samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
To conclude, the economic analysis continues to indicate that the outlook for price developments in the medium term is in line with price stability. Cross-checking with the monetary analysis does not alter this picture. Let me also make a few remarks on other policies in the euro area. With regard to fiscal policies, the Governing Council sees continued reasons for concern. Recent information indicates that significant imbalances are emerging in a growing number of countries and that current policies would not be sufficient to attain the consolidation objectives specified in the latest stability programmes. We strongly urge governments to take corrective action in a timely and sustained fashion, where and when necessary. Finally, with regard to structural reforms, the Governing Council welcomed the Presidency conclusions of last weekend’s Brussels European Council. Structural reforms are necessary to meet the Lisbon challenge and thus reap the benefits of higher sustainable growth and employment. As pointed out by the European Council, the pace of reform needs to be significantly stepped up and the critical issue now is the need for better implementation of commitments already made. Ending the political uncertainty and delays surrounding the implementation of sustainable fiscal policies and effective structural reforms would indeed support private sector confidence, which would add momentum to the economic recovery in the euro area, given the supportive stance of monetary policy. We are now at your disposal for questions. 2  BIS Review 20/2004

Apart from answering to shareholder interests, the board of directors and management also have a fiduciary duty to their policy-holders. Sound internal risk management and controls are needed to protect policy-holders' interests. Currently, our regulations oblige the Appointed Actuary to take responsibility for monitoring the financial soundness of life insurance companies. But the Board and management cannot just sit back and rely on the actuaries. Board and management themselves must acquire a better awareness and understanding of actuarial assessment. We need to set clear expectations of the role that the Board and management play, in ensuring the financial soundness of their companies. MAS will work with industry and professional associations to set out guidelines for this important area. In Singapore, we established the Corporate Governance Code for listed companies last year. MAS has tightened corporate governance standards for local banks. We recently required auditor rotation for local banks, a policy which we had been considering for some time, even before the latest wave of accounting scandals. For insurance companies, we are currently working on a draft corporate governance framework. MAS is consulting the industry and will issue guidelines for internal governance for local boards of directors, as well as guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of Principal Officers of insurance companies.
Third, despite record low mortgage interest rates, the depressed housing market remains a significant impediment.1 While house prices are no longer overvalued by historical standards, restrictions on access to credit and the large number of homes in the foreclosure pipeline means that home prices remain under downward pressure. The ongoing weakness in housing makes achieving a vigorous economic recovery more difficult for several reasons:   The strong rebound in housing construction and related activities, such as furniture sales, that typically power economic recoveries following deep recessions is absent.   The decline in home prices has eroded household wealth, which then inhibits consumer spending. Since home values peaked in 2006, homeowners have lost more than half their home equity and many expect further declines.   The weakness in home prices has reduced credit availability because many households and small businesses use their homes as their primary source of collateral for loans. 1  See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2012 White Paper, “The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations” and “Housing and the Economic Recovery” by William Dudley. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches    The big drop in house prices has made it more difficult for borrowers to refinance, undercutting some of monetary policy’s ability to support demand. In a recent speech I discussed some policy interventions that could help to stabilize the housing market. I will not discuss this further as our focus today is on education.

4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  The housing bust and the onset of the recession in 2007 strained state and local government finances. Most local governments rely heavily on property tax revenue to fund their schools and other activities. This was particularly true during the first half of the decade, when the housing boom strongly supported property tax revenues. Then came the bust; steep declines in the housing market led to corresponding drops in local property tax revenue. State governments’ revenues also fell, as rising unemployment cut income tax revenue and reduced consumption shrank sales tax revenues. Since most state and local governments spend at least half of their budgets on education, these developments have constrained funding for our primary and secondary schools. To stave off drastic state and local government spending cuts, the federal government allocated $ billion to states, including New York and New Jersey, for education through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Research done here at the New York Fed reveals that school finances in both New York and New Jersey were impacted by the Great Recession, with New Jersey sustaining particularly severe cuts.4 ARRA funds helped school finances in both states, yet did not completely compensate for lost state and local revenues. With ARRA funding drying up and our local and state economies still under stress, a question looms before us. How might we expect school finances and student learning to fare in the near future?
Intermediaries reported being relatively unaffected by the increase in margin calls in March 2020. Even for those intermediaries that experienced the largest increases in margin outflows relative to liquidity resources, the proportion of their liquidity resources this represented remained relatively small, amidst unprecedented central bank interventions to support liquidity. The picture on clients is more varied and the data less reliable. But there was evidence that some clients faced liquidity needs materially greater than anticipated. And turning high quality assets into cash to meet margin requirements was a problem for some participants. Drawing on the findings in the report, CPMI, IOSCO and the BCBS have consulted on six potential areas for further work. I will group these under three heading: procyclicality; transparency; and preparedness. First, we need to ensure that the necessary pro-cyclicality of margin does not add unnecessarily to a systemic stress. On variation margin, this means tackling the issue on predictability and preparedness identified but also considering ways toward more efficient collection and distribution of variation margin around the system. On initial margin, it means looking at the trade-off between levels of margin in business as usual. This is why we have proposed an in-depth evaluation of the responsiveness of centrally cleared initial margin models to market stresses, with a focus on impacts and implications for CCP resources and the wider financial system.

