Long abstract

About Statistics Publications & Documents Information by Country

Over the past few months, major equity markets generally have continued their upward trend, while interest rates at the long end of the maturity spectrum have declined. Meanwhile, credit spreads for both investment grade and sub-investment grade borrowers continue to be compressed and volatility appears to have diminished in most market segments.
OECD economic growth was relatively strong on the whole in 2004 and, despite geopolitical uncertainty and volatility in commodities (especially oil), only a moderate slowing is projected for this year, although this broadly positive outlook masks regional differences. Some of the downside risks which had previously clouded the outlook have not materialised. Increases in oil prices had been a major concern of investors during the first half of last year, and the US dollar’s decline was closely watched over the second half. Recently, the dollar has strengthened again, and oil prices have come down since their highs in October 2004.