samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
In 2019, Facebook unveiled its Libra project that consisted of issuing stablecoins pegged to several currencies, claiming cheap and efficient payment solutions (including for cross-border payments) and greater financial inclusion. Around the same time the strange word "cryptocurrencies" appeared, a word that hurt the ears of politicians and central bankers. From time immemorial, money had been sovereign in order to be reliable and lasting. B. Disappointing learning years? Needless to say Libra had its risks. I will not list them all, but it raised very significant concerns about financial stability, money laundering, etc. The issues at stake reached far beyond mere financial regulation, and also included more acutely than ever the question of competition. This is when big techs entered their learning years in finance, confronting reality. Libra did not materialise, even after it was adjusted and rebranded as Diem. Existing stablecoins are issued by players other than big techs, mainly from the digital asset industry. Incidentally, after the failures and/or crimes committed by some of them, it is high time to regulate cryptos in full and to require licensing. Let us not kid ourselves into believing that we can count on the so called "crypto winter " which has actually lasted for over a year now, to make the problem disappear by itself. That would be a dangerous illusion and would further delay supervision that is so badly needed.v All jurisdictions agree in principle to regulate, under the common FSB umbrella.

As a first pragmatic step, for host supervisors, it is necessary to establish an intermediate holding that consolidates all financial activities, in order to submit systemically important players to requirements. Agustín Carstens elaborated yesterday on the "segregation" and "inclusion" approaches. In addition, regulation of big techs in finance should go beyond traditional regulation of finance. Let me explain: big techs pose at least three new challenges. That of competition - as they are already much more concentrated than existing financial institutions, and the network economy tends to establish "the winner takes most" rule. That of data protection and privacy, of course. And finally, that of operational risk and cybersecurity. However, in each of these three fields - competition, data protection and cybersecurity - there is no international body, unlike in finance. And the national - or European - authorities that do exist are still hardly used to cooperating with each other. To develop cross-border and cross-domain cooperation, the scope is wide but essential: the OECD, the BIS and the FSB can and must be sandboxes. As a beacon of hope, Europe is showing the way on all these common challenges.
The types of misuse of statistics listed by Wikipedia are as follows:  2  BIS Review 36/2009  •  First, the statistician may discard the unfavourable data and make use only what is favourable for him to prove his point. •  Second, in field surveys, the statistician may ask loaded questions in order to elicit an answer of his choice. •  Third, the statistician may tend to over-generalise facts and make wrong conclusions. •  Fourth, the samples used may be biased. •  Fifth, the causality outlined may be fallacious. •  Sixth, the data may have been manipulated in order to show a result favourable to some interested party. •  Seventh, data may be dredged or mined in order to find a correlation that would not be there. How to gain credibility for statistics? All these instances of the misuse of statistics make the statistics less reliable and suspicious. The governmental statistical agencies throughout the globe are criticised by public on this ground. Once the organisations lose credibility regarding the compilation of statistics, it would be very hard to regain trust and confidence of users. The statistical bureaus run by former Soviet Union and its satellite states have been subject to this criticism. The way to avoid this criticism is to adopt global best practices with regard to compilation and dissemination of statistics. It requires countries to adopt a code of ethics and practices when it comes to dissemination of information.

