Largest democratic exercise ever taken
February posted 0.2% growth
Favourable rate environment
US Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, recently described the conventional approach to setting US interest rates as "navigating by the stars".
During 2017, investors enjoyed several positive surprises.
The economic recovery is long in the tooth and the rate of growth is slowing.
Eurozone inflation eased back to a rate of just 1.1% in February. As in the US, there is some indication of a modest pick-up in wage growth, and this has in the past been closely associated with the rate of inflation in the service sector.