delisle worrell : economic and financial services developments in barbados welcome remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the domestic financial institutions conference 2015, bridgetown, 8 september 2015. * * * welcome everyone to the annual one day conference on banking and other financial services for barbadians and residents, organised by the financial services commission and the central bank, in association with the bankers ’ association and our other partners in the private sector. as you know the fsc and cbb host two of these conferences every year, the other one with a focus on our international financial services. ( the 2015 international financial services conference took place on april 10 ). today ’ s conference comes at a time when the economy has overcome the foreign exchange challenge of 2013 by the decisive budgetary adjustment taken in that year. the adjustment policy is a textbook example of how economies like ours should respond to foreign exchange market pressure. the keys to success are early detection of the problem and swift implementation of tax increases and public expenditure cuts, sufficient to reduce the demand for imports. with that episode behind us, the focus returns to measures to grow the economy. tourism is our main source of foreign exchange and we have had an encouraging revival in numbers and spending this year. new investment is underway or in prospect in hotels, tourism related services, public utilities and infrastructure. both in tourism and in international business and financial services, government and private interests are taking initiatives to enhance the quality and range of our offerings, to explore new markets and to build the barbados brand as the basis for our competitiveness. quality, branding and smart marketing are also the key elements of the strategy for exports of food, beverages and manufactured goods. we have begun to recognise that power generation through alternative energy has the power to transform our economy. now that we have made a start with photovoltaics, incentives for investment in green energy must be made effective, so that investment accelerates significantly. the economic benefits of expansion of the foreign exchange sectors are spread through the society largely via small and medium enterprises. these enterprises will be the main source of job creation in the near term. smes are also the wellsprings of innovation and of the development of cultural and ict services barbados aims to sell to an international market. government plays a vital role in supporting these growth promoting activities with incentives, and technical, financial and other support. in addition, government has the responsibility to secure fair access to international markets for barbados ’

alan greenspan : oil remarks by mr alan greenspan, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, to the national italian american foundation, washington, dc, 15 october 2004. * * * owing to the current turmoil in oil markets, a number of analysts have raised the specter of the world soon running out of oil. this concern emerges periodically in large measure because of the inherent uncertainty of estimates of worldwide reserves. such episodes of heightened anxiety about pending depletion date back a century and more. but, unlike past concerns, the current situation reflects an increasing fear that existing reserves and productive crude oil capacity have become subject to potential geopolitical adversity. these anxieties patently are not frivolous given the stark realities evident in many areas of the world. while there are concerns of seeming inadequate levels of investment to meet expected rising world demand for oil over coming decades, technology, given a more supportive environment, is likely to ensure the needed supplies, at least for a very long while. notwithstanding the recent paucity of discoveries of new major oil fields, innovation has proved adequate to meet ever - rising demands for oil. increasingly sophisticated techniques have facilitated far deeper drilling of promising fields, especially offshore, and have significantly increased the average proportion of oil reserves eventually brought to the surface. during the past decade, despite more than 250 billion barrels of oil extracted worldwide, net proved reserves rose in excess of 100 billion barrels. that is, gross additions to reserves have significantly exceeded the extraction of oil the reserves replaced. indeed, in fields where, two decades ago, roughly one - third of the oil in place ultimately could be extracted, almost half appears to be recoverable today. i exclude from these calculations the reported vast reserves of so - called unconventional oils such as canadian tar sands and venezuelan heavy oil. gains in proved reserves have been concentrated among opec members, though proved reserves in the united states, for the most part offshore, apparently have risen slightly during the past five years. the uptrend in world proved reserves is likely to continue at least for awhile. oil service firms still report significant involvement in reservoir extension and enhancement. nonetheless, growing uncertainties about the long - term security of world oil production, especially in the middle east, have been pressing oil prices sharply higher. these heightened worries about the reliability of supply have led to a pronounced increase in the demand to hold larger precautionary inventories of oil. in addition to the ongoing endeavors of the