One of the major downside factors has been a steep rise in unemployment.

"External economic conditions worsened, but for now, there are not enough downside factors to lower the growth estimate for the third and fourth quarters."

Growth is then expected to rebound in the following year to 3.2 per cent as the downside factors unwind and the external sector recovers.

Other downside factors linger, too.

Market participants are watching how foreign investors react amid both upside and downside factors,' said a dealer at Hyundai Securities.

"Resource revenues have been the key downside factor through the first three quarters, coming in $2.4-billion below the budget plan," said BMO's Mr. Kavcic.

Speaking on Monday ahead of the release of the trade data, Li Keqiang, China's premier, expressed general satisfaction with the economy, noting that he saw both upside and downside factors.

As to how the short-term downside factors and positive effects (from a strong yen) will play out, I'll keep a close watch, as the economy won't be determined by currencies alone but also by overall economic conditions.'

Our research indicated that good designers were as rare here as across the Atlantic but we weighed the rare opportunity to get into Canada against the downside factors and reckoned that it had great appeal.

Two downside factors of Bermuda greens are cost of maintenance, and also the existence of grain (the growth direction of the blades of grass), which affects the ball's roll and which is called "the grain of the green."

The downside factors are temporary, but the concern over oil disruptions in Nigeria, and how will consumers cope if we lose Iran's production, is still making the upside push stronger,' said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Astmax Co Ltd in Tokyo.