samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
The importance of fisheries as a generator of foreign exchange revenue has diminished in relative terms - to less than a half of the total - while the importance of other sectors has risen, such as manufacturing industry, information technology and tourism. In these developments, Iceland is among other things drawing benefits from globalisation to strengthen the foundations of the economy. Foreign direct investment regulations are liberal with the exception that such investment is not permitted in the fishing sector. Foreign direct investment is most noticeable in power intensive industry, such as the production of aluminium, which is based on Iceland’s abundance of untapped renewable energy resources. Recent changes in corporate taxation in Iceland, lowering corporate taxes to among the lowest to be found, serve to attract foreign business to Iceland and encourage Icelandic companies with international operations to favour Iceland as the base of their operations. 2  BIS Review 51/2002  Direct investment by Icelandic companies abroad has risen rapidly in recent years and in a variety of areas, such as fisheries and fish processing, pharmaceuticals, retail commerce and financial services. These developments also benefit the Icelandic economy in the long run as they integrate Iceland further into the global economy, allow Iceland to draw more easily on the experience of others and bring in dividends.

Meanwhile, room for further policy accommodation was diminishing, and any possible side effects of keeping the interest rate low for a protracted period, needed to be taken into account. 10. I would like to end my remarks by thanking you all again for your contributions to the Thai economy and let me assure you that the Bank of Thailand will continue our works to ensure a stable and resilient financial and economic environment, conducive to economic growth of the country. Thank you very much. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Markets that are illiquid also have consequences for monetary policy because repo rate adjustments do not then have the intended impact. That brings me to this autumn’s financial market developments. Events this autumn and measures by Swedish authorities In mid September the Swedish financial markets became seriously disturbed and Swedish banks experienced growing problems with funding. An increasing share of bank funding was arranged at very short maturities. Moreover, any funding that could be achieved at longer maturities cost the banks considerably more than normal. Prior to this, in 2007 and 2008, the Riksbank had no cause to take any extraordinary measures. Unlike the case in many other countries, the overnight rate in Sweden was stable and close to the policy rate, which meant that the intentions behind monetary policy were visible in the market. Moreover, Swedish banks still had good possibilities of obtaining funds, though this did cost more than before. 9 When Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, however, the international financial crisis worsened. In this situation the Riksbank and other Swedish authorities introduced a number of measures so that markets would function better. The Riksbank’s measures in this respect have aimed at making bank funding easier and thereby assisting the banks in the provision of credit to companies outside the financial sector. In order to make corporate funding easier, during the autumn the Riksbank has lent more than SEK 200 billion and USD 25 billion.

In practice, access to information in most markets – including the credit market – usually differs between buyers and sellers. This is commonly referred to as information asymmetry and implies that the seller of a product knows more about it than the buyer does. A good example is the used car market. In the  6  BIS Review 153/2008  credit market it is commonly the borrower who knows more about his own situation than the lender does. One approach to dealing with this problem is to have a company’s creditworthiness assessed by an independent organisation. A credit rating can aid an investor because it would cost too much for the investor to analyse every company whose securities might be of interest. Moreover, market efficiency can be enhanced by businesses that are dependent on income from the market and therefore strive for a good reputation as providers of complete and correction information. Still, it is hard to ensure that the markets are liquid under every conceivable circumstance. If the participants suddenly become uncertain about asset values and if the counterparties are unfamiliar, a market can quickly become less liquid, which leads to high risk premiums. The current financial crisis has provided examples of this. Investors are averse to putting money into assets whose value is highly uncertain; they prefer the securities that are safest. Rather than doing business with unfamiliar counterparties, investors prefer counterparty risks that can be managed.
We aim to achieve a return on the Fund which exceeds market returns by 25 basis points every year. Since inception, the excess return has been 31 basis points, a satisfactory result in our view. The chart shows our major investments in Spain. We more than doubled our holdings of Spanish public debt during 2010. The reason was partly increasing returns, which made these investments more attractive. By the end of 2010, the Fund owned stocks in 80 companies listed on Bolsa de Madrid. The total value of these investments was EUR 5.6 billion. That is on a par with the benchmark portfolio. That makes our Fund one of the largest financial investors in Spain. The fact that the Fund represents another country’s government makes it important for us to be transparent, regarding both our targets and aims and our modus operandi. The central point is the division between the government and the central bank. The government provides the rules, the central bank makes the concrete investment decision. Another is our mission to be a financial investor. We seek no strategic stakes. We do not sit on the executive boards. Thank you.

