A small purple foil on the reverse side of the note echoes the spiral staircase at Tate Britain, which holds most of the Turner Bequest in the Clore Gallery. The main foil of the note contains an image of Turner Contemporary in blue. And the shape of the window around the foil is based on the Trafalgar Fountains, which are an iconic feature in the square outside The National Gallery where The Fighting Temeraire hangs. The purpose of design features like these is not simply to make the banknotes beautiful but also to strengthen their security. The new £ will be our most secure note yet, featuring several innovative elements. For example, rather than having a single foil element – the Turner Contemporary in blue – there is an additional foil in a second colour: the Margate Lighthouse in gold. And there is a second transparent element in the bottom corner of the note, inspired by the windows of Tintern Abbey, which was a popular tourist spot in Turner’s times and which he memorialised in another of his great watercolours in 1794. These security features are made possible by printing the new £ on polymer, rather than paper. Polymer banknotes also remain in good condition for longer, meaning the new £ will be safer, cleaner and stronger. 2  The self-portrait is currently on display in Tate Britain, and The Fighting Temeraire can been seen in The National Gallery. P. Ackroyd, Turner (Vintage, 2006) page 136. 4 See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4214824.stm.
Jean-Pierre Roth: Review of the Swiss economy Introductory remarks by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the end-of-year media news conference, Zurich, 13 December 2002. *  *  *  The National Bank has decided to leave the target range for the three-month Libor rate unchanged at 0.25%–1.25%. For the time being, the three-month Libor is to be kept in the middle of the target range. Owing to the low level of inflation, we have been able to ease monetary policy substantially since March 2001, having since then lowered the target range for the three-month Libor by a total of 2.75 percentage points. We took decisive steps in response to declining economic growth and the upward trend of the Swiss franc. Interest rates were last lowered on 26 July of this year. The imponderables with respect to the development of the global economy remain considerable, and a sustained economic upswing in Switzerland is not likely until some time in the second half of 2003. We are therefore maintaining our expansionary monetary policy and shall keep the attractiveness of Swiss franc investments low. This does not jeopardise price stability. Assuming that the three-month Libor rate will remain stable at 0.75%, average annual inflation is expected to lie between 0.7% and 1.6% in the next three years. For 2003, we are anticipating economic growth of just over 1%, while zero growth is to be expected in the current year.