samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
In a globalised world, Switzerland's attractiveness as a business location in an internationally competitive environment should continue to improve. Third, the economically active population could be strengthened by increasing the number of qualified immigrants. There is a substantial pool of labour from which to recruit not only within the European Union (EU), but also in other regions. At the same time, Switzerland's employment quota could be lifted if more women now living in Switzerland entered the workforce. The key to achieving this goal is striving for a greater work life balance, i.e. combining a career and family life for both parents. For example, more women should have the option to work fulltime on a permanent basis. BIS Review 13/2007  1

Mugur Isrescu: 30 years of partnership between the World Bank Group and Romania Speech by Mr Mugur Isrescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania, at the 30 years of partnership between the World Bank Group and Romania event, Bucharest, 7 November 2022. *** Vice President Bjerde, Directors Vincelette, Akhalkatsi and Karadsheh, Prime Minister of Romania, Vice-Chairman of the Senate, Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, Presidential Adviser, Your Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Next month we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the accession of Romania to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1972. Romania was the first among the countries of the former communist bloc that joined the international financial institutions. Unfortunately, during the 1980s the authorities in Bucharest had weakened the relationship between Romania and these two institutions, almost close to severing all ties. The normalization of the relationship, after the fall of the communist regime, led to a new beginning. The opening of the World Bank's office in October 1991 – the moment we are celebrating today – signifies a milestone that marked the start of a new historical point of reference in Romania's relations with the World Bank and our transition towards a market economy. The 1990s were perhaps the most difficult ones. We had benefited from the direct support of the IMF and the World Bank.
Stability, Agility, Opportunity Speech given by Alex Brazier, Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk, Bank of England Member of the Financial Policy Committee  Edinburgh Futures Institute, University of Edinburgh Monday 2 September 2019  I am grateful to Imane Bakkar, Jennifer Bell, Steven Dodkins, Nowrin Hossain, Miriam Kurtosiova, Emma Moriarty, Catherine Shaw, Meryem Torun and Sarah Venables for their assistance in preparing these remarks. 1  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  More than a decade on, it would not be surprising if memories of the financial crisis had begun to fade. But the costs of that crisis have not. The level of output is still 17% below the path it was following before the crisis struck.1 So deep was the recession and prolonged was the recovery that each person in the UK is, on average, £ worse off as a result.2  The huge costs of financial crises explain why Parliament decided in the aftermath to tie itself to the mast. It recognised that a day might come when there could be temptation to loosen up regulation; to go for quick wins at the risk of greater costs down the road. It knew that temptation – if it ever came – must be resisted. So it delegated – in law - the job of maintaining financial stability to the Bank of England.

That’s why the Bank, the Government and the FCA have put in place measures – Temporary Permissions Regimes - to ensure that UK households and businesses can continue to use these services and these contracts after Brexit. 8  See ‘Resilience of the UK financial system to Brexit’ in the July 2019 Financial Stability Report. 5  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  5  And it’s why we’ve worked with European authorities to ensure UK-based clearing houses continue to be allowed to serve their EU clients after Brexit, avoiding unnecessary disruption to financial markets. All this work will not, on its own, guarantee either market stability or economic stability as we leave the EU. But it does mean that companies planning for Brexit don’t need to add ‘prepare for financial instability’ to their to-do lists, freeing up their capacity to promote the smoothest possible exit from the EU. Climate risks We’re also looking beyond Brexit, to prepare the financial system for the challenges of climate change. The physical risks of climate change are already affecting financial companies. Since the 1980s, the number of registered weather-related insurance loss events – events resulting in property, infrastructure and/or structural damage in the affected regions – has tripled.9  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that global temperatures are likely to rise further.10 Our financial system needs to be able to manage the risks that come with that.
12 In my lecture here last year, 13 I noted that it can be demanding for the political authorities to ensure price stability because low interest rates are often more popular than high interest rates. An appropriate interest rate may therefore be demanding to  8  See NOU (Official Norwegian Report) 1973:36 Om prisproblemene (On price problems). 9  For an account of economic policy in Norway in the twentieth century, see Tore Jørgen Hanisch, Espen Søilen and Gunhild J. Ecklund (1999): Norsk økonomisk politikk i det 20. århundre. Verdivalg i en åpen økonomi (Economic policy in Norway in the 20th century. Ethics in an open economy), Høyskoleforlaget. 10  See i.e., chapter 5 in the Norwegian Act on Securities Trading. 11  In Norway, the concept is also associated with Jahn Teigen’s contribution “Glasnost” in the national final of the Eurovision Song Contest 1988. 12  During the financial crisis last winter the Government wrote: “Monetary policy is the first line of defence in countering a setback in the economy”. See Report No. 37 (2008-09) to the Storting (Norwegian parliament) “Om endringer i statsbudsjettet 2009 med tiltak for arbeid (On changes in the 2009 Budget and labour measures), Ministry of Finance, p. 6. 13  The lecture entitled “On keeping promises”, remarks by Endre Stavang and Henrik Syse and Francis Sejersted’s summary of the debate have been published in Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift 1/2009. BIS Review 140/2009  3  set in government corridors.

