samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Not only would we continue with the operationalisation of the exchange, but we will proceed with a number of related activities that will give greater strength and effectiveness to the new facility. BIS Review 107/2007  1  In pursuance of this determination, we will advance the plan to create appropriate links between the capital market programme and the national privatisation programme, with a view to increasing the volume of shares traded on the exchange and provide for a high level of liquidity in the market. We will also proceed with the finalisation of modalities for the creation of a venture capital company, which would serve, inter alia, to improve the profile of some of the state enterprises earmarked for privatisation. This will increase their attractiveness to investors and improve the quality of shares to be traded on the market. As you would be aware, the present condition of some of the enterprises proposed for privatisation would require some further work for high value divestiture. Their value would be enhanced through a process of mentoring and nurturing. Moreover, the sale of these enterprises should not benefit only a small section of the society. The venture capital company will perform the mentoring function and also hold some proportion of the shares of some of these companies for periodical release to small private investors, who may not have the capacity to purchase such shares were they to be sold in a single parcel.

Not only is this the first such institution to be established in this country, but it also constitutes the first major visible sign of the formal commencement of organised capital market operations in Sierra Leone. This is a landmark in our financial history as we take a crucial step towards the further extension and deepening of our financial sector, which up till now largely consists of a money market. While this occasion is significant in its own right, I would like to stress that it is part of a process, rather than an event. From this perspective, it is simply the outcome of all the planning that has taken place in the context of deliberations in the Stock Exchange Technical Committee, work done by the Capital Market Unit of the Bank, and the inputs of local and foreign consultants, especially for the preparation of legal documents for the establishment of the capital market in general, and the stock exchange in particular. Sensitisation of various parties, including our Parliament, the press, representatives of the business community and the university has been undertaken, and will continue on a wider scale. Consultations have been held with some institutions in the public and private sectors to forge operational links in furtherance of the wider dimensions of the operations of the Stock Exchange. Further consultations of this sort will continue as the situation demands. All of these activities have crystallised in today’s inauguration of the Sierra Leone Stock Exchange. Again, this launching is not an end in itself.
Moreover, in those European countries and regions where competitiveness has been lost in the past and/or the unemployment rate remains too high, it is important that wage increases do not fully exhaust productivity gains in order to provide incentives for firms to create additional jobs. In this respect, sufficient wage differentiation is also required to improve the employment opportunities for less skilled-workers where there is high unemployment for this category of employees. The extent to which an increase in nominal wage growth leads to upward pressure on inflation depends crucially on trend labour productivity growth. Under normal circumstances, stronger labour productivity growth would justify an increase in nominal wage growth, thus allowing wage earners to participate in economic growth without adding to inflationary pressures. But, for the same reason, without sustained improvements in labour productivity, higher nominal wages would not lead to improvements in real purchasing power, but undermine job creation and fuel inflationary pressures. Against this background, the ECB’s Governing Council considers that, features enforcing wage rigidities and leading to nonoptimal wage setting – in particular indexation of nominal wages to the consumer price index – should be avoided. This is particularly accurate in this period where the euro area economy is currently in a juncture which is dominated by exogenous price shocks and uncertainty about the outlook of the real economy. Headline inflation which has been pushed up by external pressures on energy and food prices, is today significantly above 2% in the euro area and even higher in Spain.