Statistics do not have a heart or a religion When we express our personal experiences, we step into a dangerous territory. Our personal experiences are guided by our emotional and subjective feelings. When we share them with others, we are inviting them to accept our emotional and subjective feelings as if they too have experienced the same. This is where we run into problems. Unless others too have the same emotional and subjective feelings, there is no reason for them to accept our experiences as their experiences. Hence, statistics to be shared by everyone should necessarily be based on objective considerations. In other words, statistics should not have a heart. Its religion should be pure objectivity. It should convey facts as has been observed by an individual free from personal biases or prejudices. Only such an impersonal statistical framework has the capability of serving people intending to use them for making judgments about the real world. How economic development occurs? An economy has to play a specific role towards its members. It has to produce and supply goods and services as demanded by them having consideration for timeliness, quantity and quality. When an economy produces these goods and services in larger and larger volumes year after year, new wealth is created, raising the well-being of its members. The continuous creation of wealth by people in this manner raising the overall welfare levels brings about what is called “economic development”.
Minouche Shafik: Goodbye ambiguity, hello clarity – the Bank of England’s relationship with financial markets Speech by Ms Minouche Shafik, Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking of the Bank of England, at the University of Warwick, Coventry, 26 February 2015. * 1. *  *  Introduction  I’d like to talk to you this evening about the Bank of England’s relationship with financial markets. In particular: how we use our balance sheet and how we gather market intelligence. I appreciate my saying that may immediately make you regret giving up your Thursday evening to hear a central banker speak! But let me make the case that the central bank’s balance sheet and the way we understand financial markets is at the very heart of modern policy making. And let me also argue that the journey from “constructive ambiguity” toward greater clarity around how we interact with markets is essential for the effectiveness of a modern central bank. The Bank of England’s balance sheet is the means by which we create money and hence the source of our monetary policy responsibilities. It is the vehicle through which we provide liquidity insurance to the financial system, a crucial part of our financial stability objective. And it is the point at which the implementation of macro policies meets the micro-reality of interactions with individual institutions. In all of these the Bank has proven agile in its ability to respond to the financial crisis and the changes in its responsibilities.

19 To assist more borrowers, CCS is working on expanding its services. It will offer a centralised repayment solution to those who have accumulated substantial unsecured debts above their annual incomes. Under this new repayment solution, borrowers will not have to approach multiple creditor banks to negotiate how to reduce their debts. Instead, CCS will coordinate across all of a borrower’s creditor banks, and work out a centralised repayment plan. This centralised repayment plan will take holistic account of the borrower’s income, expenditure needs, and loan obligations. All the leading retail banks have agreed to come on-board CCS’ centralised repayment solution by the first quarter of next year. Thrust three: empower individuals to take charge through financial education 20 The third thrust is to reach out to more Singaporeans to empower them with the knowledge and skills to better manage their finances, and especially to avoid excessive borrowing. (a)  2  An integrated consumer education campaign, that explains the problems that result when debts get too high, will be launched by MoneySENSE next year. The  The number of reported unlicensed moneylending and related harassment cases has declined 23% from 10,840 cases in 2012 to 8,306 in 2013. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  campaign will use multiple media channels to reach out to different segments of Singaporeans. (b)  We will reach out to Singaporeans where they work and live.
In addition to earnings, equity must generate a reasonable surplus so that the Riksbank has profits that can be used to build up equity in the event of losses. The Inquiry’s proposals restrict the Riksbank's equity to SEK 60 billion, calculated only using inflation. As I have said, one interpretation of this is that the Inquiry sees a return to a steady state in which the balance sheet should be small – and, in such a world, a small amount of equity is adequate, assuming that the real interest rate returns to at least 1 per cent and that adjustments to the repo rate are enough to achieve the monetary policy objectives. The proposed act certainly makes it possible for the Riksbank to ask to raise the capital ratio, for example if seigniorage should fall or the real interest rate become lower. The problem is that, if the earnings capacity is initially set to just cover expenditure, there will be no scope to use the profit to build up equity independently. If revenues fall because real interest rates are low, it will not matter if target equity is higher – the Riksbank will make losses until the framework triggers a recapitalisation. When it comes to allowing for a larger balance sheet, the problem is that risks can increase quite quickly – and then, the Riksbank could find itself in a situation where retained profits are not enough to build equity up quickly enough.

