But we don’t know what, where or how big these are.As for living with a high currency, the evidence is almost equally unhelpful. Anecdotally, companies are saying that they can now live with a higher currency, as a CBI survey revealed, but when Lehman Brothers tried to identify why exporters seemed to be doing rather better under the high pound than might be expected, they drew pretty much of a blank.Indeed they thought there may be a problem with the statistics and that we were over-recording exports. There seems to have been a surge in “phantom exports” – that is, exports which are reported to taken place, but which no-one claims to have produced and which do not appear in the imports of other countries. The problem applies particularly to exports to other EU countries, where the old trade recording system has been abandoned.That won’t be the first time the figures have been wrong in recent years, but does it matter? It would not matter too much unless a sudden deterioration in the current account some time in the future were to provoke a fall in sterling.

The strong pound has been a key factor in the fall in inflation, so any fall, however welcomed by industry, might have to be offset by a rise in interest rates – just as the present rise is being offset by a decline in rates.I suspect, too, that the strong pound has had an impact on consumer confidence, not because people notice that imported goods are cheaper in the shops but simply because there is a feelgood factor associated with perceived economic success. Certainly the weak euro has been blamed for poor consumer sales in Germany, but whether the relationship works the other way round is unproven.So it is back to intuition, to anecdotes from commerce and industry, and to what feels to be happening in the shops. Intuition says that the new technologies must be making a significant contribution to growth and that companies would not spend money on new hi-tech kit if there were no payback. Anecdotes confirm that companies can to some extent live with a high pound, though there may be a problem in over-recording exports.

And the news from the shops is distinctly better than even six weeks ago, though the rebound is still quite precarious.So, yes, our economy can be expected to perform a bit more like the American one in coming months, but not quite in the same gung-ho manner Then when the US economy eventually falters.. no, let’s not think about that just yet.. DOW JONES, the US stock-market index provider, is set to beat its UK arch-rival FTSE International in the race to launch the world’s first index of multinational companies. The American financial information giant is believed to be preparing for a surprise debut of its global multinationals index this summer – a couple of months earlier than the British company’s rival product.
News of Dow Jones’s lead will be a blow for FTSE International, a joint venture between the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Times.The British outfit was planning an autumn launch for its product and was widely expected to be the first provider with an index for large cross- border companies. Stock market analysts argue that being first in is important to ensure a new index’s success. They say an early arrival increases the product’s chances of being adopted as an international benchmark by fund managers across the globe.The Dow and FTSE multinationals indices are aimed at investors who want to capitalise on the increasing globalisation of the world’s stock markets and capital flows.Dow Jones’s index is set to feature a small number of companies with large shares of earnings outside their domestic markets. Dow Jones has yet to decide whether the index will include 30 companies or 50.FTSE International is still engaged in a lengthy consultation over its own index.. THE NEW Competition Commission is to hold public hearings into claims that British car buyers are being overcharged as part of its wider investigation of the industry.

In an unprecedented move, manufacturers, dealers and consumer groups are to be invited to give evidence at the hearings, which will be open to the press and public.
The Competition Commission, which replaces the old Monopolies and Mergers Commission, has decided not to hold public hearings as part of its examination of supermarket prices. However, Whitehall sources said that if the experiment with the car prices inquiry succeeds, the Commission is likely to extend public hearings to other future investigations.Attendance will not be compulsory at the public hearings, and car makers and dealers will not be required to disclose information deemed confidential. Nevertheless, the initiative was being seen yesterday as a move towards greater transparency in the area of competition policy and consumer protection.The Government is expected to publish a White Paper next week setting out its consumer strategy. This will include plans to tighten up on the enforcement of consumer protection laws and give consumers better information on their rights.The White Paper is likely to be accompanied by the first “name and shame” list highlighting different prices charged for a range of goods in Britain compared with other countries.The director-general of Fair Trading, John Bridgeman, ordered a nine- month inquiry into new car sales in March after evidence that dealers and manufacturers were distorting the market and driving up prices.According to a recent Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee report, UK car prices are up to 60 per cent higher than those charged on the Continent for some models.The OFT found that manufacturers were refusing to give volume discounts to dealers and using recommended resale prices to mask true selling prices of cars. It also said that dealer bonus systems were being used to deter dealers from selling outside their areas and bringing in parallel imports.Outlook, above.