I have developed a few simple rules for selecting variables to keep an eye on:  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Over time, governments cannot run an increasing deficit. To prevent the debt level from exploding, the deficit must be kept in line with nominal GDP growth. That figure is around 4 per cent annually, for most Western countries. A fiscal balance can hide important imbalances. If one sector in the economy is far too large, the taxes from this sector can contribute significantly to the fiscal budget. An example is the construction sector in some European countries in the years leading up to the crisis. In normal times, this sector is around 3–5 per cent of GDP in most countries. In Spain, housing construction was 9 per cent in 2006. In Ireland, the contribution was 11 per cent. When problems arose, construction activity decreased and tax income was reduced significantly. Therefore, one should also look at the current account. Inflation above 4 per cent might indicate that price stability is not firmly anchored. If unemployment is above 4 per cent of the labour force, it might signal a labour market out of order. Finally, the risk of running into a crisis seems to increase if the total assets of the banking sector constitute more than 4 times GDP. This table illustrates the 4 per cent rule. Many countries had negative fiscal balances through the last decade despite moderate to high economic growth.
44  In September 2014, money market rates were soft for several days going into quarter-end, as market participants anticipated that the ON RRP would reach its aggregate capacity on that day. According to market participants, money market lenders lent overnight funds well in advance of quarter-end at rates below the ON RRP rate to informally secure balance sheet capacity for the quarter-end date. 45  The foreign repo pool is authorized each year by the FOMC. For more background information about the foreign repo pool, see “Services for Central Banks and International Institutions.”  46  Other major central banks provide analogous services. In managing the foreign reserves of the United States, the Federal Reserve avails itself of these services when appropriate. 47  As a result, the rate paid on the pool closely tracked the interest rate achieved on temporary open market operations. BIS central bankers’ speeches  13  48  We are also monitoring developments in money fund net yields versus retail bank deposit rates. Money fund management fees declined considerably as interest rates fell to near-zero levels, apparently as fund managers worked to preserve a non-negative yield for their investors. Net interest margins at banks were also compressed. It is natural to expect that this compression in margins, both at money funds and at banks, will reverse as rates move away from zero, but the magnitude and timing of this reversal in margin compression may vary among these two investment types.

For example, the difference between customer-to-dealer and interdealer repo rates has been quite volatile in recent months, apparently because of growth in dealer balance sheet costs. The road ahead To summarize, in the period since liftoff, we have achieved excellent control over the effective federal funds rate, and we have done so while avoiding unintended effects on the financial system or financial stability. The policy rate increase has passed through to other money market rates, suggesting that the increase is affecting broader financial conditions as expected and intended. We still have a lot of work to do, both to observe ongoing structural changes in financial markets and to formulate and implement any necessary response in the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy operations. I believe we have thoughtfully considered these uncertainties, and I am confident that we have appropriate policy tools available to respond as necessary to them. 10  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Thank you. I would be happy to take a few questions. 1  I would like to thank James Egelhof and Patricia Zobel for their excellent assistance in the preparation of these remarks, and colleagues in the Federal Reserve System for numerous insightful comments and suggestions. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the leadership of James Clouse, William English, and Lorie Logan in the construction of this new framework and James McAndrews for his intellectual leadership on U.S. money markets. 2  For more details on implementation frameworks, see for example Ihrig, Meade, and Weinbach (2015).
The Riksbank has also contributed to the stability by being involved in establishing a credible regime with a low inflation rate. We have also endeavoured to make our monetary policy open and provide clear signals, with the aim of reducing unnecessary fluctuations on the market. At the same time, it is important to remember that the increasingly improved central government finances are essentially a very good development from a national economy point of view. Not even this market, which has made a good living from central government financial problems, should be concerned over this. The falling volumes of treasury papers entail new opportunities for other borrowers. "Crowding out" will now be replaced by "crowding in". This should open the way for increased corporate financing with bonds, an area where we have a good tradition. Furthermore, an increase in construction should create a greater financing need. It should also be possible to expand the part of the fixed income market that is aimed at households. The fact that the share market does not merely rain blessings has been made quite clear from developments over the past year. A clear and practical system for bonds aimed at households could be one good alternative to both shareholding and interest funds. 2  BIS Review 37/2001  It is scarcely surprising that the Swedish market is markedly different from, for instance, the Treasury market in the USA or the Bund market in Europe. The number of players is much smaller, while the depth of the market is less.