The question is whether, when it is merely historical it is of any particular value, or whether from the fact that it is issued from the central bank undue importance may be attributed to certain things that are stated, more importance than perhaps they merit...’ Committee member Keynes: ‘Arising from Professor Gregory’s questions, is it a practice of the Bank of England never to explain what its policy is?’ Harvey: ‘Well, I think it has been our practice to leave our actions to explain our policy.’ Keynes: ‘Or the reasons for its policy?’ Harvey: ‘It is a dangerous thing to start to give reasons.’ Keynes: ‘Or to defend itself against criticism?’ Harvey: ‘As regards criticism, I am afraid, though the Committee may not all agree, we do not admit there is need for defence; to defend ourselves is somewhat akin to a lady starting to defend her virtue’.”  41  For a discussion of central bank transparency and financial stability, see for example Jakob De Haan and Sander Oosterloo (2006): “Transparency and accountability of central banks in their role of financial stability supervisor in OECD countries”, in European Journal of Law and Economics, 22, no. 3, pp. 255-271. BIS Review 140/2009  9  central bank to engage in what is referred to in diplomatic parlance as “constructive , ambiguity”. 42 43 Striking a balance between transparency and financial stability can be difficult, as former prime minister Abraham Berge discovered.
Joseph Yam: International financial system – challenging issues Welcome address by Mr Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the SIBOS 2009, Hong Kong, 14 September 2009. *  *  *  SIBOS was last held here in Hong Kong in 1991. So it has taken you 18 years to come back to Hong Kong. I wonder what took you so long. A lot has happened here in this free and open international financial centre in the past 18 years that ought to have interested you enough to bring you back here earlier. I can think of, for example, the establishment of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in 1993! Seriously, financial globalisation and innovation have made life here, where there is a high degree of market freedom and ample liquidity, rather challenging, perhaps a little too challenging for the financial authorities. And on a couple of occasions we had to take controversial, remedial action to safeguard monetary and financial stability.

The theme for the 2008 national budget is “unlocking resources for economic empowerment and wealth creation”. I believe the economic empowerment is for both men and women. Furthermore, in order to achieve our vision to be a prosperous middle income country by 2030, both women and men must be empowered equally. Women must not be left behind in the drive to this vision. I recognize the creation of the Ministry of Gender and Women in Development, as a deliberate effort by the Government to ensure that the needs of women are addressed. Let me also take this opportunity to appreciate the efforts by our cooperating partners in the financing of activities promoting gender equality. This is evident by the number of non governmental organizations looking at women’s issues, some of whom are represented here today. Ladies and Gentlemen, when we talk about financing, we must focus on the institutions through which most of this financing is channeled namely, financial service providers, most of whom are participating in this exhibition. No matter what kind of financing, be it government, donor or private financing, it is channeled through our financial institutions. As earlier stated, the main reason this exhibition is being held is to showcase how our financial institutions are contributing to financing for gender equality. I also hope that the exhibition will encourage increased access to financial services by not only women but also men from all walks of life.
Dear guests, The International Council of Museums was established in 1946. Every year, since 1977, the ICOM organises the International Museum Day, a worldwide event held on and around 18 May. In 1992, ICOM decided to choose a socially relevant theme for International Museum Day, each year. The theme chosen for 2017 is “Museums and contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in museums". Joining this worldwide celebrating day, in our museum, we have formulated it as “Interesting facts from the treasury: Art in Albanian Banknotes". And to say the unspeakable, we have invited today Mr Mark Bundy, a master of designing working for over 40 years at De La Rue, pioneers of banknote printing in the world. De La Rue is frequently heard by everyone visiting our museum, as it relates to the first company printing the Albanian banknote. Mr Bundy will show the unspeakable on the designing, techniques and art of conceiving the Albanian banknote, illustrated by photos and sketches. In the end, we invite you to explore our temporary exhibition on this topic and see the unspeakable through your own lens. 2/2  BIS central bankers' speeches

