The question now, of course, is where do we go from here. There have recently been encouraging, but still tentative, signs that the worst of the global slowdown may now be behind us, and that the US and Eurozone economies are now beginning to bottom out and will pick up, perhaps to around trend, as we go through this year. Some Asian countries actively involved in the ICT sector are showing a strong recovery, and even in Japan financial markets have recently strengthened. As for the exchange rate, the euro, which has, as I say, been puzzlingly weak since soon after its introduction 3 years ago, still seems likely to strengthen eventually. As it becomes clearer that the international environment really is improving, and that external demand really is picking up, then we can look forward to better balanced and generally stronger growth in our own economy. That will in due course mean that domestic demand growth - and consumer demand growth in particular - will need to moderate if we are to avoid a build up of inflationary pressure. But let me be quite clear - that's not a warning, still less is it a threat. It is essentially just a matter of arithmetic! It's quite possible, even quite likely, that the necessary moderation of consumer demand - and I emphasise the word moderation - will come about of its own accord, given the gradual increase in unemployment we are currently seeing, and the build up of household debt.
The Rt Hon Sir Edward George: A broad brush picture of the UK economy Speech by The Rt Hon Sir Edward George, Governor of the Bank of England, at the Asian Business Association Dinner, London, 19 March 2002. *  *  *  Thank you, Mr President, for that kind introduction. I'm delighted to be here. In fact it's the second time this year that I've had the pleasure of dining with representatives of the Asian Business Community in the UK. Just a couple of months ago, in Glasgow, I joined the Association of Business Community in paying tribute to Mr Yaqub Ali for the remarkable contribution that he has made to Scottish commercial and community life since he arrived here from Pakistan some 50 years ago. It was a very poignant occasion, coming as it did when the terrorist attacks of 11th September in New York and Washington were still fresh in our minds. Those events sadly have been sometimes represented - or misrepresented - as having something to do with ethnic or religious differences. But, as the universal condemnation of terrorism which followed the events of 11th September showed, they had nothing to do with ethnic or religious differences; they were a reflection of a fanaticism which has no place in any civilised society. Nevertheless they clearly had the capacity to accentuate perceived differences, and to provoke unwanted tensions within our international, national and local communities.