samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
It has the potential to spur the generation of new economic strengths through the promotion of entrepreneurship and job creation while also promoting greater financial inclusion and thus enhanced prospects for balanced growth. The IAP enables investors to directly finance a broad range of economic activity of their choice, therefore diversifying their investment portfolio with exposures to various types of projects and industries that yield potential returns that are based on the performance of the underlying chosen ventures. For businesses, the IAP provides a new source of funding for activities, with more competitive financing terms in a range of financing structures. Ventures and entities of varying types, size and industries, including SMEs, listed firms and multinational companies can raise funds on this platform. Given its greater visibility, the IAP will also provide access to a broader range of individuals and institutional investors. For Islamic banks, the IAP creates a differentiated product that presents a new source of income and funding profile. There is also the potential for institutions with specific mandates including Government agencies to strategically collaborate with the IAP and Islamic banks to form public-private partnerships to facilitate the efficient channelling of grants or funding and to facilitate financing opportunities for identified strategic ventures. The role of the IAP that is launched today is envisaged to transcend beyond our domestic borders to become an effective channel to further enhance financial interlinkages in the regional and global economy.

We definitely have a lot to learn from Malaysia in respect of product development and market operation. As I see it, Hong Kong and Malaysia each has different edges in the financial services industry, and the potential synergy between the two places in developing the Islamic financial markets is tremendous. 10. Malaysia is undoubtedly an important leading centre in the global Islamic finance industry that has accumulated vast experiences and invaluable expertise over the past three decades. It has developed a well-diversified Islamic financial market, offering a full suite of products covering sukuk, Islamic equities, Islamic funds, Islamic ETFs, etc. Its sukuk market is by far the largest in the world, accounting for more than 70% of global sukuk issuances last year.4 It has also put in place well-developed financial infrastructure which can facilitate local and overseas market players alike in conducting Islamic financial transactions. 11. On the other hand, Hong Kong as an international financial centre has developed a deep and highly liquid capital market with a diverse base of investors coming from all around the world. More importantly, with Hong Kong’s unique role as a gateway to Mainland China and a leading hub for offshore RMB business, Hong Kong can offer an ideal platform to link Islamic and RMB financing together by developing financial products that are Shariah-  4  2  Zawya. BIS central bankers’ speeches  compliant and, at the same time, denominated in RMB.
The Bank of Albania - in its recent analyses - has been underlining the fact that its monetary policy has been a careful, financial, budgetary policy, where special emphasis has been given to the budget expenditures control versus the realized revenues ratio. Consequently, the government’s liquidity needs, up to the present moment, have been completely covered by the banking system, and therefore, the Bank of Albania financing was unnecessary. Under these circumstances the fiscal pressures on the monetary policy are weak. Following this reasoning, it could be concluded that the move of both policies (monetary and fiscal) has been in harmony and in conformity with the general economic-financial development program of the country. Domestic budget deficit financing from the banking system during 2003 is estimated to be almost at the same level as the one of 2002, being about 2.2 percent of the GDP. The stable level of the internal government borrowing, facing the rapid increase of Lek deposits, was another factor, which influenced the immediate reduction of treasury bills interest rates. The monetary policy of 2003 has continued to be careful, characterized by smoothing tendencies. This is reflected in the reduction of interest rates three times throughout the year. Watching attentively the inflation performance and the liquidity indicators in the banking system, the Bank of Albania reduced, all in all, the Repos rate by 1.5 percentage points during 2003, bring it by the end of October at the pre-crisis liquidity level of the previous year.