In a world where a German trader can trade on an exchange in London with a counterparty in the US who uses a French technology provider and a Belgian settlement agent, the question of how to ensure that all parts of the process are regulated effectively is a tough one. Some argue there should be some kind of pan-national “super-regulator”. Perhaps that is where we will eventually get to although one worries about its potential for the worst sort of bureaucracy: and in the meantime we think that an approach based on close cooperation and the exchange of regulatory information, is a pragmatic way forward and more likely to balance the need to protect investors and the need to encourage innovative, responsive markets. But let me turn my attention back to the opportunities that technology offers. The scope for new contracts on B2B and e-commerce networks is enormous. Contracts that would have taken some time to establish themselves in a pit can be quickly listed on screen at relatively little cost. Trading is now possible in such diverse commodities as electricity, telecoms bandwidth and even the weather. The organisers of this event may, in future, be able to hedge their exposure to fluctuating wine prices using exchange-traded futures based on the finest premier cru, I suspect this is one contract where traders would be happy to go to physical delivery. We central bankers will have to stick to our usual vin ordinaire.
Let me express a clear personal opinion; financial crises of the past were often, in large part, created by the people at the top making poor decisions – people not possessing the right information; not having due regard for risk; not being properly incentivised. Significant failures have often had their roots in poor governance with insufficient checks and balances to the decisions of powerful individuals. Strong, effective systems of oversight and risk management are paramount in meeting the PRA’s objectives for the safety and soundness of firms and insurance policyholder protection. Not surprisingly, governance issues are consistently at, or near the top, of the PRA’s agenda whether for banks or insurers. I can safely predict that this focus is not about to lessen any time soon. Firms in tomorrow’s world need to aim for governance best practice. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  The recent banking crises further illustrated that one of the most obvious ways in which financial stability can be undermined is through disorderly firm failure and the consequent disruption of financial services. The PRA’s stance is that unsuccessful business models need to be allowed to fail, but that failure should be in an orderly manner so as not to disrupt the provision of core financial services. And I think we would all agree that the taxpayer should not be asked to bail out a failed firm. One difference from banking is that failing insurers usually do exit in an orderly manner.

Actually, about a third of the PRA’s authorised firms are in run-off. But that is in part a testament to the successful regulatory regime that the UK has been running for the insurance sector. And, whatever the regime, we cannot be certain this will be the case in every conceivable circumstance. For this reason, the PRA continues to place the resolution arrangements for insurers on both the domestic and international agendas. The banking crisis further taught us all that we need to be looking at potential storms ahead and not to be misled by periods of fair weather. For the PRA this means it will assess firms not just against current risks, but also against those that could plausibly arise in the future, carrying out increased business model analysis. For insurers, this involves monitoring emerging risks and taking preparatory steps to deal with what may result, with firms holding capital commensurate to their evolving risk profile. This approach is embedded as part of Solvency II, for example with the requirement for each undertaking to conduct a forward looking assessment of its own risk and solvency needs. The fallout from the global financial crisis has accentuated the need for an open, two-way dialogue between regulator and regulated. This is especially true in times of change or stress. To ensure policyholder protection, regulators need to be alert to emerging risks and this is best achieved through a “cards on the table” approach.
The Central Bank, meanwhile, has adopted many measures aimed at providing liquidity to the markets and stimulating the flow of credit to the productive sector, in order to avoid a more severe disinflationary cycle and prevent risks to financial stability, which could raise the economic and social cost of the ongoing shock. Thus, following the June Monetary Policy Meeting, interest rates at different terms posted an important decrease, in line with the intensification of the monetary stimulus through the purchase of assets and the announcement of phase 2 of the Financing Facility Conditional on Increased Lending (FCIC). The decline in long-term interest rates was reversed during the final phase of the discussion of the withdrawal of part of the pension savings, consistent with the fall in the prices of the assets in which they are invested. However, after a set of measures were announced by the Central Bank and the regulators, and the Pension Funds Administrators (AFPs) implemented 3  a portfolio management strategy that mitigated the impacts on local markets, volatility has been reduced and interest rates have fallen again. Stock market valuations, meanwhile, have followed a trajectory below their foreign counterparts (Figure 11). Policy measures designed to confront the current crisis must be able to recognize its distinctive characteristics.