1 As regards labour utilisation, defined as the total number of annual hours worked divided by total population, the euro area outperformed the United States. Over the period 1995-2007 it increased by 0.5% per year on average in the euro area compared with 0.2% in the United States. With a rise in labour utilisation of 2.0% on average per year over the same period, the Spain’s performance was even more impressive. 1  Source European Commission, AMECO database and OECD for hours worked for the US. Moreover, data for 2007 are partly estimates. The last update of the AMECO database was November 2007. BIS Review 18/2008  1  In the euro area, the improvement in labour utilisation mainly reflects the significant rise in the euro area overall employment rate from 58% in 1995 to 65.6% in 2007, 2 which has been accompanied by a decline in the aggregate unemployment rate from 10.4% in 1995 to 7.2% in December 2007. 3 The latest number is the lowest on record since the early 1990s. In fact, since the beginning of EMU in 1999 the euro area has witnessed an increase of more than 15 million in the number of people employed, while from 1990 to 1998, this number only increased by around 3 million. Spain’s performance, with an increase of more than 5 million in the number of people employed over the period 1999-2007, has been simply remarkable.
Significant resources have been devoted by the Bank in the last two years to achieve these objectives. One of it was the relicensing process. We had reassessed a total of 839 money changing companies and remittance service providers and issued new licences to those that met the necessary requirements. We have also provided time for companies to improve their operations. These companies had demonstrated that they are able to comply with the required rules. For those that qualify the licensing processes, improvements in their operations could be achieved within a reasonable timeframe. We have also made it clear to the industry that companies found to be carrying out unauthorised activities will be firmly dealt with through enforcement actions. Out of the 839 licenses issued earlier, the relicensing process had reduced a total of 365 licenses as a result of revocation, merger, voluntary surrender of license or industry players themselves decided to convert to become an agent of a larger entity. We have significantly increased our interactions with the industry to help companies understand the regulatory requirements that must be observed. These engagements have also helped the Bank better understand the practical issues that are faced by the industry and we have responded accordingly to some of these issues. I can assure you that we will continue to work with the industry to find solutions to legitimate issues raised by the industry but the industry must act responsibly and with the public’s interest in mind. Enforcing compliance will continue to be an important focus of the Bank.

Muhammad bin Ibrahim: Developments in Malaysia’s money services business Speech by Mr Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Launch of the Malaysian Association of Money Services Business, Kuala Lumpur, 9 January 2014. *  *  *  Over the last two years, this industry has experienced significant change with the introduction of a new and strengthened legislative framework for the industry. We have been encouraged by the positive developments that have been achieved during this period. Many of you supported this change and are well on your way to build businesses that will succeed through time with higher standards of professional service and integrity. Through our interaction and engagement with members of the industry, we hope that by now, the industry is clear that the status quo cannot be an option. The industry must be able to operate with a high degree of transparency and in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This is important not only to build confidence in the services that the industry provides, but also to protect the integrity of the broader financial system. The sanctity of financial system is of utmost importance as it is the pillar for our economy. Vision and regulatory expectation for the industry With the enactment of the Money Services Business Act 2011, the law provides the powers to create an enabling condition to deliver better consumer protection, improve business opportunities, and strengthen safeguards against the risk of money laundering and other illegal activities.
The new European DLT pilot regime, which will come into force in March this year, will allow us to continue our experiments within the boundaries of a simplified regulatory framework. At the same time, the Banque de France is contributing to the reflection on the possibility of a retail CBDC: this is currently what Eurosystem central banks have embarked on, under the ECB aegis, with the ongoing investigation phase for a digital euro. The evolution of the payment landscape leads us to reflect on the ways in which citizens can have access to central bank money, also in the digital world. Let me conclude in saying that tokenization can be a blessing or a curse for the functioning of the financial system. It is my belief that we can collectively make the best of it if we ensure its expansion within a framework of confidence in which good regulation has an important role to play. 3/3  BIS - Central bankers' speeches

Over the years, the Bank established specialised institutions to enrich the talent ecosystem. These institutions, namely INCEIF, ISRA, IBFIM, the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals (CIIF) and the Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance Malaysia (ASAS) have collectively contributed towards sustainable development of professionals and expertise in the industry. I am pleased to note that the industry has significantly benefitted from the contribution of these institutions. INCEIF is now widely recognised as a global university in Islamic finance and has enrolled more than 2,000 students from 80 countries and produced over 1,000 graduates to date. ISRA plays an instrumental role as a dedicated Shariah research arm as well as a knowledge repository for Islamic finance. It is known as one of the key players in Islamic finance research globally and has emerged as the top contributor in Islamic finance research between 2011–2013. IBFIM, which is the industry training arm, has also made significant achievements with over 6,400 participants attending its training programmes in 2015. In raising the bar of professionalism, the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals as the first professional body in Islamic finance seeks to promote the highest standards of professional practice amongst Islamic finance practitioners. Two standards on the admission of members and accreditation of institutions have been issued in November last year and two more are anticipated in 2016. ASAS, with prominent scholars as its members, has also embarked on various initiatives that have contributed towards its objective of inculcating the highest level of professionalism of Shariah advisors.
The idea is both to regain investors’ confidence in securitization assets, which we must admit still suffers from the US subprime crisis, and to encourage banks to deleverage loans portfolio from their balance sheet to refinance the real economy. By encouraging this new type of securitization, the European Commission is mindful to avoid another subprime crisis. Indeed, rebalancing the financing mix of the EU economy as promoted in the CMU initiative is a valuable objective provided a rightly calibrated regulatory and risk framework is in place. These are some of the challenges to tackle in the years to come. And let me wish you a fruitful conference. I now leave the floor to Jean Tirole. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3

