ewart s williams : lessons from the financial crisis address by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the launch of the ansa euro income fund, port - of - spain, 17 november 2009. * * * i am pleased to participate in this ceremony this evening, not to endorse the merits of any particular product, since obviously ; it is not something that the central bank as regulator could do. instead, i want to commend this initiative which, to me, in this challenging economic environment, represents a vote of confidence in the economy and another step towards the development of the capital market. it is certainly a positive note against the background of the negative hum that has overwhelmed us for the past several months. globally, the negative news has been around for much longer – for more than eighteen months or so, following the financial meltdown that has been attributed to a variety of factors, and the sharp global recession that ensued. even now when there are signs of recovery, we have become so jaded that most projections are now accompanied by a series of caveats in which the downside risks are given equal prominence. now in the us, uk and eurozone there are signs of recovery – green shoots, we are told – but we are advised not to rule out the possibility of a double - dip recession, meaning another likely downturn in 2010, or an l - shaped recession, meaning that we may just face a prolonged period of slow, tepid growth or virtual stagnation. i guess the cautiousness that now engulfs policy makers in the advanced economies is, in part, a reflection of how far they have come : how close we have been to a collapse of the global financial system and how deep the recession has been in several of the advanced countries. i guess that the concerns that now pervade the developed countries also have to do with the recognition of the colossal re - balancing that is taking place in the world – a re - balancing that has meant a shift in the poles of global growth from the us and europe and for a while japan, to the new powers – china and india and the smaller economies in asia along with one or two emerging market countries in latin america, like brazil and chile. the caribbean, including us here in trinidad and tobago, has also had more than its share of bad news. up the islands, tourism is sharply down and with unemployment in the us topping 10 per cent, workers

ewart s williams : launch of the economic bulletin and the summary of economic indicators opening remarks by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the launch of the economic bulletin and the summary of economic indicators, port - of - spain, 3 august 2010. * * * the international economy 1. more evidence that the us economy is slowing … second quarter growth was 2. 4 per cent compared with 3. 7 per cent and 5. 0 per cent in two previous quarters. 2. in the eurozone, the first quarter of the year has seen a slow tepid recovery with real gdp estimated to have increased by 0. 2 per cent. the situation is similar in the uk with data showing growth of 0. 3 per cent in the first quarter and 1. 1 per cent in the second. 3. meanwhile growth in the emerging market economies continue apace … in china, growth is pushing ahead at a rate of 10. 3 per cent : 8 per cent in india : 9 per cent in brazil : 4 per cent in mexico. 4. for 2010 as a whole, the imf projects that : ( i ) the advanced economies ( us, uk etc ) will grow by 2. 6 per cent while the emerging market economies are projected to grow at a rate of 6. 8 per cent. ( ii ) it ’ s worth noting that growth in the advanced economies continues to depend on fiscal stimulus, as private demand has not recovered, even in the face of record - low interest rates. this has resulted in a sharp rise in central government indebtedness which now stands at 66 per cent of gdp in the us, 72 per cent of gdp in the uk and 122 per cent of gdp in japan. ( iii ) additionally, the continued sluggishness of private sector demand has delayed job creation leaving unemployment rates at uncomfortable highs. in the us, the unemployment rate has remained at 9. 5 per cent in june ( down from the high of 10 per cent ). in the eurozone, unemployment remains stuck at 10 per cent ( there has been some fall in germany from a high of 8. 3 per cent to 7. 6 per cent ). 5. in the caricom region, there are tentative signs of a slow emergence from a deep recession : in barbados, the economy contracted by 1. 1 per cent in the first half of 2010, but this compared with a contraction of 9 per cent in the corresponding period of 2009