: Quarantines begun in Santiago East  1  5  +116 3 %  Pharmacies  3  0  7  Department stores  Mar. 03  May 05  (*) Percentages show variation between 30 July and 26 August. Source: Central Bank of Chile using Internal Revenue Service data. 17  Jul. 07  1 0  Figure 11  Evolution of local assets v. baskets of comparable countries (1) Tipo de cambio (index, 17/April/2020=100)  102  10-yr sovereign bonds' interest rate (dfiference w/respect to 1/June/2020, percent)  102 0.4  0.4  0.3  0.3  0.2  0.2  0.1  0.1  0.0  0.0  -0.1  -0.1  98  98  94  94  90  90  86 17-04 17-Apr. 86 -0.2  Jun. 06 17-08 17-06 17-Jun. 17-Aug. Comparable basket (2) Sep.  Jul. 07  Aug. 08  09  -0.2  Chile  (1) Vertical lines from left to right mark the dates of: the June monetary policy meeting (June 16), approval in Congress of the idea of legislating on a bill that would allow the withdrawal of 10% of the AFP funds (July 8), and first announcements by the Central Bank of Chile (July 20). (2) The basket of comparable economies is made up of a combination of Latin American assets and commodity exporters (Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand and Peru). Source: Bloomberg.
Since then, the focus on price stability has gained broad support in our society. However, because of the severe economic problems in the early 1990s, with inflation expectations based on our historical record and a massive budget deficit, it took quite some time for the new direction of economic policy to acquire credibility. Financial market developments can be regarded as an indicator of the prevailing degree of confidence in the determination and ability to conduct an economic policy that is consistent and oriented towards stability. With the free movement of capital and the globalisation of financial markets, economic policy decision-makers need to be highly disciplined. Experience from other countries, where the policy realignment had already been made in the early 1980s, indicates that the creation of a low inflation regime's credibility takes time. But it also shows that after a while, such a process does ultimately yield a favourable economic development. The price stability target In the past decade a growing number of countries have chosen to conduct monetary policy with an explicit target for inflation. One reason behind this choice has no doubt been these countries' poor experience with a fixed, but adjustable, exchange rate regime. The first country to formally adopt a policy of targeting inflation was New Zealand in 1990. Canada did the same in 1991, followed by the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia. Other industrial countries have also introduced some variant of inflation targeting since then, most recently two other Nordic countries, namely Norway and Iceland.

Although we are also able to influence inflation in the shorter run, doing so is normally inappropriate because it is liable to result in large fluctuations in production and employment. Of course the rule is not applied mechanically. The basic intention is to stabilise inflation around the target and at the same time avoid unduly large fluctuations in production and employment. We tend to disregard economic shocks with effects on inflation that can be assumed to be only transitory. Moreover, there may be grounds for heeding the expected course of events beyond the regular target horizon. There may be a case for adjusting the repo rate immediately if there are already strong reasons for expecting a marked increase or decrease in inflation directly after the two-year horizon. Another point to remember is the Riksbank's mandate to promote a safe and efficient payment system; problems in this context may call for interest rate adjustments even though the inflation target is not threatened. Such adjustments may be needed both to prevent potential risks from building up in the payment system and to moderate effects of problems that have already arisen. However, departures of this type from the normal decision rule should be made restrictively. Moreover, deviations should be stated clearly, and carefully justified. Favourable economic development over several years Under the new regime the Swedish economy has experienced several years of strong growth. Since the upturn began in the summer of 1993, the annual GDP growth rate has averaged around 3 per cent.
Fiscal policies span a broad range of issues, ranging from public investment and collective  1  See Cœuré, B., “Time for a new Lamfalussy moment”, speech at the Professor Lamfalussy Commemorative Conference, Budapest, 1 February 2016. 2  See Cœuré, B., “Towards a political convergence process in the euro area”, speech at the Interparliamentary Conference “Towards a Progressive Europe”, Berlin, 16 October 2015. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  goods – allocative functions that would also include the EU budget – to tools for macroeconomic stabilisation. Today, rather than discussing what, broadly speaking, fiscal policy could do to support growth at the current juncture, I will focus on how well-designed fiscal policies in an economic and monetary union – where monetary policy is exercised at the European level – could act as an instrument for stabilisation. Let me start by clarifying that the euro area today is not at a crossroads between two starkly different routes, namely, responsible national fiscal policies on the one hand and a common fiscal capacity or a euro area budget on the other, with the choice between the routes being based on political or philosophical priors. From an economic standpoint, these are complementary. And in fact, we already have elements of both. First, a precondition for fiscal policies to be able to contribute effectively to macroeconomic stabilisation is to ensure that markets have faith in the sustainability of public finances.

As a result of the krona having weakened and the price of gold having risen, the value of the gold and foreign currency reserve has increased. This increase in value on the assets side corresponds on the liabilities side to an increase in the revaluation account (Figure 15). 3  14  The credit multiplier is usually defined as the ratio between the money supply and the monetary base; see also the box Unconventional measures and the risk of inflation in the Monetary Policy Report, October 2009, Sveriges Riksbank. BIS Review 160/2009  Figure 15 Capital and revaluation account SEK billion 160  160 140  Revaluation account Own capital  140  120  120  100  100  80  80  60  60  40  40  20  20  0 jan-08  0 apr-08  jul-08  okt-08  jan-09  apr-09  jul-09  okt-09  Source: The Riksbank. The Riksbank’s assets are managed to provide a good return. The return over the past fifteen years has been around 7 per cent a year. As a result of the assets normally consisting mainly of gold and foreign assets, the return in Swedish kronor can vary substantially from year to year. The weakening of the krona during the financial crisis has paradoxically meant that the Riksbank’s results have improved. In addition, the Riksbank’s results have been positively affected by the lending to the banks. Some of the profits are paid as dividends to the Treasury.