samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
However, the repo rate was cut further, to 1 per cent in December 2012. It then remained at this level for one year, until December 2013, despite low inflation and an inflation forecast that had been revised down substantially, as well as unemployment that seemed stuck at around 8 per cent. In December 2013, the repo rate was cut further to 0.75 per cent. During the period between December 2012 and December 2013, I felt that the consideration given to household indebtedness was preventing the further repo-rate cut that I considered justified. Others also lean, but under different circumstances We in Sweden are far from alone in feeling that rising indebtedness driven by rising house prices poses a threat to financial stability. Other central banks have also given explicit consideration to such threats when formulating their monetary policy. Of those countries that are comparable with Sweden in the sense that they are developed economies with inflation targets, Norway, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are the ones that can be said to have conducted a monetary policy that to some extent leans against the wind. Sweden does however stand out in that inflation has been clearly below the target in recent years, at the same time as unemployment has been relatively high.5  Policy Update published in April 2013 states that the monetary policy conducted “is expected to stimulate economic developments and inflation at the same time as taking into account the risks linked to households’ high indebtedness”.

The key question here is how to smooth out the impact of the volatility in energy and other commodity prices on the domestic economy in the short to medium term, while there is a heightened degree of uncertainty regarding financial and real factors. Introducing a fixed element into the sales tax on gasoline or other energy prices might be an effective method in dealing with this issue. In the case of Turkey, for example, there are two types of taxes on the retail gasoline prices. The first one is the VAT that is proportional to the price; the second one is the Special Consumption Tax (SCT) that is a fixed tax. The SCT forms a significant portion of the retail gasoline prices and attenuate the volatility of final prices that consumers face, since it is not a proportional tax. This tax structure not only smooths out the fluctuations in retail gasoline prices but also avoids the need for subsidies, discretionary choices and associated fiscal costs. This conference serves as a perfect platform to discuss alternative methodologies on these issues. Once again I would like to welcome you all to Istanbul and hope that we will address some of the challenges regarding commodity prices and the global economy in this meeting. Thank you. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3
10  BIS Review 106/2009

Svein Gjedrem: The conduct of monetary policy Comments by Mr Svein Gjedrem, Governor of the Central Bank of Norway, on the Norges Bank Watch 2006 report, Oslo, 9 March 2006. The  Charts in pdf-format can be found on the Norges Bank’s website. Please note that the text below may differ slightly from the actual presentation. The speech does not contain references to the next Inflation Report or the monetary policy meeting on 16 March. *  *  *  I would like to thank the CME for again providing a thorough review of Norges Bank’s conduct of monetary policy in the Norges Bank Watch report. I am also pleased to be invited to comment on the preliminary Norges Bank Watch 2006 report. It is an extensive report that discusses a number of issues. The report discusses Norges Bank’s conduct of monetary policy in 2005 and the previous years, but also focuses on some aspects of our interpretation of the mandate for monetary policy. I will comment first of all on the relationship to the Regulation on Monetary Policy. As last year, the report emphasises the objective of stabilising the nominal exchange rate. It points to the reference to the exchange rate in the Regulation on Monetary Policy. Last year’s recommendation that the Regulation should be printed in its entirety in each Inflation Report is reiterated.
Chart 12 shows our current assessment of the inflation outlook, also assuming that Bank Rate rises in line with market yields, and with the most likely path lying inside the deepest red band. This shows inflation moving towards the target through next year, though, as I have already indicated, there is considerable uncertainty about the speed at which that will  4  For instance, the value added by the financial sector is conceptually very difficult to define and measure. The ONS are therefore forced to employ a variety of proxy indicators, such as balance sheet information. It is possible that these proxies overstated both the true contribution of the financial sector to GDP growth before the crisis and its subsequent fall. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  happen. But we judge the chances of inflation being above or below the target by the end of the forecast period to be roughly equal. In concluding, there are two general points that I want to make regarding the current conjuncture. The first is that the next few years are likely to continue to be rather difficult, especially for households and consumer-facing businesses. The economy is still adjusting to three substantial shocks, all of which conspire to reduce UK living standards. There is the loss in output associated with the banking crisis, the consequences of which households have hitherto been partially sheltered from by the expansion in the budget deficit.