Lars Heikensten: Challenges for the Swedish fixed income market Speech by Mr Lars Heikensten, First Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, at the RäntEvent, Modern Museum, Stockholm, 8 May 2001. *  *  *  The Swedish fixed income market has undergone a fantastic development over the past 20 years. This refers to both the volumes traded and the level of sophistication. However, the journey here has by no means been a simple one. At times, both profitability and activity have been quite low. Today the market is facing new challenges. Profitability appears to have fallen and with it both the number of players and the volumes traded. The risks are now also covered to a greater extent by Swedish players trading in, for instance, the German market. The Swedish fixed income market has thus lost ground, relative to other countries. It also appears to have lagged behind in the sense of technology. A year or so ago there was an attempt to introduce a new instrument, a Swedish fixed income future, with the aim of increasing the market's powers of attraction. This attempt did not live up to expectations, however. Today we are gathered here partly because of a new initiative, a platform for electronic fixed income trading. Let me start by saying a few words about the way I see the role of the Riksbank in this context. Our fundamental objectives are to safeguard price stability and promote a safe and efficient payment system.
For this response to be effective, it must be accompanied by national economic policy responses befitting the European action and the challenges we face. This response calls for the following: to maintain the support of fiscal policy to the economy, on a temporary basis, focusing on the groups of firms, sectors and individuals most affected and with a design that allows for the structural adjustments needed; to convert the European funds into a fiscal impulse that accompanies and steers the recovery effort of our productive system; to urgently implement an ambitious, comprehensive, lasting and assessable strategy of reforms that tackles the structural challenges of our economy; and, finally, to design a medium-term fiscal consolidation programme, for gradual implementation once the economic crisis caused by the pandemic is behind us, that ensures the sustainability of our public finances and enables fiscal buffers to be built up for use in future recessionary episodes. The future well-being of our country depends on an economic policy strategy that combines these principles. Thus, as I have stressed on other occasions, there should in my opinion be a high degree of consensus among the various political, economic and social agents regarding the guiding principles of this strategy, so that the foundations on which our growth rests are predictable and lasting. Thank you. 12

Ardian Fullani: Albania’s Financial Sector Development Program Opening remarks by Mr Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the inaugural reception of the Financial Sector Development Program, Tirana, 9 February 2012. *  *  *  Dear Mr. Spindler, Dear Mr. Williams, Dear Ms. Timofeeva, Dear participants, It is a special pleasure for me to be here in this ceremony, which marks the commencement of a new phase of cooperation with the Financial Services Volunteers Corps (FSVC). This is evidence of the successful existing cooperation and our commitment to take it further in the future. The Bank of Albania has benefited largely from the cooperation with the FSVC. In concrete terms, this cooperation has focused primarily on strengthening the institution’s oversight function. The assistance from the FSVC has addressed specific training needs for the Bank of Albania’s supervision staff and has complemented with concrete activities other development projects we have had with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. More specifically during this period, we have been assisted to draft and implement the Supervision Development Plan in 2004–07, in the framework of the cooperation with the World Bank. Later, cooperation challenges and needs became more concrete and specific against the background of the proliferation of the international financial crisis, re-conceptualization of international banking supervision standards and re-assessment of the role of other public authorities working to maintain the financial system’s stability.
Setting aside whether this is the correct interpretation of recent price moves, let me emphasize that such an expectation would be quite out of sync with both FOMC statements and the expectations of most FOMC participants. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  Regional economic conditions Let me turn now to the regional economy, the focus of our presentations today. Our last briefing on the regional economy took place at a difficult time – soon after Superstorm Sandy. While economic life has returned to normal across most of the metro area, some of the hardest-hit areas are still struggling to recover and rebuild. Just blocks from here, in fact, the South Street Seaport business district is still far from business-as-usual. And there are many such neighborhoods across the metropolitan region, from the low-lying and coastal areas of New Jersey to Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island; from Staten Island to southern Connecticut. One encouraging sign, though, is that our broader regional economy has shown remarkable resilience. It has been growing and adding jobs at a reasonably good pace. Moreover, the rebuilding effort appears to be giving a bit of a boost to the job market in industries such as construction. As we’ve discussed before, the New York Fed produces economic activity indexes to help monitor the performance of New York State, New York City and New Jersey. Based on these measures, New York City has continued to grow strongly, and New Jersey’s economy has seen some pickup in growth since the beginning of this year.

