No sooner is Christmas out of the way than another 'c' word begins to dominate the headlines.

Confidence, apparently, is in short supply. From the housing market to retail, from manufacturing to financial services the overriding mood over the last few weeks has been one filled with, what can accurately be described as, the jitters.

On a global basis the jitters are coming from the fact the good ship Eurozone economy has sprung more holes than a swiss cheese and is taking on water fast.

On a more local basis we might like to think we're insulated from these sorts of far-off events but these days we're in it up to our oxters. Not only does the much talked about eurozone include our nearest neighbour and our biggest customer across the border, but our economy is now a lot more dependent on exports to continental Europe.

Aside from that we've got jitters of our own, what with a housing market struggling to plug the leaking holes in its own hull, consumers dragging their heels like teenagers on a family holiday and exporters now faced with having to become even more competitive in the face of a weaker euro.

So what do we do? Do we sit back and wait for everything to come good or do we batten down the hatches until the worst is past?

We'd be foolish if we did either because a business that doesn't try to push the boundaries during the good times won't survive during the bad. But under the gloom you can always find a chink of light, if you look hard enough.

Take for instance currency.

While the fall in the value of the euro may not be good news for exporters, it's a sure sign that global investors believe the UK economy is, if not in tip top shape, at least in a better position than our neighbours.

And while average house prices might be down, at least they're coming close to the value many people believe they should be, ie three-and-a-half times the average salary and more in line with rental yields.

Of course, there are a lot of other positives which we can't cover in this small column but scratch the surface of the Northern Ireland economy and they're there, waiting for the entrepreneurial people to grab them with both hands.

It just takes a bit of confidence in our economy, our business and ourselves.