It is worth noting that the current elevated inflation rate of 4.5% can be largely accounted for by the effects of energy and import prices and VAT: energy prices and VAT are probably each contributing around one percentage point to current inflation, and non-energy import prices around double that. The twelve-month inflation rate is likely to remain elevated through the remainder of this year, and indeed may rise further in the second half of the year, as utility prices are likely to rise sharply to reflect higher oil and wholesale gas prices. But inflation should fall back as we go into 2012 and factors such as the rise in VAT drop out of the calculation. But the pace and extent to which inflation will drop back will depend on a number of factors. First, there may be further significant movements in commodity prices and in import prices more generally. Second, there may be some resistance to the past erosion in living standards, resulting in a period of faster pay growth. Third, although pay growth has been subdued, the low rate of growth of productivity has nevertheless resulted in a squeeze in profit margins and there may be some attempt to restore these as the economy strengthens. Finally, if the period of elevated inflation leads business and households to expect higher inflation in the future, then it may also lead them to set higher pay and prices.
The NCA also has a very important role in the prevention of pollution and emergency response in the event of spillages. The NCA head office’s Department for Emergency Response is located here in Horten. We at Norges Bank are very proud of the new banknote series – primarily because they are the most secure banknotes we have ever issued, but also because we are very pleased with the choice of motifs and theme. The new banknotes represent quite a significant break with Norwegian banknote tradition. For the first time since the Norwegian krone was introduced in 1875, Norwegian banknotes do not feature the portraits of well-known people. This time we have chosen a different type of motif, but a motif that has one thing in common with portraits: binding Norway together as a nation. The sea, which is the theme of the new banknote series, influences our country in many different ways. The Norwegian people live by the sea and use the sea both as a transport artery and for recreation. The sea is a source of well-being, welfare and prosperity. On the reverse side of the 500-krone banknote, the faint outline of an oil platform can be seen, symbolising an industry that has helped to raise the level of prosperity in Norway in recent decades. But the sea was also important before the oil age. Cod, shown on the new 200-krone banknote, has been one of our most important export products for centuries and still is today.

Øystein Olsen: Launch of the new 50-krone and 500-krone banknotes Speech by Mr Øystein Olsen, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), at RS Noatun, Horten, 18 October 2018. * * * More information on the banknotes are available on Norges Bank's website. Good morning. It is a great pleasure to be here in Horten and Noatun to mark this important occasion for Norges Bank. On 30 May 2017, we went to Lofoten to launch the new 100-krone and 200-krone banknotes – the first two denominations in Norway’s new banknote series. Today, we are in Horten to celebrate the launch of the new 50-krone and 500-krone banknotes. So why did we choose Horten? This is an easy question to answer. The primary motif of the new 500-krone banknote is a rescue lifeboat. Since its foundation in 1891, the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue has saved more than 6 000 lives at sea. Through their tremendous efforts, largely based on volunteer work, the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue has contributed to making Norway’s coastline safer and more prosperous. Many of the lifeboat crews are trained where we are today, here at RS Noatun. These crews are on stand-by around the clock to assist people and vessels along the entire Norwegian coast. The boat you can see on the front of the 500-krone banknote is the lifeboat RS 14 Stavanger, launched in 1901.
We have seen the value of this in our own region in the 1980s and early ’90s, and, when discussing the problems created by capital flows, we should never forget that they have specific and beneficial functions. 6. The second characteristic is the sheer Volume of capital movements around the world. In April 1995 the global value of foreign exchange transactions taking place on an average day was $ trillion. In April 1998 this figure increased to $ trillion, or, to put it in more meaningful terms, to around 48 times the daily value of world trade. It is also worth stressing that these are largely private capital flows. In 1997, for example, the amount of private capital flowing into developing economies was estimated by the World Bank to be five times the size of official flows. 7. Within these private flows there is considerable Variety and fluctuation in the nature and organisation of capital. With financial liberalisation and the globalisation of financial markets, portfolio capital flows are of increasing importance compared with the more traditional foreign direct investment and commercial bank lending as a source of international capital flows. An aspect of this Variety is the growing number of complex investment tools, and different orders of derivatives therefrom, involving different degrees of leverage, available for moving money around the world, or indeed enabling investments to be made in markets without having actually to move money around. 8.