Both of these programs provide important insights into the role of the central bank as a provider of liquidity, leading to a few observations and to a few questions that I believe warrant further exploration in considering future policy actions. 1 Liquidity swaps with foreign central banks The second half of 2009 and the early part of 2010 were marked by substantial improvements in financial markets, ranging from short-term funding to longer term risk assets. There was good reason for those improvements: Efforts by the government to stabilize markets and support financial institutions were successful, and a virtuous circle appeared to be under way in which increasing optimism about the economic outlook and improving conditions in financial markets fed upon one another. The gains in asset prices were dramatic, with broad equity indexes reversing most of the declines experienced in late2008 and early 2009 and with some measures of short-term funding spreads returning to pre-crisis levels. However, more recent developments have demonstrated that conditions in financial markets can change abruptly. These developments have been widely discussed at this point, and I will not go through them in detail, except to highlight the two broad themes in play. First, investors have become concerned about the fiscal positions of some European countries, leading them to re-price sovereign risk for those countries and to question whether austerity measures and other supporting efforts will prove sufficient to restore market confidence.
In a number of regions, housing prices surged by more than 20%, even though households’ real incomes declined. As an anti-crisis measure, we also expanded opportunities for the so-called good mortgage loans with a small down payment. However, in the primary market, the portion of mortgage loans with a small down payment, which involve higher risks, increased from 24% in 2020 Q2 to 45% in 2021 Q1. This also reflects the observed trends and shows that the anti-crisis measures achieved their objectives and should be phased out. Otherwise, we might face the risks of ‘bubbles’ in this market. In turn, the Bank of Russia has already taken measures to prevent the materialisation of these risks — we have raised the so-called macroprudential buffers for mortgage loans with a down payment of 15% to 20%. However, if lending standards continue to lower (this is a trend we are observing) or housing price growth remains fast, we might not rule out the need to increase these buffers. Furthermore, unsecured consumer lending is also expanding, while households’ incomes are recovering much more slowly. This means that households’ debt burden is growing. It is crucial to prevent a situation where its level becomes hazardous. In this regard, we decided to raise the macroprudential buffers for consumer loans to the pre-pandemic level as well beginning on 1 July.

But the reform process in East Asia has proven to be worth the efforts, as you can see from the fast growing intra-regional trade. Many of these reforms remain to be completed, and we need to continue to press on with the reform agenda. But the changes from now on should not be as difficult, as public sentiment is supportive of the benefits of these reforms, in terms of the increased efficiency, predictability, and transparency to businessmen and entrepreneurs, both domestic and foreign. One just needs to cross that threshold. Thank you for your attention. BIS Review 7/2006  3
Every day we supervisors struggle to maintain the equal treatment of banks that have to comply with different rules even though these differences are not justified by national specificities with regard to risks. That said, where we do have scope to act, we have made use of it. We have, for instance, agreed to exercise options and discretions contained in European law in a harmonised manner. This was a huge step, but more could be done. That, however, is up to the legislators. And there are indeed a few areas where further harmonisation would help the single market to progress: the fit and proper assessments of banks’ board members, the liquidation of banks, large exposures and the supervision of branches of non-EU banks. Now, don’t get me wrong: what has been achieved so far is truly remarkable. No large reform project has ever been perfect from the start, so it is only natural that more remains to be done. And it is worth putting our achievements into perspective. A lot has been done in a short time. The banking union is a project that is unprecedented in scope and scale. Just look at its first pillar, European banking supervision. It involves 26 authorities from 19 countries plus the ECB. This sometimes prompts questions about how efficient it can really be. Did we, in the end, just build a huge and overly complex bureaucratic machine? Well, I’m not giving away any secrets if I tell you that it is kind of complex.

