do not materialise and that medium to longer-term inflation expectations in the euro area remain solidly anchored at levels consistent with price stability. Such anchoring is a prerequisite for monetary policy to make an ongoing contribution towards supporting sustained economic growth, well-functioning markets and job creation in the euro area. This is true now more than ever, when we are confronted with a panorama which is more uncertain than that which we have faced during recent years. Thank you for your attention.
For instance, shareholding is more widespread among Swedish households and many of the major "Swedish" multinationals – in which Swedes have invested a substantial part of their shareholdings – are very dependent, directly or indirectly, on developments in the USA. Developments in the Swedish economy in recent years have shown many similarities to developments in the USA. Rapidly rising share prices, a strong GDP growth driven by both investment and consumption and an increase in indebtedness is a description that fits both the Swedish and American economies in recent years. However, the increase in economic activity began later in Sweden and has not really had the same speed as that in the USA. Moreover, the rise in Sweden was preceded by a period where adjustments following the crisis at the beginning of the 1990s had forced down investment and consumption considerably and where both the household and corporate sectors had reduced their level of indebtedness. Saving in both of these sectors was therefore at a high level and indebtedness fairly low when growth in the Swedish economy picked up. Now that economic activity is slowing down, the private sector's indebtedness is not particularly high, from a historical perspective. Furthermore, the lower interest rates will mean that interest expenditure comprises a much smaller burden for borrowers now than previously. Although the surplus in saving in the private sector has declined gradually in recent years, it only became a slight deficit towards the end of last year.