But if we were to find a single factor that has brought the crisis to a head and magnified its damaging effects, we should be looking, not to ‘crony capitalism’ or ‘Asian values’, but to a more specific and more universal phenomenon: the swift flow of large amounts of heavily leveraged capital into and out of the region through an international financial system that is globalised, liberalised, technologically advanced, but, from an international point of view, largely unmanaged and unregulated. 3. The freedom of capital flows is, of course, essential to effective financial intermediation in the international dimension, which has played a vital role in promoting economic development in this region. But, as the current crisis has shown, it also has the potential to distort, disrupt or even destabilise domestic financial markets: this applies not just to ailing economies, but also to sound ones. Being small and open, with predictable policy responses, their markets are susceptible to manipulation. As you know, last summer Hong Kong was exposed to this problem in an extreme form, and we took radical and controversial measures to address it. We remain convinced not only that what we did preserved our financial system 1  BIS Review 35/1999  from a serious threat to its stability at a time of stress and uncertainty, but also that our actions were entirely consistent with our responsibilities as a government mandated by law to safeguard the free operation of financial business and the free flow of capital within, into and out of Hong Kong.
This framework mainly contains five central elements: The first is the strengthening of the quality and quantity of bank capital, and a harmonisation of the calculation of regulatory capital across jurisdictions. Better and higher bank capital is needed in order to foster the loss-absorbing capacity of banks. To this aim, Basel III increased the minimum common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio from 2% to 4.5% of risk weighted assets. The second is the requirement for banks to build-up buffers above the required minimum, particularly when the economy is booming, thereby providing for additional cushions to absorb losses in periods of financial distress.2 In addition, further buffer requirements are foreseen for systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) as well. The third element is directed to enhance the “risk coverage” of the regulatory framework, providing a more comprehensive treatment of banks’ exposures to complex financial products whose risk to the system has been neglected so far. The fourth element is the adoption of a simple and transparent rule to prevent the excessive reliance on debt by the banking sector. And last, but not least, the new framework intends to improve banks’ resilience to liquidity shocks and to increase market confidence in the liquidity position of banks. The intended improvements in the liquidity position of banks aim at containing the excessive reliance on short-term funding and give incentives to hold safe and liquid assets.

As Raguram Rajan summarized in his book “Fault Lines”: “The financial sector is, in many ways, the brain of a modern economy. When it functions well, it allocates resources and risk effectively and thereby boosts economic growth. [...] It works for all of us. Of course, when it works poorly, as has done recently, it can do enormous damage while befitting a very few.”12 Part of the failures was certainly attributable to deficiencies in financial regulation and supervision. The regulatory overhaul of the financial sector is intending to correct this and thus help the financial sector to refocus on its servicing role. 10  See Schumpeter, J.A. (1934), “The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest and the Business Cycle”, Harvard University Press. 11  For this list of functions see Levine, R. (2005), “Finance and Growth: Theory, Evidence, and Mechanisms”, in P. Aghion and S. Durlauf (eds), The Handbook of Economic Growth, North Holland. 12  See Rajan, R.G. (2010), “Fault Lines”, Princeton University Press. 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches    Strengthening of bank capital and liquidity standards,    addressing systemically important financial institutions,    improving over-the-counter infrastructures,    and a reform of compensation practices, that I mentioned before,    these are all important elements in this process. derivatives  markets  and  core  financial  market  At the same time, regulatory reforms themselves require regular revaluation.
Caleb M Fundanga: Integrity and professionalism in finance, industry and business Keynote speech by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the ACCA Professionalism and Ethics Event for Employers, Lusaka, 7 November 2007. *  *  *  • The Chairman • Mr Sundeep Takwani, ACCA Head of Ethics and Regulation – Professional Standards • Mr Chintu Mulendema, ZICA President • Senior Government Officials • Heads of Corporates • All protocols observed • Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen I am honoured to stand before you to discuss the matter of “integrity and professionalism in finance, industry and business”. I commend ACCA Zambia for organising this forum which allows us to discuss matters which have long been considered of primary importance in the financial sector. I am certain that the importance of this subject extends beyond the financial sector to all sectors of the economy. Mr Chairman, this event, the first in the series of ACCA professionalism and ethics events to be held in Zambia coincides with the launch of the ACCA new professional qualification, which will be first examined in December 2007. Named the ACCA qualification, it will build on the success of the current professional scheme, which has become the world’s fastestgrowing international accounting qualification.

