Although the turmoils in global financial markets that started in July have been reduced by the determined actions taken by the central banks of industrial countries, especially the Fed, risk aversion is still high, credit maturity has been reduced considerably and, except for prime firms, financial conditions have narrowed around the world. It is foreseen that turbulences in global financial markets will have effects on the perspectives of the world economic growth. In any case, this adjustment comes at a time in which most firms and the banking sector around the world are on solid footing, perhaps with the sole exception of some economies in Eastern Europe. The epicenter of this trembling is in the United States, which economy already was experiencing an important adjustment in its housing market, now expected to be more intense and extended as a result of the deterioration in the credit conditions that experiences its mortgage market. At the same time, the drop in US housing prices and the less favorable financial conditions faced by US consumers will affect the dynamism of private consumption. Although the deterioration of financial conditions has no direct effect on prime firms, their economic perspectives have been negatively affected by lower dynamism expected for consumption and by more restrictive financial conditions faced by their consumers and suppliers. Nevertheless, it is important to emphasize that the indicators of real activity of the third quarter have shown a surprising strength of the labor markets and consumption.
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.