Now we need to make progress in the other areas that remain unfinished, notably in terms of economic and institutional convergence. Still, I recognise that we cannot have a purely economic perspective on the questions facing our Union. While economic integration produces more jobs and growth on aggregate, this does not completely solve the problem that drives dissatisfaction with the euro and the EU. There is also the problem of distribution: who gains and who loses from that process? For example, higher labour mobility across countries might reduce unemployment, but it can also stoke fears about immigration and create insecurity for low-skilled workers. Opening up a previously protected sector might reduce costs for consumers, but it can also leave citizens employed there with an uncertain future. So, if we are to build lasting confidence in our Union, we still need to address this tension – to reconcile the economics of integration, which is about efficiency, with the politics of integration, which is about equity. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  This is a complex issue, but a solution can be summed up in one word: skills. Theoretical and empirical research both suggest that recent technological change has been skill-biased. In other words, production technology has shifted in a way that favours skilled over unskilled labour, by increasing its relative productivity and therefore its relative demand. Equipping workers with the right skills therefore makes the economy more efficient and creates new job opportunities.
Plus, some short-term elements, for example in January and February the exchange 1  As stated in a box in this Report, from now on, and with the purpose of enhancing the transparency the Board’s vision about the economy and the path of monetary policy, it has been decided to add a third year in the projections published on each opportunity. Thus, starting in March 2018, every Report will include the growth and inflation forecasts for the next three years: the current year and the next two. These forecasts will continue to be reported in two ways; the estimated variable in the baseline scenario. For inflation, it will remain a specific number, while for growth it will be a range, as it is now done for the present year and next. This change adds to those adopted in March 2016, when the Board decided to extend by one year the growth forecast for activity. 2  rate decrease coincided with carry trade operations, foreign flows for company acquisitions, pension fund portfolio adjustments and the entry into the market of the funds from the issuance of public debt. All this has led the peso to appreciate more than other comparable currencies (figure 6). However, some of these factors have a transitory impact, with rapid trend shifts over a few days, making it difficult to establish a clear direction. Therefore, the peso has been very volatile in recent quarters, with peaks of over CLP650 in December and lows of less than CLP590 in February.

Muhammad bin Ibrahim: New and emerging Islamic finance jurisdictions – opportunities and challenges ahead Remarks by Mr Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the 11th Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) Summit, Session 5: Panel Discussion on “New and Emerging Islamic Finance Jurisdictions: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead”, Port Louis, Mauritius, 22 May 2014. *  *  *  I have taken great liberty in making my remarks today. I must admit these remarks are very much Malaysian-centric. I shall try to synthesise some of the lessons learnt by Malaysia that might be useful to new and emerging Islamic finance jurisdictions. These lessons are by no means exhaustive. Let me start with some points to set the context of my remarks. For new and emerging Islamic finance jurisdictions, they can learn from the experiences of other more established Islamic finance centres. These jurisdictions have the opportunity to jump start into 30 years of modern Islamic finance practices. They could move fast, avoid expensive pitfalls and adopt best practices. I will raise nine points that I hope will provide some perspectives on the issues raised. Islamic finance is for all (Gain acceptance). Islamic finance is for all. Its appeal extends to a larger global community, regardless of their faith and origins. Islamic finance is not only for the Muslims. Islamic finance cannot be successful if it is only supported by Muslims. Many now recognise that the inherent characteristics of Islamic finance are consistent with universal values.
This would result in monetary policy no longer being centred on price stability and thus on sound money. 11 Switzerland has been able to manage the additional debt well thus far thanks to the fact that its public finances were in good order when the crisis hit. That said, the coronavirus crisis has fuelled aspirations here, too. There have been mounting calls for the SNB to make massive additional profit distributions. However, there are two things to bear in mind here. On the one hand, the size of any distribution depends on the earnings potential of our investments. And on the other hand, a central bank’s equity must be sufficiently high to cover the risks in its balance sheet. 12 Ladies and gentlemen, a monetary system has to take account of the changing needs of the economy and society over time, and the evolving environment in which it exists. However, it is also important to note that it is an order that has developed over the course of history and any ill-considered interventions could entail serious consequences for our country and the population as a whole. Swiss monetary history has been characterised by a wide range of changes, but the desire for sound money has been a constant throughout. Today’s paper money system with central bank money and banks’ book money has stood the test of time.

