Inflation has stayed low, while growth slowed to just 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2000.Germany’s six leading economic institutes recently revised down their forecast for growth this year from an above-trend 2.75 per cent to 2.1 per cent. Some economists are more pessimistic still about the outlook for growth. France, too, is thought to favour an interest rate cut by the ECB. Although the French economy is still performing well, some leading indicators point to a slowdown ahead.Most economists would agree that the most likely outcome is that eurozone growth will be above the trend this year, making it one of the most buoyant areas in the world economy. At the same time, as all the risks point to weaker growth, many believe that the ECB should cut interest rates as an insurance policy.Kelly Tonkin, an economist at Lehman Brothers, said: “There is a case for a further loosening, but it is a matter of insuring against a slowdown rather than an urgent case.” The argument for a cut would be greater if the euro were not so weak, he added, but he predicted that in the absence of a stronger exchange rate, European interest rates will probably stay unchanged until June.The weak currency in itself will help cushion the eurozone economy by boosting exports. The president of the Federation of German Industry yesterday predicted export growth of 10 per cent this year.

Michael Rogowski said: “The end of the 10-year boom is having an effect on us, at least in terms of business expectations. But I am firmly convinced that we are not moving into recession.”As long as the evidence remains mixed, in the eurozone as a whole and even inside its biggest economy, the ECB will have plenty of ammunition to defend its wait-and-see policy. However, the ECB will need plenty if it sticks, as expected, to that policy this week.. Angus Deayton’s £50,000 pay packet to host this year’s Bafta awards catapults him to the top of the super-league of celebrities who can earn more from presenting award ceremonies and after-dinner speaking than from their TV careers. Angus Deayton’s £50,000 pay packet to host this year’s Bafta awards catapults him to the top of the super-league of celebrities who can earn more from presenting award ceremonies and after-dinner speaking than from their TV careers.
A few years back, Deayton charged £6,000 for a 20-minute after-dinner speech at the far less glamorous Gwent Training and Enterprise Council.

Next month Bafta will fork out £416 a minute for the Have I Got News for You host’s two hours’ work delivering several one-liners and schmoozing back-slapping luvvies.According to sources at some of the country’s top talent agencies, this places Deayton just behind Lady Thatcher, who can now demand up to £60,000 for a couple of hours’ work, ahead of David Frost at £25,000 and Carol Vorderman at £20,000. Davina McCall received what was considered a generous £15,000 to front the Brit awards for ITV last year, a similar amount to that offered to Ant and Dec, who hosted the ceremony this year.Jeremy Lee, managing director at JLA, a London-based speakers agency, says the amount a star can earn is practically limitless.”There is one artist, who shall remain nameless, who describes it as a ‘bank raid’,” he says.”Their careers are like that of Premier League footballers. They have comparatively short careers in which they earn vast sums of money. A lot of them earn between £10,000 and £20,000 for each appearance, and they could feasibly be doing something every week.

Some are in a position where they can earn more from the corporate circuit than from their TV careers, but they are all aware that it is their TV profile that enables them to earn so much, so that is always prioritised. Very few have any great longevity.”He adds that demand for stars is huge because of their ability to add a level of prestige and glamour that only celebrity endorsement can.This is the world of celebrities’ second incomes. For while most associate the wealth of Jonathan Ross, Deayton, Vorderman and pretty much every other star with the telly, chances are they are also pounding the after-dinner circuit, appearing at everything from surveyors’ soir? to oil-industry beanos. Anywhere, in fact, where the organisers will stump up the cash.Even Michael Fish, the BBC weather man, is getting in on the act. The 57-year-old Fish has signed up as director of publicity for Wrinklies Direct Names and Faces, which specialises in finding work for ageing celebrities. His details are displayed on the company’s website along with those of 35 other ageing “celebrities” keen to cash in, including Cynthia Payne and Neil and Christine Hamilton, who are running corporate training courses on crisis management.”It’s a very significant income for some,” says Khalid Aziz, chairman of the Aziz Corporation, a spoken communications consultancy.

“It can be far more than they get from the BBC.”From the celebrity’s point of view, it’s a lot of cash for what, even if they prepare assiduously, isn’t a great deal of work. “It remains a nice little earner,” says Dominic Morley, a former managing director of After Dinner Speakers UK, “and usually they’ll do it as often as they’re asked. It’s very good money.”Fair enough, but what about the companies in question ­ do the celebs bring enough to the party to justify their enormous fees?”If your objective is a morale boost for the troops,” says Aziz, “then a TV personality is a great help You get success by association Some, like Nick Ross, are very good. But others regard it as a bit of gravy and give the minimum possible.”Speakers such as George Best may come with a health warning, though you have to suspect that most of those who’ve hired him would feel a bit let down if he didn’t fall over.