Their view of the Swedish economy has continued to deteriorate and they have also become gloomier with regard to their own economy. At the same time, households’ inflation expectations one year ahead have risen significantly. However, it can also be noted that households perceive the current inflation rate to be much higher than it actually is. Prior to our next monetary policy meeting we will receive measures of inflation expectations among other groups which must also be analysed (Prospera). The new National Accounts for the first quarter that were published earlier today show that growth in the first quarter was weaker than we had expected. They also show that labour productivity increased slightly in the first quarter of this year, after having fallen for most of 2007. We will be closely analysing what the new GDP statistics otherwise entail for our assessments prior to our next meeting in July. Preliminary statistics indicate a lower rate of wage increase than we had estimated – both for blue-collar and white-collar workers – during the first months of this year. One possible reason for this is the composition effects in the wage statistics. If, for example, new groups are being employed at low entry wages to a greater extent than before, then the average rate of wage increase will be lower. But so far there have not been any signs that the rate of wage increase has accelerated. Of course, this is something we are monitoring closely. Inflation is still high, just as I said before.
Let me briefly outline our concept regarding the new investment process:  BIS Review 58/2003  3  •  The Bank Council approves the principles laid down for risk policy and the investment process. •  The Governing Board decides each year on the investment strategy based on the aforementioned criteria of liquidity, risk and returns. •  The organisational unit Asset Management, which is part of Department III, is responsible for the market-oriented implementation of this investment strategy. An investment committee chaired by the head of Asset Management makes the strategic investment decisions and sets the targets for each portfolio manager. •  A well-tested risk control process ensures that risk taking at the different levels is duly supervised. Responsibilities and competencies are clearly assigned at all levels of the investment process. Performance at the different levels is assessed through the consistent use of benchmarks and the corresponding measurement techniques. The process described above is applied to the management not only of the international reserves but also of the proceeds from the sale of gold no longer needed for monetary policy purposes. How the gold reserves deemed “free” at the time are finally used will be a political decision. Managing these assets is not part of the SNB’s statutory mandate. Thanks to the new NBL and the SNB’s internal know-how, however, the Bank is well qualified to perform this task. 4  BIS Review 58/2003