The fact that inflation has been lower than inflation expectations means that the longrun sustainable rate of unemployment may have been overestimated The Riksbank (2012a) presents a briefer estimate of long-run sustainable unemployment in the form of the interval 5–7.5 per cent, thus with a midpoint of 6.25 per cent. Long-run sustainable unemployment is calculated in two stages, as by the Ministry of Finance (2011). In the first stage, long-run sustainable unemployment in 2006 is estimated in the form of the interval 6.5–7.5 per cent, that is, with a midpoint of 7 per cent (to be compared with the Ministry of Finance’s corresponding estimate of 6.6 per cent). The second stage entails estimating the effect of government reforms and changes in the composition of the labour force on long–run sustainable unemployment since 2006, in the form of an interval of 0 to 1.5 percentage points, that is, with a midpoint of 0.75 percentage points (to be compared with the Ministry of Finance’s corresponding estimate of 1.6 percentage points). When this interval is deducted from the first one, we get an interval of 5–7.5 per cent, with a midpoint of 6.25 per cent (to be compared with the Ministry of Finance’s corresponding estimate of 5 per cent). The Riksbank uses as a base in the first stage the average rate of unemployment during the period 1999–2006, that is, about 7 per cent, which is then made into a midpoint in the estimated interval of 6–7.5 per cent.
•  Abstracting from this volatility, there are a few discernible trends emerging that augur well for future of Singapore’s financial centre. First, asset management. •  As at end-2012, total assets managed by Singapore-based asset managers reached an all-time high of $ trillion, a year-on-year increase of 22%. •  About 80% of AUM was sourced from outside Singapore and more than 70% of total assets were invested in the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting Singapore’s role as an asset management hub serving both regional and international investors. •  We continue to see strong interest from global fund houses, seeking to set up or expand their Asian presence in Singapore  Second, insurance and reinsurance. •  Singapore is now the leading reinsurance and specialty insurance hub in Asia, housing a strong cluster of direct insurers, reinsurers, captives, brokers and ancillary service providers. •  Increasingly, more insurers and brokers are offering specialised lines such as trade credit and political risk insurance, aviation, marine, energy, against terrorism and professional indemnity. •  For example, we are home to Lloyd’s Asia, the only major marketplace outside of Lloyd’s of London that writes specialist and reinsurance business in the region. Third, our offshore RMB centre. A key milestone in 2013 was launch of RMB clearing facilities in Singapore. More importantly, a broader ecosystem is taking shape. •  MAS has entered enhanced bilateral currency swap arrangement with People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in Mar 2013: –  The size of the swap arrangement has doubled to RMB300 billion.

The lower the expected path of national income, the less favorable the distribution of that income is expected to be, and the greater the uncertainty over the mix of tax rates and benefits a person or business expects to pay and receive, the less they will spend or invest today. Thus, policies that improve the long-run outlook make a cyclical recovery easier to achieve today. Conversely, a monetary policy that promotes a cyclical recovery supports the economy’s long-run prospects. Left for too long, long term unemployment will eventually lead to permanent atrophying of skills that will restrain the economy’s growth potential. This is also true for the cohort of young workers who are stuck in jobs for which they are overqualified and who are having trouble securing the professional experience that would make them increasingly productive over time. Although the outlook for the U.S. economy remains somewhat cloudy as we look into 2013, I remain a long-run optimist about where we are headed. The long term prospects of the US economy are excellent. The United States leads the world in higher education, technology and innovation and has recently acquired new comparative advantages in energy. We have an exceptionally dynamic labor market, high rates of entrepreneurialism, competitive product markets, and a well-capitalized financial system that relentlessly reallocates capital from one sector to the next in search of higher returns.