During that period, she confronted many of society’s biggest challenges – for example introducing legislation to tackle domestic violence, to eradicate modern slavery and to counter terrorism. Never afraid of a challenge, she stepped into the breach to become Prime Minister following the referendum. The Prime Minister and her Government are committed to making the most of the opportunities that Brexit brings, and more fundamentally to working to build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous country for all. Please join me in welcoming the Prime Minister, Theresa May. 6  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  6
The combination of less balance sheet exposure to exchange rate changes, less refinancing risk in debt structures, stronger fiscal and financial cushions, a large stock of reserves available to absorb shocks, and more flexibility for policy means that future sudden changes in financial flows should not precipitate the damaging runs on the financial assets of the country that they have in the past. Ultimately, this should mean that volatility in capital flows will cause less damage to real economic outcomes in emerging markets. The declines in real GDP associated with emerging market financial crises have been alarmingly large. In the crises of the late 1990s, the ensuing contraction in real GDP exceeded 10 percentage points in some economies and approached 20 in others. If the progress we have seen over the last several years is sustained, the incidence of financial crises in emerging markets will be lower, and the dynamics significantly different. Where these balance sheet improvements are most advanced, future financial distress will look more like what we typically see in instances of financial stress in the major economies - substantial asset price volatility and the potential for substantial financial losses, but less in the way of a significant disruption to either short-run or longrun real economic growth. This is of course a probabilistic judgment, not a certainty. The strong growth performance and greater financial resilience of emerging market we've seen this decade provides some support for this judgment.

These challenges lie less in the types of things that can be captured in a financial ratio or balance sheet, or in changes to the risk premiums attached to the financial claims on the country. They lie more in the realm of improving how markets work and how efficiently resources are allocated. These factors include the development of the types of institutions that are the subject of DeSoto's work or the reports. They involve the development of the legal system and World Bank's Doing Business its ability to ensure that property rights can be established and that the protections they engender can be enforced. They are about creating the conditions for more competitive domestic financial and product markets by reducing barriers to starting and building a business, and by building better transportation, power and telecommunications infrastructure. And they are about broadening access to and improving the quality of public education. Allowing competitive pressures to operate is undoubtedly the best way to foster the investment, innovation and risk-taking that is central to raising an economy's long-run sustainable growth rate. But markets can't solve all problems, and they don't always function perfectly. This means that the policy imperative isn't simply to reduce regulation; it is to improve the design of the regulations that are important to dealing with market failures. Finally, future growth outcomes will depend importantly on the success of governments in fostering the development of the domestic financial system.
8  The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is defined as the sum of the squares of the market shares of all firms within the industry, where the market shares are expressed as fractions. As a general rule, an HHI below 1,000 signals low concentration, while an index above 1,800 signals high concentration. For values between 1,000 and 1,800, an industry is considered to be moderately concentrated. See ECB Banking Structures Report, October 2014. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  during the crisis, with negative spillovers to credit. Thus, there would be macroeconomic benefits not only to within-country consolidation, but also to cross-border consolidation. In a single market, we would expect the private sector to drive such a rationalisation process, especially given the efficiency gains that can be reaped from cross-border M&A in terms of, among of things, information technology and corporate overhead costs. 9 There are several explanations for why this has not happened, but part of the reason seems to be the effect of a fragmented supervisory and resolution regime, which raises the costs of entry for crossborder banks and reduces the economic synergies of integration. For example, industry surveys suggest that an important factor in low cross-border M&A before the crisis was opaque supervisory approval procedures. The high compliance costs created by different sets of national rules and interacting with several different authorities also affected the deal economics.

Within the Bank, the Financial Stability Committee occupies a similar position in relation to financial stability as the MPC does for monetary stability. Bank staff present papers to the Financial Stability Committee evaluating the overall conjunctural position and reviewing issues of specific concern. The staff assessment of financial stability is shared with the Treasury and FSA and discussed with them in the Standing Committee, set up under the MoU, that meets each month to monitor financial stability and to consider issues of common concern. The objective is to identify sources of instability before problems emerge, to be in a position to take preventative action or to respond quickly in the event of trouble. The Bank sets out to articulate publicly its financial stability role and to communicate current concerns by the publication semi-annually of the Financial Stability Review. Each edition includes an overview of financial stability providing an assessment of current threats to the system, ranging from imbalances  1  BIS Review 70/2000  in the major industrialised economies or debt structures in EMEs, to sectoral issues such as equity market volatility or gearing in the telecoms industry. While other commentators may talk of economic miracles, you can rely on central banks to find disaster waiting in the wings! But if surveillance feeds off central bankers’ capacity to worry, then crisis prevention and crisis resolution, working on rules to minimise the risk or the cost of a financial crisis, may be the only prospect for us to get a decent night’s sleep.