samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
It is thus no exaggeration to say that small IMF Update of World Economic Outlook, January 2010.businesses form the backbone of European economies, including Malta’s. A better understanding by policymakers of this sector and of the constraints it faces, which are often different from those encountered by larger firms, is therefore crucial for the purpose of further expanding the economy’s growth potential. In the current environment characterised by a reduced availability of credit and tighter lending standards, the financing needs of small businesses deserve particular attention. In this regard it is important to recall that SMEs in general, and micro enterprises in particular, are more dependent on the banking sector than larger firms, which have the expertise and the resources to tap the capital market. This is very much the case in the euro area: between 2004 and 2008, banks accounted for roughly 70% of the total external financing requirements compared to just 20% in the US. This critical role of bank credit partly explains the unprecedented liquidity-providing operations undertaken by the European Central Bank since August 2007 designed to sustain the flow of credit to the real economy during the crisis, and the repeated calls by the Governing Council for banks to reinforce their balance sheets so as to be better able to fulfil their responsibility in this regard. The economic environment in the near term The world economy is finally emerging from the most severe recession in recent history. Global output declined by 0.8% in 2009, while trade volumes shrank by more than 12%.

It encourages introduction of new types of payment services and sophistication of customer 1/2  BIS central bankers' speeches  protection and security. Also, much attention is paid on evaluation of SEPA-regulation and further integration via implementation of Pan-European instant payments solution. The innovations in the field of financial market infrastructures are expected to bring synergies between TARGET2 and T2S, which is in the scope of the Eurosystem’s Vision 2020. At the national level, we made significant progress towards fulfilling the European standards in the payment area. A new Law on payment services and systems implementing PSD and some articles of PSD2, E-money 2 and Settlement Finality Directive was drafted with the EU support via IPA project. In the field of payment systems oversight, the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures were adopted. Furthermore, we aligned our methodology for collecting payment statistics data with the EU regulation on payment statistics. Last but not least is the recent project to enhance euro cross-border payment infrastructure by establishing an alternative payment channel via the Macedonian Interbank Payment System (MIPS) RTGS system, which was connected with the TARGET2, via Banca d’Italia. I am very glad that all these issues will be discussed by eminent experts from the Bank for International Settlements, European Commission, De Nederlandsche Bank, Banco de Portugal, Commerzbank, Euroclear, ProgressSoft as well as domestic financial institutions.
High unemployment and continued deleveraging in the private and public sector will likely weigh down on the euro area economy for a long period ahead. Growth is slowing in China, partly reflecting weaker investment in the real estate sector. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  In April, the IMF published a new assessment of the world economic outlook. The IMF forecast for global growth was revised down by ¼ percentage point, owing to weaker growth prospects for emerging economies. The IMF projects global GDP growth at 3.5 percent in 2015, rising to 3.8 percent in 2016 and judges that financial stability risks have increased, with greater volatility in both financial markets and foreign exchange markets. Consumer price inflation is low among most of our trading partners and close to zero in many countries. The oil price decline is contributing to holding down inflation. Many central banks have responded to the low level of inflation by further monetary policy easing. Policy rates are negative in some countries. The European Central Bank (ECB) and Sveriges Riksbank have, in addition, taken unconventional measures to counter the risk of deflation and stimulate activity, with large-scale purchases of securities, including government bonds. Long-term government bond yields have continued to fall in many countries. Expansionary monetary policies, including that of the ECB, have likely contributed to the fall in long-term interest rates. The rise in international interest rates has been pushed further out in time. Low foreign interest rates influence developments in the krone and hence the inflation outlook in Norway.