This would look into the degree and nature of CCP margin models’ responsiveness to volatility and other market stresses – including impact, costs 5/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  and benefits of this responsiveness for CCP resources and the wider financial system. Second, transparency. Participants need to have sufficient information, data, and tools to be able to plan ahead – they need to be able to anticipate what margin calls might look like under stress, and how pro-cyclical they may be. We need to examine carefully whether more could be done, in addition to the information already made available by CCPs, to help market participants to plan ahead. Ideas that could be looked at in this area include: developing good practices for margin tools and simulators and disclosure of key modelling choices; as well as promoting the use of consistent metrics and disclosures concerning procyclicality, responsiveness to volatility and model performance. Finally, though reducing the impact of margin call in stress and increasing transparency will help, much will depend on the liquidity management of clearing members and clients. It is worth noting that in our examination we found that there was little reliable data available on client preparedness for stressed margin call. Future work on in this area could: seek to identify enhancements to liquidity preparedness, including liquidity measures for NBFIs; and look into the effectiveness of intermediaries’ provision of liquidity to clients during stress, also considering how clearing members can encourage and facilitate greater liquidity preparedness of clients.
Chart 2 International synchronisation of inflation (headline and core) Headline inflation  Core inflation  average pairwise correlation  0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1  0.0 1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 Notes: Average pairwise rolling (15 years) correlation of seasonally-adjusted quarterly headline and core inflation. The country-specific average pairwise correlation of a time series xi in country i (pcix ) is the average of the contemporaneous correlation between xi and xj for all i ≠ j. The average pairwise correlation (pc x ) is computed as the average of the pcix across all countries and, as such, provides a measure of international synchronization of 𝑥𝑥. Source: OECD, Global Financial Data, DataStream, National sources, and Bank Staff calculation. 8  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Chart 3 International synchronisation of inflation (headline and core) and policy rates at different frequencies  Notes. Rolling average (15 year window) of the bilateral dynamic correlations of an unbalanced panel of 46 countries. Dynamic correlation is a function of the cross-correlation and autocorrelation functions of two series that breaks down their comovement into different frequencies. “Cohesion” is the average of bilateral dynamic correlations in the sample. See Croux 26 et al. (2001). Source: OECD, Global Financial Data, DataStream, National sources, and Bank Staff calculations. 26  Croux & Mario Forni & Lucrezia Reichlin, 2001. “A Measure Of Comovement For Economic Variables: Theory And Empirics,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(2), pages 232-241, May.

