Market conditions to be difficult in the near term

There is anticipation of a better global outlook for the rest of 2001 with loosening monetary policies and a decline in oil prices since last year. In the short term, market conditions remain difficult and the expectation of sluggish economic growth still prevails. While the US economy has experienced a steeper downturn in growth than anticipated, recent signs of recovery mean the risk of a recession is greatly reduced. There are hopes the US economy will pick up during the second half of the year. The falls in interest rates and slight increase in employment in the industrial secto...