Thomas Jordan: Current challenges for the Swiss National Bank in the area of monetary policy Summary of a speech by Mr Thomas Jordan, Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Money Market Event of the Swiss National Bank, Zurich, 27 March 2008. The complete speech can be found in German on the Swiss National Bank’s website (www.snb.ch). *  *  *  With its forecast that GDP will grow by 1.5%-2.0% and the average inflation rate will amount to 2%, the National Bank is cautiously optimistic for the Swiss economy in 2008. However, since the summer of 2007, the international environment has taken a clear turn for the worse: Financial markets are in a serious crisis, the major economies are weakening and inflation rates are rising worldwide. This means that the SNB’s monetary policy is facing challenges on several fronts simultaneously. With regard to economic growth, the SNB is called upon to assess the consequences of the international financial crisis for the Swiss economy as precisely as possible and to analyse their implications for monetary policy correctly and at an early stage. On the inflation front, it must ensure that the measures taken in connection with the financial market crisis do not jeopardise the credibility of a monetary policy geared to long-term price stability or shake established inflation expectations. Finally, the challenge in the money market is two-fold.
The rapid transformation of economic structure and the development of interbank markets and economic agents were coupled with fundamental changes in the monetary policy transmission mechanism. The latter has now become more complex, involving more players whose sophistication is ever-increasing, and incorporating more instruments and financial contracts that are timely structured and indexed to different indicators. The Albanian economy is now economically and financially integrated into the global economy, having the characteristics of a market economy but at the same time featuring the typical challenges of economic management that such an economy entails. These changes have called for the constant monitoring by the monetary authority in order to make the necessary changes in the monetary policy regime and the operational aspects of its implementation. Against this background, the Bank of Albania has been committed to a process of constant evaluation of the interbank market performance and at the same time fine-tune its monetary policy regime. The Monetary Policy Document for the 2009–2011 Period was a major step in this regard. In this Document, the role of monetary aggregates as indicators of inflationary pressures in economy and as intermediate targets of monetary policy was complemented with a wide range of information provided by the real sector of the economy, which is systemized and finalized in the inflation forecast performance. This change was entirely based on the Albanian experience.

The SIC system takes account of such forces and sets the stage for cashless payment innovations, which ultimately benefit customers. This is reflected in the launch of the fourth generation of the SIC system in April this year. SIC now supports ISO 20022, the emerging standard in payment messaging. 9 Thanks to the IT architecture of the new SIC system, innovative services can now be maintained and developed more flexibly and cost-effectively than in the past. Furthermore, SIC’s operating hours are due to be changed next year; this will extend the window in which customers can submit payments with same-day value date. 10 The possibility of adjusting the regulatory framework that I touched on earlier is also very topical in Switzerland at the moment. Specifically, this concerns the issue of lowering barriers to market entry for fintech companies. FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory 8  In terms of numbers of transactions, SIC is practically a retail payment system, since around 95% of transactions are conducted for this purpose. 9  The ISO 20022 standard for electronic data interchange aims to harmonise the exchange of data between participants in differing areas of finance, including payment transactions. Essentially, the processes behind this data exchange and the messages’ data formats will be unified, leading to improved settlement of transactions. 10 As of 15 May 2017, the end of the SIC system’s clearing day will be extended from 4.15 pm to 6.15 pm. Page 5/6  Authority, supports the introduction of a new licensing category for fintech companies.
Dimitar Bogov: Challenges of bolstering growth rates and ensuring their sustainability Opening statement by Mr Dimitar Bogov, Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, to the Bank for International Settlements Working Party on Monetary Policy in Central and Eastern Europe, Skopje, 11–12 February 2016. *  *  *  Dear colleagues, dear guests, It is my honour to welcome you for the Annual Meeting of the BIS Working Party on Monetary Policy in Central and Eastern Europe, hosted by the National bank of the Republic of Macedonia. I look forward to discussions on the key issues the policymakers are currently facing. Many of the economies in our region have strong trade and financial linkages with the rest of the world. Therefore, a natural starting point would be to assess how conducive the global environment is for our key goal of bolstering growth rates and ensuring their sustainability. Unfortunately, almost a decade after the acute stage of the crisis, it seems that the global environment is still fragile. Although the world economy is recovering, growth rates do not seem to be strong enough, and what is even more problematic, this “low growth mode” might be here to stay. The frequent downward revisions of global growth prospects indicate that uncertainty is weighing on growth. Global growth rates are staggering slightly above 3%, on average, and the medium-term prospects do not seem to differ much.