In order to achieve this, the board shall have clear, well-defined and understood responsibilities. There shall be a balance of skills, knowledge, experience and perspectives among directors so that the board works effectively to ensure the long-term safety and soundness of the institution.” The guidelines in this respect expect the board of directors to exercise professionalism by having a formal charter that sets out its responsibilities, having a rigorous formal processes for evaluating its performance along with that of board committees and individual directors and, ensuring that the institution complies with all relevant laws, and codes of business practice, and that it communicates with its shareholders and relevant stakeholders openly and promptly Principle 6 – roles of senior management “It is the responsibility of management, under the direction of the chief executive officer, to conduct the institution’s business and affairs in an effective, responsible and ethical manner,  2  BIS Review 129/2007  consistent with the principles and direction established by the board through the strategic plan.” Apart from reflecting integrity in their management of the institution, the guidelines for this principle require that senior management be appropriately qualified to run the affairs of the institution. The expectation is that people of appropriate qualifications will reflect the professionalism that is required of their respective professions.
But we feel that the costs of delayed action may sometimes outweigh its benefits, as postponing the inevitable and failing to accept the changed reality will lead to additional unnecessary costs. One should not want to keep alive old structures that clearly cannot be sustainable in the changed world for longer than necessary. This is a waste of limited resources and reduces long-term productivity. There is a saying that “a crisis should not be wasted” – negative shocks to an economy should lead to productivity gains. Our experience shows that quick decision-making and decisive policy actions can shorten the period of uncertainty that also weighs on economic activity. People and entrepreneurs in countries with delayed reforms overreact, leading to a higher level of risk aversion than necessary. Overshooting in risk aversion results in lost jobs and postponed investments. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  Estonia, for example, lost almost 20% of its GDP during the crisis. By now we have regained the pre-crisis level, contrary to many countries that preferred to delay the necessary reforms. Some of them still face years of decreasing economic output. In summary, I would like to stress that prolonged fiscal consolidation and structural reforms can lead to unnecessary costs to the society. Some countries have chosen to delay the pain and take only gradual steps with their structural reforms, but this has in fact resulted in a reduction of the overall economic activity to the extent that might be no less than the shortterm cost of a quicker adjustment.

Despite the increasing role of the non-oil sector in the national economy, particularly the role of the private sector, the oil sector is still the main driver of the national economy, where most of the country’s revenues and receipts of the balance of payments are coming  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  from. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to work hard in order to diversify sources of income to ensure the sustainability of economic development in the long run and reduce the risks associated with relying on a single source of income. Third: Reduction of high domestic consumption of oil and gas, as figures indicate an annual average increase in domestic consumption of 7.3 percent over the past five years, which is high by any measure and not commensurate with the rate of growth in population and GDP. There is no doubt that the increase in domestic consumption of oil, in addition to being a drainage of resources that God has bestowed upon us, it limits the quantities available for export in the future. Thus, it is necessary to consider the reasons of the increase in domestic consumption of oil and gas to rationalize their consumption. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques: As we are on the threshold of a new gracious budget, I pray for the Almighty Allah to preserve you as the leader of the march of this blessed and generous country. May Almighty Allah lead your steps to success. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3