In our opinion, we're close to the turning point. We can say that the economy is firming, and we can talk of the start of a recovery.

In terms of current interest rate levels and inflation, the ECB has room to cut rates and help the upturn, ... I would say that a cut would fit into the environment now.

We can find all sorts of differences between Japan then and Europe now. But it's a lesson to us all to be on the safe side of an unknown before one acts.

there are fundamentally good reasons to cut interest rates.

The economic situation in Germany appears to be strengthening. Of course, we need more signals to talk about a real recovery. If one took only the expectation of the companies that handed in the information later, the increase of the index would be smaller.

Normally, it doesn't influence immediately the assessment. For industrial companies, the impact normally is rather delayed. They don't look so much at the interest rate.