Given the trade and financial linkages of this region with the European economy, it is of interest to also shed some light on the Europe’s growth prospects. It is encouraging that the economic recovery is expected to proceed in the monetary union, at a growth rate of slightly below 2%. It is to be supported by the ECB’s monetary policy measures, by the earlier progress made with fiscal consolidation and structural reforms, and low oil prices as well. However, similar to the global outlook, the economic recovery in the euro area is moderate and downside risks prevail. They pertain to the global uncertainties that were mentioned previously, as well as to broader geopolitical risks. It seems that the possibility of prolonged slow growth is high, and this could affect the potential to grow, as well. This asks for policies of supporting long-term economic growth, which typically calls for structural measures – more innovation; technology sharing; support to the global regulatory reforms in order to improve the resilience of the financial system; investments in human capital, education, health and infrastructure. At the end, let me once more wish you a pleasant stay in Macedonia and a successful meeting. I hope that you will have a chance to see Skopje and that you will enjoy it. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches
And yet it is not for lack of resources: the euro area has a savings surplus of more than EUR 350 billion, equivalent to more than 3% of GDP. That is huge. The FUII must make it possible to channel that abundance of savings more effectively towards investment. To achieve this, we naturally need to build on the initiatives already in place at European level: the Capital Markets Union, the Juncker Investment Plan and the Banking Union. But we also need to foster synergies between them and go even further. More reform at national level and a better collective economic strategy When each State acts without worrying about its neighbours, we end up in a situation that is suboptimal for everyone. There is no doubt that growth and employment would be stronger in the euro area if its members committed to implementing more structural reforms where they are needed, such as in France and in Italy, and to providing more fiscal or wage support where there is room to manoeuvre, such as in Germany. But for that to happen, we need to rebuild the trust between member countries. First by accelerating reforms at home – in France and in Italy – and let me be clear, it is in our national interest. And then, in order for this collective strategy to exist, the euro area needs an institution that inspires confidence, one that embodies and brings to fruition the shared commitment of our Member States.

The French spread may also temporarily react to political uncertainties, but remaining in the euro over the long term continues to be our best protection. All economic players are benefiting from lower interest rates: households – when they purchase a property – and companies that invest, as well as governments and hence taxpayers. Some critics would like to leave the euro to let deficits rise without being constrained by European rules. But that is wishful thinking: the financing of deficits would be much more costly for euro area countries leaving the single currency, if we were to return to the spreads before the euro. Exchange rate stability and the strength of the single market The euro also helps consolidate the single market, which the European Member States have constructed step by step since the Treaty of Rome in 1957, 60 years ago. In order to achieve greater trade integration, it was necessary to reduce currency fluctuations: Europe first attempted this, as of 1979, with the European Monetary System, built on a common currency, the ECU. But this mechanism was insufficient to ward off speculative attacks: remember the severe crisis of September 1992 which forced the Italian lira out, making it lose 21% of its value, and which destabilised the European economy. The single currency put an end to these serious disruptions. It also considerably simplifies day-to-day life: there are no longer any conversion fees for individuals, or any more uncertainties relating to exchange rate volatility for companies.
Specifically, we announced that we do not intend to raise Bank Rate at least until the unemployment rate falls to 7%, provided there are no material threats to either price or financial stability.1 All nine MPC members agreed to set monetary policy in future according to this framework of forward guidance. That does not mean Bank Rate will automatically rise when unemployment falls to 7%. Nor is 7% a target for the unemployment rate – it should ultimately fall well below that level. Before the Great Recession, the UK’s unemployment rate stood at just over 5%. The 7% threshold is instead a staging post along the road to recovery. When unemployment reaches 7% the MPC will reassess the state of the economy and the appropriate stance of monetary policy. Our forward guidance provides you with certainty that interest rates will not rise too soon. Exactly how long they stay low will depend on the progress of the recovery and in particular how quickly unemployment comes down. What matters is that rates won’t go up until jobs and incomes are really growing. The knowledge that interest rates will stay low until the recovery is well established should give greater confidence to households to spend responsibly and businesses to invest wisely. It may seem that unemployment doesn’t have far to fall, from the current 7.8% to the 7% threshold. The MPC’s central view, though, is that this could take some time – for three reasons.

As I have already noted, the fact that the Riksbank should take into consideration how economic activity develops receives support in the preliminary work to the new Sveriges Riksbank Act. 2  See the memorandum “The Riksbank’s inflation target – clarification and evaluation”, 4 February 1999, registration number 1999-00351 DIR, or Heikensten, L. (1999), “The Riksbank’s inflation target – clarification and evaluation”, Sveriges Riksbank Quarterly Review, 1999:1. BIS Review 29/2006  3  Communication regarding monetary policy As monetary policy is to a large degree concerned with making decisions under uncertainty, it is important that we are always as open and clear as possible regarding the basis for interest rate decisions. The intentions behind monetary policy must be understood and accepted in order to preserve the legitimacy of our activities and our actions. A well-balanced application of the inflationtargeting policy makes it particularly important to clearly explain the motives behind monetary policy decisions. There should be no grounds for suspicion that the considerations taken are used in an arbitrary manner. The Riksbank communicates its monetary policy in a number of different ways, including press releases and minutes of monetary policy meetings, press conferences and not least our Inflation Reports. The Inflation Reports contain our analyses of the deviations from the inflation target that have occurred, and forecasts for when inflation is expected to be back on target, given a particular monetary policy stance.
Housing investment as a proportion of GDP Per cent 12  12 2001-2007  10  2008-2010  10  8  8  6  6  4  4  2  2  0  0  Note. Average value 2001–2007 and 2008–2010. No figures are available for 2010 in the case of Ireland and Japan, so the red bar refers only to 2008–2009. Source: Vredin et al. (2012), Report of the Economic Policy Group 2012. Simple rules, difficult times – does stabilisation policy need to be changed? Other indicators of falls in housing prices have also been proposed, for example the positive deviation of housing prices from a long-term trend, which at present is relatively high in Sweden.15 However, the point is that the picture provided by the typical indicators of a fall in housing prices is mixed for Sweden. Some appear to be alarming while others are practically the opposite of what is typically the case before a fall in housing prices. This does not of course mean that we can be certain that prices will not fall, but it is still important to have this background clear in order to be able to assess the risks on the housing market. If developments in the period ahead are such that it seems justified to take measures to dampen housing prices and household indebtedness, I am nevertheless doubtful about using the repo rate to do this.

