we — the central bankers, credit rating agencies, and everyone in this room — must continue to be vigilant. we must maintain good buffers and build immunity. despite many immediate challenges ahead, we also need to look at our long - term goals. let me end by talking about something i like to do when i have some free time : hiking. there are two types of hiker. the first likes to admire the scenery, birds, trees, and the majestic mountain range far beyond, while the second only focuses on the path in front. the first inevitably trip on rocks or fallen branches, and the other sometimes looks up to find themselves lost. we cannot complete our journey only looking up or only looking down, and we need to pay as much attention to the short - term risks as we do to our long - term aspiration. i wish you all a fruitful conference this morning. thank you very much.

ewart s williams : trinidad and tobago – state of the economy and short - term prospects remarks by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the monetary policy report media conference, port - of - spain, 17 november 2008. * * * good morning, ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining us. before i discuss today ’ s monetary policy report, which reflects the central bank ’ s latest thinking on the economy, i would like to say a few words about the global financial crisis. the honest truth is that it is difficult to make an informed assessment about the state of the crisis since each day brings more depressing news. there would seem to be sufficient evidence to suggest that the risk of a total melt - down of the world ’ s financial system has receded somewhat, though all the accompanying ills are still with us. while solvency concerns have eased in the light of official commitments to use public funds to recapitalize financial institutions, lingering uncertainty has impeded the proper functioning of money and capital markets. thus, we are seeing unprecedented volatility in the world ’ s major equity markets ; liquidity preference, risk aversion, and bank spreads remain at elevated levels. perhaps the big legacy of the financial crisis may be a global recession. the us is now in recession ; the uk has been in recession for a few months now ; and on friday, the euro zone conceded that recession had arrived. ( one last word on the international economy ) contagion has finally reached developing and emerging market economies, all of which will experience slowdowns. even so, the entire increase in global growth in 2009 is expected to come from these economies. the industrialized economies as a group are projected to decline by as much as 1 per cent. emerging and developing economies are projected to grow by around 5 per cent ( most of it from china and india ). it is not surprising therefore that the historic talks held in washington dc over the weekend ( some called it bretton woods ii ), were not among the g7 or g8 ( as is the custom ) but among a broader group called the g20 countries. many observers see this as a clear recognition that the world could not get out of its present predicament without, china, india, saudi arabia, brazil, and a host of others … they are providing the growth and they have reserves to pull even the developed countries out of the present dilemma. we will have