That would, of course, be grounds for us to contemplate further easing in our monetary stance. That follows because our inflation target is, importantly, a symmetrical one: we need to be just as ready to contemplate easing if we see evidence on the downside of the economy underperforming, and hence the likelihood of inflation running over time materially below our 2 1/2% target, as we would be to exercise restraint on the upside. We take this symmetrical nature of our responsibility very seriously and there is undoubtedly a significant risk that the US slowdown could have a material dampening effect on UK activity. Analysts have used a large part of the alphabet to try to describe various views of how the US economy may develop. I am not sure that I find any of these pictograms particularly helpful, not least because people are sometimes pretty vague about vital details like the dimensions of the letter they favour or the angle of its arms: a big V, after all, can feel awfully like a U when you are down the bottom and trying to find your way up again. The short answer is that none of us can pretend to know precisely how the story will develop. It will be important to keep an open mind and be prepared to adapt our assessment in the light of actual events. But in doing so, there are four considerations that I would suggest are particularly germane to this first area of uncertainty.
Jean-Pierre Danthine: Does cash have a future? Summary of a speech by Mr Jean-Pierre Danthine, Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Assemblée Générale de l’Association des Alumni HEC, Lausanne, 8 May 2014. *  *  *  The complete speech can be found in German on the Swiss National Bank’s website: www.snb.ch. One of the traditional tasks of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is to provide the economy with banknotes and coins. Since the establishment of the SNB, banknotes have constituted the most visible link to the population. As an everyday article of use, but also symbolically, banknotes embody the quality, security and stability of the SNB, and of Switzerland in general, not least of all also for the rest of the world. It is therefore of key importance that the SNB undertake the task of cash supply and distribution conscientiously. The role that banknotes play in the public’s trust in the institution and its decisions is not to be underestimated. In turn, this trust is an important prerequisite for the SNB to be able to fulfil its core monetary policy mandate, and thereby ensure price stability. Due to technological developments in the post-war period, the significance of cash declined, as measured in terms of economic performance. Since the beginning of the 1990s, however, the demand for cash has hovered at a stable level, and since 2008, in the wake of the financial crisis, there has even been a marked increase.