economy, low energy prices and a global decline in conflicts. energy costs in the case of energy, the current level of oil prices must be of concern as the cost of utilities, operating costs and investment have constantly been an issue with respect to their cost impact on the tourism product in barbados. therefore, continued buoyancy in the price of oil will impact on economic prospects. government earlier this year passed on some of these price increases to the consumer. this had an impact on all sector of the economy, including tourism. this was however prior to the since galloping increase in oil prices. even the airlines have imposed a fuel tax but it is unclear whether this will have far - reaching implications. in a simulation run by the economists at the central bank it was found that a 25 % rise in domestic fuel prices reduces nominal gdp by approximately one percentage point, implying that higher oil prices do impact on overall output. an analysis by sector has not however been conducted so we are unable to say what proportion of this impact would borne by the tourism sector. exchange rate changes meanwhile exchange markets have been dominated by declines in the us dollar. not withstanding some rebound since last february, world economic outlook, an imf report, notes that the us dollar depreciated by 3 1 / 4 percent in trade weighted terms since september 2003 and by 16 ½ percent since its peak in february 2002. the dollar depreciated significantly against the euro and against the yen. this would have made travel from these source markets more attractive, and because the barbados dollar is tied to the us, would not have affected travel from the us market. the report also indicates that in developed economies ( our main source markets ) business confidence is rising, unemployment is improving, consumer confidence is up and global investment is promising. this augurs well for travel in late 2004 and 2005. the latin american market while latin america is not a major source market for the caribbean, eclac reports that rising commodity prices in latin america have resulted in the highest surplus in goods and services in 13 years and the best current account surplus in half a century. this would have positively affected discretionary income available for travel. however, it is not clear that the improvements are sufficiently significant as to lead to greater travel to the caribbean from those markets, but the information should be noted and monitored when future strategies involving that market are being developed. many caribbean markets also provide a continuing growth opportunity, particularly since some of our neighbours to the south are experiencing prosperous times

robert ophele : diversity and harmonisation of deposit insurance closing speech by mr robert ophele, deputy governor of the bank of france, at the international association of deposit insurers ( iadi ) international erc conference, paris, 26 may 2016. * * * i wish to thank the iadi and the fgdr for inviting me to deliver this closing speech. bruno bezard opened the conference for the french treasury, and a central banker will close it. this is a perfect arrangement. deposit insurance or deposit guaranty is a fascinating tool. history and geography have demonstrated the variety of schemes and how they are a powerful force for the better, or perhaps for the worse. i can ’ t indeed refrain from quoting the american bankers association, in 1933, i. e. more than 100 years after the introduction in the us of the first deposit insurance scheme, by the state of new york in 1829 : “ these historical experiences show that the guaranty plan is inherently fallacious and based on erroneous premises and assumptions. it has proved to be one of those plausible, but deceptive, human plans that in actual application only serve to render worse the very evils they seek to cure. ” today 113 deposit insurance funds are in place, but i should stress that the jury is still out as to their effectiveness. indeed, recent history shows how tricky deposit insurance can be. just remember a few years ago, when schemes avoiding moral hazard by not providing a 100 percent coverage of even the smallest deposits were favoured. along this perfectly understandable line of reasoning, avoiding moral hazard, the uk financial services compensation scheme, in accordance with the european directive then in force, covered in full the first £2, 000 deposit but only 90pc of the next £33, 000. the northern rock crisis showed in a dramatic way that such a scheme was totally ineffective in preventing a bank run. almost at the other end of the spectrum of possibilities, the irish decision, in september 2008, to increase its deposit insurance to an unlimited amount, triggered a transfer of savings from other countries, especially from the uk, and from branches of non - irish banks operating in ireland to irish banks. it contributed to ireland's financial debacle and illustrated the need for an international cooperative stance with regard to deposit insurance. since then we have introduced in europe a resolution scheme that changes dramatically the hierarchy of creditors and modifies profoundly the risks for small depositors and the purpose of a deposit insurance regime