the recent softness in consumption suggests that this net wealth erosion has continued to weigh on household spending. that said, it is important to recognize that the extraction of equity from homes has been a significant support to consumption during a period when other asset prices were declining sharply. were it not for this phenomenon, economic activity would have been notably weaker in the wake of the decline in the value of household financial assets. in the business sector, there have been few signs of any appreciable vigor. uncertainty about the economic outlook and heightened geopolitical risks have made companies reluctant to expand their operations, hire workers, or buy new equipment. executives consistently report that in today ’ s intensely competitive global marketplace it is no longer feasible to raise prices in order to improve profitability. there are many alternatives for most products, and with technology driving down the cost of acquiring information, buyers today can ( and do ) easily shift to the low - price seller. in such a setting, firms must focus on the cost side of their operations if they are to generate greater returns for their shareholders. negotiations with their suppliers are aimed at reducing the costs of materials and services. some companies have also eschewed the traditional annual pay increment in favor of compensation packages for their rank - and - file workers that are linked to individual performance goals. and, most important, businesses have revamped their operations to achieve substantial reductions in costs. on a consolidated basis for the corporate sector as a whole, lowered costs are generally associated with increased output per hour. much of the recent reported improvements in cost control doubtless have reflected the paring of so - called " fat " in corporate operations - - fat that accumulated during the long expansion of the 1990s, when management focused attention primarily on the perceived profitability of expansion and less on the increments to profitability that derive from cost savings. managers, now refocused, are pressing hard to identify and eliminate those redundant or nonessential activities that accumulated in the boom years. with margins under pressure, businesses have also been reallocating their capital so as to use it more productively. moreover, for equipment with active secondary markets, such as computers and networking gear, productivity may also have been boosted by a reallocation to firms that could use the equipment more efficiently. for example, healthy firms reportedly have been buying equipment from failed dot - coms. businesses may also have managed to eke out increases in output per hour by employing their existing workforce more intensively

##ebtedness of private sector and households should be avoided. it is necessary to improve the access to financing. 83 % of households have 6 % of deposits, whereas 0. 3 % of households hold 25 % of deposits. housing loans have been accessed by only 1 % of very low income earners ( the 1st quintile ) and by only 4 % of relatively high income earners ( the 4th quintile ). 12 % of the highest income earners ( the 5th quintile ) have accessed housing loans. a roadmap is necessary for joining the euro area. the public goods that should be preserved and even strengthened include : the country ’ s security, financial stability, investors ’ confidence. european union – romania joint agenda for 2019 conclusion of brexit negotiations. completion of important files, such as the prudential treatment of banks ’ exposures to sovereign risk ( the bank - sovereign link ), edis ( european deposit insurance scheme ), euro area reforms. 2020 budget – better use of resources. aligning the budgetary provisions of the nato with those of the eu. exemption of the rise in military expenditure, for nato countries that are eu member states, from the edp ( excessive deficit procedure ) rule and from the mto ( medium - term objective ). monetary policy normalisation and fiscal policy sustainability.