Philipp M Hildebrand: Monetary policy situation and economic prospects Summary of a speech by Dr Philipp M Hildebrand, Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Centre for Banking Studies, Lugano, 28 September 2004. The complete speech can be found in French on the Swiss National Bank’s website (www.snb.ch). *  *  *  In formulating its medium-term monetary policy, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) must take the uncertainty surrounding the development of the economic environment into consideration. The SNB believes that the economy is well on the road to recovery, both in Switzerland and abroad. For our country, it anticipates real GDP growth of close to 2% in 2004. Sustained growth is also expected for the coming years. Consequently, the utilisation of the economy’s production capacity will steadily improve, while unemployment will gradually decline. The improved utilisation rate will be accompanied by a rise in inflationary pressure in the medium term. This scenario could be revised, however, if new information were to come to light. The SNB will thus continue to monitor economic developments closely and will subsequently draw the necessary monetary policy conclusions. BIS Review 54/2004  1
The Bank has also strived to increase its customer base as well as provide convenient banking services by increasing its branches and agencies to 13 and ATM machines to 44 at end June 2009. Chairperson, I have stated at various fora that it is important for banks in Zambia to take initiatives which support growth and development of our economy. I am glad to note that Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited has embarked on this project of constructing a new Head Office at a bigger site and away from the Central Business District or town center. This reflects the bank’s growth and rising demand for convenient facilities. I must congratulate the management of the bank for their relentless efforts to facilitate its journey towards providing efficient and convenient banking services to a fast growing market. I must however, warn that the journey entails more challenges and responsibilities including the challenges of adoption of new technology and the responsibilities of serving a growing number of customers which must be addressed. I have no doubt you will rise to the occasion and deliver. As you are no doubt aware, congestion and inadequate parking space along Cairo Road has posed serious challenges for all banks whose head quarters are located in the city centre. The decision by Stanbic Zambia Limited to relocate to this very convenient area is a positive development as it will go a long way not only in decongesting Cairo Road but also in making it easier for Stanbic to service its cherished customers.

The New York Fed keeps track of credit conditions in the region – including the average debt carried per person and whether they are  1  Regional Indexes of Coincident Economic Indicators  2  See, for additional discussion of this topic, William Dudley. 2011. “Job Creation in the Region.” Remarks at the Quarterly Regional Economic Press Briefing, New York City. August 12. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  current with their payments – using the special consumer credit panel we developed. The report for the second quarter of this year was just released on Monday.3 Families in New Jersey are reducing their debt levels. As of the second quarter of this year, for those people with a credit report, average debt per person was about $ down from $ three years ago. But the crisis has taken its toll. Delinquency rates on the debt are high: 7.4 percent of all debt in the state is seriously delinquent, roughly the same rate as the nation. The comparable figure for the state just three years ago was 4.1 percent, so, like the nation, households in the state still appear to have a considerable way to go before they reach more comfortable debt levels. While there have been indications that home prices in the area have been firming in the past few months, the mortgage crisis continues to take a toll on New Jersey homeowners.
A tighter monetary policy designed to combat a flare-up of inflation tends to cause business activity to slow down. Such a slowdown may be necessary, for instance to reduce the likelihood of overheating, but it has painful side effects on various sectors of the economy. In pursuing price stability, we must be careful not to lose sight of the costs, and must use tact and discretion. The obligation to take account of the economy is now inscribed in law, but in reality this is nothing new: we have always made the state of economic activity in Switzerland one of our prime concerns. Our massive interest rate cuts in recent years while the economy was in the doldrums is ample proof of this stance. BIS Review 25/2004  3  Having to take account of the economy also means that we cannot be dogmatic in our pursuit of price stability, which must be seen as a medium-term goal. As a small, open economy, we are constantly exposed to external shocks. As our inflation rate tends to be more volatile than that of large countries or economic zones, temporary movements beyond the bounds of price stability cannot be ruled out. Trying to keep too tight a lid on prices would have adverse effects on the economy and would be counterproductive. It is just as obvious, though, that monetary policy has its limits.

