samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Time and again, our policies have become even more liberalised than before, as we move forward to make the market more competitive, more transparent and more dynamic. Seven months ago, we took swift and pragmatic actions to implement foreign exchange market development measures to stabilise the foreign exchange market. I am pleased to report that these measures are successful, where the 1-month implied volatility has halved. Onshore foreign exchange have recovered to a stable daily average volume of USD10 billion, an increase of 1.25 times before the measures. Daily foreign exchange turnover remains 5 times higher than equity trades. Another policy that merits attention is the global phenomenon of rising inequality. Markets are not always the best arbitrator for the distribution of jobs, wealth and income. In the era of rapid globalisation, advancement in technology and consequently, the creation of a new economy, there are many winners and losers. As responsible policymakers, we need to reconcile the benefactors of the new economy with those who have been excluded or dislocated during this era of transformation. Cognisant of the urgent need to improve our social safety net, the minimum wage was implemented in 2013. Many have benefitted from this, including migrant workers. The B40 group was also given cash assistance to cope with the rising cost of living. In the near future, the protection and wellbeing of workers will be enhanced through the introduction of unemployment insurance. I urge businesses to take a broader view of these policies and not purely from a cost perspective.

Our rules and treatment are fair to all genuine investors. Any incentives 1/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  granted to both foreign and domestic investors are subject to stringent performance requirements. This ensures adequate safeguards for the goals of the incentives and underscores our fair treatment to all. This would also create a relationship built on the principle of mutual reinforcement, beneficial to both Malaysia and its partners. A growing economy which parallel global development and growth. The Malaysian economy has always been very well run. It has bright growth prospects, in the immediate future and in the longer term. We have been one of the fastest growing economy in the last decade. Our economic growth has consistently outpaced global growth since the TransAtlantic Financial Crisis. Comparing average growth rates since then, Malaysia’s growth rate has been 170 basis points higher than the global economy, growing faster by 38% to be exact. In the region, we are among the fastest-growing middle-income economy. I am quite confident that this trend is set to continue as we move forward. In the first quarter of the year, Malaysia grew by 5.6%, surpassing market expectations. Growth has been lifted by the stronger domestic demand with additional impetus from exports. Our export performance is generating greater positive spillovers to the domestic economy. Judging by these, the economy is poised to register stronger growth in 2017. Many factors account for the sustained economic performance. A key reason is our economic diversification.
Therefore, in my opinion, the first major challenge in the next couple of years for banks is to reap the benefits from such an opportunity offered by the Master Plan. In doing so, a bank’s Board and senior management must give its full attention and be fully committed to articulating a strategic plan, successfully integrating their operations, streamlining various business processes, as well as finding their niche markets or areas of comparative advantage. Second, banks must prepare themselves for the new Basel Accord. Most banks in Thailand will start with the standardized approach in the calculation of their regulatory capital, because of the reasons I talked about earlier. Adopting the standardized approach does not require much preparation, since it is quite similar to the existing Accord, with only some differences in the risk weights of some assets. However, if banks stay on the standardized approach for too long, they will not be as risk sensitive as those which adopt the IRB approach, resulting in higher risk and higher need for capital, which means that they will not be able to compete well as internationally active banks. Therefore, the ultimate goal for those who wish to compete internationally would be to move to the IRB approach, after some extensive preparations. These preparations, in particular those on improving data quality and risk management, are in fact something that banks would like to do any way to be safe and sound, with or without moving to the IRB approach.

