Ja: Economy's coming up roses

Both Prime Minister P J Patterson and the Minister of Finance and Planning Omar Davies have pointed to the positive signals coming from the local economy and the prospects of stronger growth performance this year. The signals are from a broad range of indicators, including the balance of payments, inflation, and the fiscal accounts in the first two months of the financial year. Our financial markets are also showing greater stability after the shocks of 2003, and though activity on the local stock market has calmed down, there is still an underlying improvement in confidence levels that is encouraging.