There is also the opportunity to list the sukuk on Bursa Malaysia, the Malaysian bourse, which has emerged as the largest exchange for sukuk listing in the world. This gives the listed sukuks greater profiling, visibility and transparency in the global bond market. Collaboration in issuance of sukuk would indeed benefit Turkey, as Turkey’s aggressive diversification of its industrial base and services sectors will require huge financing needs that could be partially met through the Islamic financial markets. Large infrastructure projects such as building the Bosphorus shipping canal, the new railway lines and highways might require funding via issuing sovereign sukuk as an alternative source of funding. The extensive privatisation in basic industry –transportation, communication and banking – would also offer the corporates and alternative source of financing that is competitive and innovative. Secondly, in promoting cross-border financial activities, the Turkish financial community could network with Malaysian-based investors, and practitioners to facilitate more business opportunities. Malaysia has diverse domestic and international players that engage in international currency business. There are now 150 entities in Malaysia’s Islamic financial system which offer a wide spectrum of Islamic products and services. There are also more than 150 funds in Malaysia including real estate investment funds (REITs) and ETFs that practise ethical investments. These entities have the capabilities to structure funds for investment abroad, including into the emerging markets. Additionally, there are opportunities for ethical investments as more than 80% of equities listed on the Malaysian stock exchange are shariah compliant.
ASEAN is becoming increasingly integrated so that its market will be at least half as big as China's and India's. ASEAN made a fundamental strategic choice to form the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2020. It is also formulating an ASEAN Charter, a visionary document that will chart its future direction. 29. In addition, ASEAN is positioning itself to ride on the growth of China and India. ASEAN's total trade with China and India has grown significantly over the past decade, and in 2004 amounted to $ billion and $ billion respectively. 30. ASEAN is working hard to ensure that its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China and India are completed and fully implemented by 2010 and 2011 respectively. Besides China and India, ASEAN is also negotiating FTAs with other major economies like Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. BIS Review 83/2005  3  Japan's role and response 31. In the past decades, Japan has led the growth of China, South Korea and many other countries in the region in a 'flying geese' formation. Japan has been an important source of investments, capital and technology, and a major export market for many Asian countries. After a decade of stagnation, Japan is firmly back on the path of healthy sustained growth. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's leadership and overwhelming victory in the recent election give cause for hope that his reforms will be sustained. As the second largest economy in the world, Japan will remain an important global player. 32.

China uses 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks per year, which requires 25 million full-grown trees to make (International Herald Tribune, 27th October 2005). This means massive deforestation and an adverse impact on the environment. Another problem is the widening income gap. Bear in mind that there are 26 million Chinese still living in abject poverty, earning less than $ annually. China will also face the trickier problem of managing the demand for political change and greater political participation as it becomes a middle income country. For the first time, China recently published a White Paper on 'Building of Political Democracy in China'. 15. China's leaders know that they will retain the mandate of heaven only if they deliver the economic goods and a better standard of living. Having tasted the fruits of market-oriented policies, the Chinese people will want more. To grow, China needs a stable external environment. This is why China's leaders have been careful to assure the world that it will pursue a 'path of peaceful development' ( ). They are well aware that China's rapid growth is creating enormous pressures on the international system and that they need to craft a development and foreign policy strategy that will ensure the peace and stability needed for its growth. The trundling Indian elephant 16. Let me now turn to India, which is also shaking off old mindsets and taking pragmatic steps toward reform and liberalisation. 17. I first visited India as Prime Minister in 1994.