William C Dudley: Are recent college graduates finding good jobs? Remarks by Mr William C Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Chairman of the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS), at the Regional Economic Press Briefing, New York City, 27 June 2013. *  *  *  Good morning and welcome once again to the New York Fed’s Regional Economic Press Briefing. I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk with the journalists covering our region – and through you to the people in our District. This morning I will briefly discuss conditions in the national economy and then focus on regional economic conditions, with particular attention to the question of whether recent college graduates are finding good jobs. We will examine the trends and see how they are playing out in the region. As always, what I have to say reflects my own views and not necessarily those of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) or the Federal Reserve System. National economic conditions I would like to begin by taking stock of where we are at the moment. Then I will address my expectations for the performance of the economy over the remainder of 2013 and into 2014. Since the end of the Great Recession in mid-2009, we have had 15 consecutive quarters of positive growth of real GDP. However, the average annual growth rate over that period has been just 2.1 percent.
Modest rise in Swiss real estate prices overall Among other things, our assessment is based on the development of real estate prices. In Switzerland as a whole, real estate prices have only experienced a moderate rise in the past few years. Moreover, the general price level is still considerably lower than the record highs reached over ten years ago. By contrast, owner-occupied apartments are an interesting deviation from this trend. They have risen sharply of late, almost equalling their 1990 high. Econometric estimates of equilibrium prices which have been additionally carried out also fail to indicate any overheating in the Swiss real estate market as a whole. We arrive at the same conclusion even under the assumption of a significantly higher interest rate level than today’s, which would result in a marked correction of the capitalised value of real estate. Our assessment is based on an observation for Switzerland as a whole. It does not exclude the possibility that there have been excesses in individual regions or in certain parts of the real estate market. BIS Review 86/2005  1  Graph 1: Development of mortgage claims and real estate prices Source: SNB, Wüest & Partner  No sign of banks taking greater risks Since the end of 2002, mortgage claims have recorded annual growth rates of up to 6%. This is quite substantial compared with the rather moderate trend in real estate prices.

Stronger wage growth would likely result in more customers walking through the doors of business establishments and leading to stronger sales, more hiring and capacity expansion. During a normal and steady-growth business expansion, nominal wages would typically grow at the rate of productivity expansion plus compensation for inflation. If normal productivity growth is 1.5 percent and inflation is at our 2 percent target, this would suggest a steady labor compensation increase of 3–1/2 percent is sustainable without building inflation pressures. At today’s 2 to 2–1/4 percent compensation growth rates and labor’s historically low share of national income, there is substantial room for stronger wage growth without inflation pressures building. Fifth, do we really know that the public’s expectations are for low inflation? Judging by today’s Treasury yield curve, inflation expectations remain below our target. If anyone was expecting inflation to accelerate in the future, surely individual and institutional investors would demand to be compensated for growing inflation risk. However, our Chicago Fed affine term-structure model implies that the three-year-ahead average inflation expectations priced into the Treasury yield curve currently are below 2 percent and remain so for quite a number of years to come. Given today’s unacceptably low inflation environment and the wealth of inflation indicators that point to continued below-target inflation, I think we need continued strongly accommodative monetary policy to get inflation back up to 2 percent within a reasonable time frame.