By the way, for those of you who are not familiar with Professor Goodhart, he is a renowned British economist with an economic law named after him, the “Goodhart’s Law”. He had had special ties with Hong Kong, as he served on the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee of the HKMA in the 1990’s. Professor Goodhart was also a long-time advisor to Bank of England, and a member of its Monetary Policy Committee from 1997 to 2000. In his recent article “Has regulatory reform been misdirected?”1, he points out that it is individuals in banks, rather than banks as institutions, that take decisions and exhibit bad behaviour. Following this logic, he advocates that financial regulation challenges should be addressed through governance reforms, rather than a focus on just capital and liquidity management. Regulators should apply fines to the people responsible at the time of an offence, whether or not they have subsequently left the bank. In Professor Goodhart’s words, “if a bank CEO knew his own family’s fortune would remain at risk throughout his subsequent lifetime…, it would do more to improve banking ‘culture’ than any set of sermons and required oaths of good behaviour.” Harsh as it may seem, I do see considerable merit in his argument as that would help tackle the root cause of problems, i.e. the lack of accountability for individuals incentivised by short-term objectives.
The international competition in the product and labour markets and the financial integration process will thus continue to increase during the foreseeable future. The deregulation implemented in Sweden in the 1990s in the communication and transport sector has probably already had its main impact on productivity. There is of course still scope for reforms to increase competition further and thereby also productivity. 14 But without such new initiatives the deregulation will probably not contribute as much to future growth. Investments in IT will probably fuel productivity for a long time. Earlier experiences show that major development phases, such as electricity and the combustion engine, affected productivity growth over several decades. 15 As yet we know very little about the delayed effects on productivity from earlier IT investments and reorganisations. Hopefully, the productivity project I mentioned earlier will increase this knowledge. All in all, the indications are that long-term productivity growth will be slightly lower than in the past 10-15 years. The Riksbank’s assessment is that the long-term rate of increase in productivity in the economy as a whole has fallen slightly to 2.25 per cent a year. This is lower than during the period 1995-2006, when productivity growth was on average 2.6 per cent a year, but slightly higher than the level of around 2 per cent a year that applies if the 1980s are included. The Riksbank’s assessment is well in line with what, for instance, the National Institute of Economic Research has assumed regarding long-term productivity growth in the economy.

The significance of IT is visible in two ways; in production and use. If we look at the production of IT, we can observe that the telecom industry's share of total industry is relatively large in Sweden compared with many other countries. This means that the rapid development in productivity that has occurred in the telecom sector has contributed to pushing up productivity growth in the business sector as a whole. If we instead look at use of IT, Sweden has a relatively large share of IT capital in the total capital stock, compared with other countries. Sweden is in this respect more like the United States than continental Europe. The use of IT means that one can simplify and automate the work so that those who work can carry out more tasks in a shorter time, that is, productivity increases. The financial sector is very skilled at making use of IT to increase productivity. Its customers currently carry out many simple tasks from home in front of their computers instead of going to a bank office. During the second half of the 1990s, major investments were made in IT capital. These investments accounted for approximately half of the growth in productivity during the period 1996-2000 (see Figure 4). The investment upturn was broken in connection with the IT bubble bursting at the beginning of the 2000s. After that the contribution from IT capital to productivity growth has declined substantially.
This article begins by raising the question “What is mankind’s greatest invention?” It says, “... it is nothing but ‘Financial Contracts’, merely because it has performed an indispensable role in human development, at least in the last 7,500 years, playing three important roles, the ‘Economic Time Machine’, the ‘Safety Net’ and the ‘Engine of Growth’”. In order to provide an efficient service, the financial institutions need to consider the strategic repositioning of their organisations and expand businesses in a cost effective manner while improving the service delivery to deepen the public trust and confidence. Currently, most financial institutions are dependent on short term funding, which increases the rollover risks, and this has to be addressed with priority by gradually shifting to long term funding, which provides greater stability to the entire industry. Further, when financial institutions become larger and more stable, obtaining international ratings and raising lowcost funds from international capital markets would be easy. Other challenges faced by the sector are lack of new technology in most financial institutions to be competitive in the industry while lack of staff training has resulted in efficiency and hence productivity has been stagnant. Therefore, it is essential to reposition the financial sector to improve productivity and deliver a cost-efficient service. Reason 6: Improving compliance and governance in the financial sector As the regulator, the Central Bank also faces several challenges in regulating our highly fragmented financial sector today.

I believe that economic integration, brought about by market forces, having regard to comparative advantages in production, can best be served by financial integration of a similar degree. BIS Review 14/2006  1  8. I should emphasize, however, that this is as yet merely a belief on my part. I have so far found it difficult to provide empirical evidence to support my hypothesis that the optimal degree of financial integration is the same as, or close to, the degree of economic integration within a region. To start with, there are theoretical difficulties in identifying measures of optimality. In addition, there is no established measure of the actual degree of financial integration, let alone the actual degree of economic integration. 9. Lack of empirical evidence notwithstanding, one intuitively thinks that the synergy driving economic integration can best be harnessed financially by the stakeholders themselves, who know better what they are doing and take a longer term view, rather than by those, motivated largely by relatively shortterm financial rates of return, and acting in accordance with credit assessments, conducted many miles away from where the action is. 10. Regrettably, for a variety of reasons, financial integration in Asia lags considerably behind economic integration. Currently, a sizable portion of gross savings in Asia finds its way into debt instruments of governmental and quasi-governmental issuers in industrialized economies, while investment in Asia is financed, to a significant degree, by capital from those same countries.
General Meeting of the OCBF 17 June 2022 Economic and financial situation and outlook in the context of the war in Ukraine Speech by Denis Beau, First Deputy Governor  Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be with you today on the occasion of your Annual General Meeting. Last year, I spoke before you about the outlook for the euro area economy in the wake of the health crisis. Since then, new lockdowns in China and especially the war in Ukraine have created new shocks for the European economy and financial system. Today, I would like to share with you our analysis, at the Banque de France and the ACPR, of the outlook and the resulting short-term, macroeconomic and subsequent macrofinancial risks, which guide our actions as a central bank and supervisor in our mission to preserve monetary and financial stability. I will end my remarks with the longer-term challenges we collectively face, associated with climate change and the digitalisation of finance, which should not be overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and its consequences. These challenges still require resolute and immediate action from all of us, and in this context I will say a few words about the role we can play as supervisors and central bankers to help banks in their transition to a sustainable economy and digitalised finance. 1.

