"It seems there is some easing in the pace of growth," said Lakshman Achuthan, the managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, whose calculations are reflected in the accompanying charts.
And although there is some easing in the money markets and a potential buyer for Northern Rock may have emerged, the end to turbulence is not yet in sight.
"I would say there's some easing of the downturn".
Today in Ambon, the small, pretty city that is the capital of the Maluku islands, residents reported that there was some easing of violence four days after President Abdurrahman Wahid declared a state of emergency.
Compared with the pace of price increases in recent years, "there has been some easing on pricing, and more space is available," said William C. Hansen, president of NAI/James E. Hansen, a commercial brokerage company in Hackensack.
In a signal that there may be some easing in the 18-month-long impasse between New York and New Jersey that has blocked approval of major Port Authority projects, the agency's commissioners unanimously adopted an annual budget yesterday.
"There has been some easing in the process, but at the same time, some landlords fear that people may lose their jobs and are concerned that they won't be able to fulfill lease obligations," said Paul Diem, the agent from Citi Habitats who steered them through the process.
He added: "At the moment, house prices still look more likely than not to see clear increases over the coming months, although it is looking increasingly probable that there will be some easing back in house price gains from the recent strong increases".
Lee Hopley, the EEF's chief economist, said: "While there appears to have been some easing in availability, for many smaller companies the question is still: at what cost and under what terms?" Small firms are being hit particularly hard, the survey suggests, with 32% seeing a rise in the cost of loans, up from 17% in the last quarter.
There will inevitably be some pan-European plan to cut youth unemployment and there may be some easing of the profile of deficit reduction.
There were some signs of easing as a 12-day school vacation got under way.