Page 5/13  Chart 4 shows the development of these surpluses and deficits as a percentage of global GDP over the past 20 years. Positive values represent a current account surplus; negative values a current account deficit. I would like to highlight trends in a few selected economies. Looking first at the countries which have a current account deficit, we see that the US is among them. It is represented by the blue section of the bar. The pink section denotes all the other current account deficits in the world. In 2016, this group comprised 106 countries. Let’s turn now to the countries that have a current account surplus. These are China, shown in red, Germany in orange, and Japan in green. Switzerland is depicted with a very small, dark blue bar. All other current account surpluses are aggregated in the light blue bar. This bar comprised 42 countries in 2016. The chart illustrates three facts. First, due to the small size of our country, the Swiss surplus is relatively insignificant in the global picture of current account balances. Switzerland’s contribution to global current account balances is small and did not play a role in the growth of global current account balances before the financial crisis. Second, the size and evolution of global current account balances is defined by four major economies. China, Germany, Japan and the US today make up almost half of global current account balances. The remaining 150 or so countries together make up the other half.
These improvements are being driven by the need for adopting the European directives in this area, and by the Basle principles for an effective supervision. Compared to the existing law, the new draft is aimed at being more complete, more accurate in some of its elements, including new concepts in compliance with the European directive 83/349 and other important directives. Amendments are envisaged in the way of licensing activities according to capital level, in the consolidated supervision, etc. Many provisions are planned to be introduced in the law, as concerns to risk management, which so far has been covered by some regulations. The draft-law, for which international financial institutions have also given their assistance, has been subject to a large discussion with the banking industry and is currently submitted to the Parliament for passing it. In conclusion, I would say that: As a result of reforms undertaken, the Albanian banking system, as the most dynamic part of the financial system, has recorded a constant progress in the recent years. This process is the fruit of clear visions and earnestness with which the Albanian authorities have treated the banking sector reformation, fruitful collaboration these authorities have had with international financial institutions, such as the IMF, the WB, for drafting the medium-term strategies and beyond, for the development of this sector as a vital sector of the market economy and the numerous challenges it has been faced with throughout these years.

The government’ commitment to carry out a full program of structural reforms in banking sector served as an instrument for re-establishing the public confidence in financial institutions and services. The program of that period was focussed on four main objectives: •  Improving the legal and regulatory infrastructure;  •  Building sound and reliable institutions;  •  Strengthening the financial infrastructure; and  •  Liquidating or privatising the state-owned banks. Besides the adoption of new laws on the Bank of Albania, on the banking system, on bankruptcy, and on safe transactions, of importance was the program for a rapid change of the state-owned banks’ ownership, which led to the liquidation of the ANB and the establishment of the Bad Assets Resolution Trust. The NCB was recapitalised and privatised in 2000. During 2004, the privatization process of the Savings Bank was finalized, being purchased by the Raiffeisen International Bank Holding, thus recording the transfer of 94% of the banking capital to private ownership. Currently the Albanian banking system is composed of 17 banks, 14 of which are of foreign capital. The capital source is from different places, such as Greece, Italy, Austria, Germany, United States of America, etc.
In 200 and 500 Lekë banknotes, the portraits of Naim Frashëri and Ismail Qemali have been notably improved. 1/2  BIS central bankers' speeches  The designs on both the obverse and the reverse of the banknotes have been reconfigured and enriched with new or improved security features. The dominant colours have been preserved, but they have been given a fresh look, with more vivid and balanced colours for the eye. The design composition of each banknote is in harmony with the rest of the series. The overarching goal was to create a series of banknotes that are modern and easy to use, still in balance with tradition. The personalisation, versus unification, of some of the security features for each denomination is a new approach. The reduced dimensions make the banknotes more user friendly. Special attention has been paid to features for the visually-impaired. The nominal value on each side of the banknote is easier to read, the dimension of each denomination are different, and the raised print that may be felt on the edges of banknotes has been kept to help identify different banknotes. For the first time in Albania, the new series introduces polymer banknotes. This plastic material, which is more durable than cotton paper, was selected to be used for the 200 Lekë banknote, taking into account the higher frequency of changing hands and a lower paper quality evidenced in this denomination over the years.

Natasha Ahmetaj: Launching of the new Albanian banknote serie Address by Ms Natasha Ahmetaj, Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the launching of the new Albanian banknote serie, Pristina, 12 September 2019. * * * Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, we have invited you all to the premises of the Bank of Albania – also known as the “homeplace of money”, both figuratively and in the physical sense (as we are standing above the old treasury room) - to celebrate the two dimensions of the currency: a means of exchange and an authentic work of art. At the very beginning, our process of banknote production started with a design contest. This process is still in place today. Designs had to meet three criteria: be a genuine and unpublished work; have a national character; employ a set of techniques that serves security needs, namely, the use of fine and complicated lines which are extremely difficult to replicate. These three criteria are applicable to our banknotes. From the very beginning, banknotes have been designed not only as a means of exchange, but also as a part of national identity. That is why, in examining banknotes, numismatists are able to discern different eras, the extent of a nation’s freedom, or even aspects of social interdependence. Often, especially in dictatorial systems, banknote design manifests a government’s influence on markets. A lack of these influences is a dimension of social freedom. Time has proven that nothing has changed the educational and national mission of the banknote.