And deep and liquid capital markets will also go a long way towards strengthening the international role of the euro and bolstering Europe’s strategic autonomy. Everybody needs to be ready for the profound changes currently sweeping our economies and our societies. The ECB’s ongoing strategy review will ensure that its monetary policy strategy is fit for purpose, both today and in the future. Listening to European citizens’ expectations and better understanding their economic concerns and expectations before making decisions is an important part of this review. [10] If the right actions are taken now, this crisis can be an opportunity for us to create the conditions for more inclusive, greener and more digital growth. To come back to Jean Monnet’s words, this crisis can be an opportunity for Europe to take a step towards the forms of organisation of the world of tomorrow. Conclusion Let me conclude. Almost 60 years ago to the day – on 23 September 1960 – the Europe Bridge crossing the Rhine between Kehl and Strasbourg was inaugurated. It has become a symbol of how close our two countries have become. The success of the Franco-German “bridge” was clearly reflected in the pain caused to families, businesses and commuters by the closure of the Franco-German border at the height of the pandemic, as many of you know all too well. The challenge in front of us is not only to build “bridges” between European countries.
In terms of the migration to e-payments, the insurance and takaful sector is a key sector where the usage of cheques is still prevalent. In 2016, 2.3 million cheques were issued by insurance and takaful companies while 9.8 million cheques were collected by such companies from their customers. While good progress has been made this year with the decline in cheque collection accelerating from -0.5% in 2016 to -22.1% in the first 7 months of 2017, more effective and creative measures are needed to drive cheque usage to negligible levels. To this end, Bank Negara Malaysia has recently concluded a consultation exercise with the industry on the implementation of an ePayment Incentive Fund Framework (ePIF). Under the framework, insurance companies shall set aside RM3 for every cheque issued and RM1 for every cheque collected to be used as incentives to encourage their customers, agents, service providers and government agencies to migrate to e-payments. The current practice where agents collect premiums from customers in cash and make payment to insurance and takaful companies using the agencies’ own cheques or credit cards should stop. The industry should promote greater prudence and transparency in the collection of customer premiums by facilitating customers to make direct payments to the insurance and takaful companies. To this end, the industry equipping agents with mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) or mobile apps to collect payment directly from customers should be the norm. Thirdly, the industry needs to collaborate and invest in key market infrastructure and arrangements.

For such shareholders, the payoffs are likely to be significant given the untapped growth potential of the industry in Malaysia. However, on more than several occasions, opportunistic shareholding transactions have destabilised the market, and set back broader efforts to build a strong domestic sector. There are a number of domestic shareholders who after being given a license and the opportunity to participate in the insurance sector decided to sell off their shareholding and make quick profits. These types of shareholders are a cause of instability to the insurers’ operations. These are not the kind of shareholders that would be viewed favourably for future participation in the financial industry. The way forward: invest now to make insurance accessible to all Given this state of affairs, I would like to pose this question, borrowing from the theme of this summit: “Are we on the right path?” I believe that the industry can be on the right path if it takes a 2/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  long term view and starts taking meaningful steps to address the gaps in our market. Let me lay out some of these steps. Firstly, products and delivery channels need to be diversified and redesigned to be better suited to the whole population. This must entail a renewed focus on protection needs especially for firsttime buyers. The Bank is partnering with the industry to roll out Perlindungan Tenang, a national branding and communication platform in the near future.
(Under today’s perception of the law, public access to voting records is a matter of course, and it must be recognised that the Supreme Court’s opposition was misguided. )” See Peter Lødrup (1998): “Høyesterett 1814-1996, noen historiske glimt (Norway’s Supreme Court 1814-1996 – some historical glimpses)”, in Norges Høyesterett (Norway’s Supreme Court), Stephan Tschudi-Madsen (ed. ), Aschehoug, pp. 29-31. 40  We find similar arguments in the debate between Deputy Governor at the Bank of England, Sir Ernest Harvey, and T. E. Gregory and J. M. Keynes, members of the so-called Macmillan-committee. The following excerpts from the committee’s report in 1931 is reported in Otmar Issing (2005): “Communication, Transparency, Accountability: Monetary Policy in the Twenty-First Century”, in Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 87, no. 2, p. 73: “Committee member Gregory: ‘I should like to ask you, Sir Ernest, whether you have ever considered the possibility of the Bank issuing an Annual Report on the lines of the Annual Report of the Federal Reserve Board, for instance?’ Deputy Governor Harvey: ‘I confess I am sometimes nervous at the thought of publication unless it is historical.

