Consumer spending drives the American economy, but sluggish retail sales contributed to weak growth in the spring.
The leadership relied far too much on external consultants and the frequent departures of senior staff also contributed to weak management and oversight of the project.
This has contributed to weak growth and mounting pension obligations, major reasons Standard & Poor's downgraded Japan's sovereign debt rating on Thursday.
Spain, in contrast, has seen virtually no reduction in its debt load, despite fiscal austerity, partly because that very austerity has contributed to weak growth and low inflation which have kept down nominal GDP.
The reason was simple: there was not the slightest hint from the IMF or World Bank that the policies they advocated during the heyday of the so-called Washington consensus – austerity, privatisation and financial liberalisation – have contributed to weak and unequal growth, with all the political discontent that this has caused.
But if it does resort to unconventional measures, the most likely option would be to charge negative interest rates on funds parked by banks at the ECB, which would help to stave off the unwelcome appreciation of the euro that has contributed to weak inflation.
Increased competition and weaker than expected acceptance of new software offerings contributed to weak operating results for much of the past decade.
17 in Table 4) found that lack of understanding of the community financing provider payment method contributed to weak provider support for the CBI, which in turn is likely to have led to the low enrolment rates in the CBI (Criel and Waelkens 2003; Criel et al. 2005).
"A sustained significant fall in sterling would also contribute to weaker exports by boosting the UK's competitiveness and reducing its purchasing power for imports in euros".
South Korean networks cut subsidies for new phones this year, contributing to weaker Galaxy S4 sales in Samsung's home market and higher marketing spending for the handset maker, said Seo Won-seok, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