If the telecom industry is excluded from the figures for trade and industry, productivity increased by only 1.9 per cent during the period 1995-2000, compared with a growth of 2.8 per cent if it is included. This sector has now greatly declined in importance and there is apparent confusion over its future development. Given this, the average rate of wage increase should not exceed 3.5 per cent over the coming years. In conclusion, it may be worth pointing out that if Sweden joins the Eurosystem, there will be other factors affecting the nominal wage cost scope. This is because the ECB's inflation target may be even more ambitious than the Riksbank's. In this case, and if productivity growth remains unchanged, a lower rate of increase will be needed for nominal wage costs. Summary I shall conclude with a summary. The realignment of stability policy has contributed to wage formation functioning better than previously in the two most recent wage bargaining rounds. The rate of increase in nominal wages has approached reasonable levels, while wage earners have experienced large increases in real wages. This development is underpinned by a good development in productivity. When we look ahead, the picture is more worrying. Profits are under greater pressure. It is not certain that productivity growth can remain as high as it was during the latter part of the 1990s. Given these factors, and taking into account international developments, there is a need to bring the average rate of wage increase down to, or even below, 3.5 per cent.
To me, this seemingly euphoric approach to growth was in fact driving their countries into a “debt abyss”. That was clearly unsustainable. Indeed it presented great risks to global financial and economic stability. For too long a time, the “deep abyss” – a danger masked by financial innovation and market failure – has gone largely unnoticed. In a convoluted twist of logic, some even commended debt-for-prosperity as being one of modern finance’s greatest contributions to the well-being of mankind. Then the crisis hit in 2008. Only then did the millennia-old wisdom of “Don’t Spend Beyond Your Means” suddenly dawn on the folks. Meanwhile, as the financial markets acted to correct their excessive tolerance for over-borrowing by households, businesses and governments, market failure began to be rectified. I explained last year how excessive leveraging became the root cause of the global financial crisis and the turmoil that followed, and the only solution was to deleverage or cut debt. Deleveraging is an extremely difficult and painful process, resulting in job losses, pay cuts, bankruptcies, and reduced public  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  services and social welfare. The standard of living stalls if not declines. My view is that for all the suffering and pain necessitated by the process, this is the only way to put global finance and growth on its right track. There is no alternative cure, unfortunately. My theory of excessive leveraging being the main culprit of the financial crisis may not be shared by everyone.

Overall, as of January of this year, we are down nearly 10 million jobs from the pre-pandemic level, a greater shortfall than we saw even at the worst point of the aftermath of the Great Recession. Locally, we’ve experienced considerable strain, given that much of New York City’s economy hinges on the leisure and hospitality industry. Job losses have been dramatic: New York was hardest hit at the start of the pandemic, and almost a year later the data still show a city under stress. While national employment was 7 percent below pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2020, employment in New York City was 12 percent lower.1 I hope that as workers return to their offices and the weather turns warmer we will start to see people frequenting the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our city. Unfortunately, job losses have not been only highly concentrated in particular industries, but also more concentrated among certain demographic groups. The pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn have done disproportionate harm to women, communities of color, younger workers, and the lowest paid.2 The data are particularly sobering when we look at communities of color. Recent research by my colleagues at the New York Fed shows that more Black and Hispanic workers lost jobs compared to white workers, and Black workers have been more likely to drop out of the labor force entirely, making it more challenging to rejoin in the future.