Our per capita income was then at RM17,600 (2004) per annum compared to RM37,800 in 2016. And yet, our rating remains the 3/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  same at ‘A-‘. Rating agencies assess sovereign credit risks based on a long term outlook and at most times are reactionary to certain events. This may result in the credit ratings falling behind the curve and not incorporating the latest market developments. For example, Indonesia was only recently upgraded to investment grade by S&P, more than 5 years after Moody’s and Fitch’s gave a similar rating. Market-implied ratings may be a better gauge of a country’s latest credit profile and is already widely used by the market. In the past 3 years, based on bond market yields, Malaysia’s marketimplied rating has at times reached levels that indicate a better rating than that assigned by the rating agencies. Throughout the first half of this year alone, yields for the 10-year Malaysian government securities have swiftly recovered to 3.9% from a peak of 4.5% last November, post-US elections, reflecting higher confidence in the Malaysian bond market. We are currently the largest bond market in ASEAN in terms of percentage over GDP. The Malaysian bond market continues to be resilient and well-functioning. Non-resident holdings of Malaysian bonds have settled at a lower level of 26% compared to its peak of 34.7%.
Over the past few years, the Norwegian real exchange rate, whether measured by relative labour costs or by relative consumer prices, has been stronger than the average since 1970, largely due to a stronger nominal exchange rate. The corollary to these developments is the pronounced improvement in Norway’s terms of trade. The strong rise in prices for oil and other Norwegian export products has contributed to the krone appreciation  6  BIS Review 97/2007  over the past few years. The strong real krone exchange rate is therefore a result of Norway’s position as one of the nations that has benefited most from freer global trade and increased cross-border flows of capital, technology and labour. In this respect, the strong krone is a sign that the Norwegian economy is faring well. Thank you for your attention. BIS Review 97/2007  7  8  BIS Review 97/2007  BIS Review 97/2007  9  10  BIS Review 97/2007  BIS Review 97/2007  11  12  BIS Review 97/2007  BIS Review 97/2007  13  14  BIS Review 97/2007  BIS Review 97/2007  15

We are also particularly pleased to have with us, His Lordship the Chief Justice who has graced this occasion and by doing so has unambiguously displayed the commitment of Sri Lanka’s judiciary to this massive effort. Our effort against money laundering and terrorist financing cannot be made by one or two persons only, or by one or two agencies only. It has to be a co-ordinated and concentrated effort that needs the support of a wide range of people, both nationally and internationally. In that context, Sri Lanka’s commitment is clear to everyone, and we are particularly pleased to have you with us, the Honourable Chief Justice. My dear friends, the fight against terrorism cannot only be on the military field or battle ground. In my view, the fight has to be on four different fronts simultaneously. Although it is vitally important, one cannot defeat terrorism by a military effort only. To successfully deal with terrorism, we need a diplomatic offensive also. Diplomatically, we need to ensure that cohesive steps are taken so that, together, countries can meet this challenge. At the same time, the fight has to be on the international media front as well. Therefore, a media campaign in all parts of the world against terrorism is also very important. That is something that the world has clearly recognized today, and internationally, we see a greater coordination in the media in dealing with terrorism. The other important front in this war against terror is the stopping of financing for terrorism.
Indeed, the current gloomy mood about the US economy does not seem to be borne out by the most recent economic data – with the value of retail sales up by 7.3% on a year ago in October and manufacturing output up by 6.1% over the same period. Within Europe, a strong performance from the “core” European economies is outweighing the drag from the fiscal and banking problems of some countries on the periphery. The German economy has been particularly resilient, with GDP up nearly 4% on a year ago in the third quarter and unemployment down to its lowest level since 1992. 2  In the year to 1982Q1, GDP in the United Kingdom grew by 2% and in the year to 1993Q2, it grew by 2.1%. In this and subsequent reference to the latest GDP growth data, the figures quoted in the text do not take account of any revisions published in the second GDP release on Wednesday 24th November. 2  BIS Review 158/2010  This strong performance in overseas markets, coupled with a competitive exchange rate, has lifted the volumes of UK non-oil goods exports by close to 15% over the past year and is supporting the rebound we are seeing in the manufacturing industry. Chart 1 shows that overseas markets account for nearly a quarter of the demand for the output of UK businesses, with domestic demand from the private sector – consumer spending and investment – accounting for a further two-thirds.

Ardian Fullani: Overview of Albania’s latest economic and financial developments Speech by Mr Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the joint press conference of the IMF mission, Albanian Ministry of Finance and Bank of Albania, Tirana, 2 October 2012. *  *  *  Dear journalists, During the last two weeks, intensive discussions have taken place between the IMF mission and Albanian authorities. As a key player in drafting and implementing macroeconomic policies, the Bank of Albania has been active in these discussions, sharing its vision on current and expected developments in the Albanian economy and concerns surrounding it, as well as optimum measures to address them. The Albanian economy is increasingly facing the economic growth challenge. While the Albanian economy enjoys consolidated macroeconomic stability and sound financial foundations, aggregate demand has been weak during the first nine months of 2012. Both domestic demand and foreign one suffer from high uncertainty, relatively tight lending standards, and limited space for discretionary and stimulating policies. In the global context, the Albanian economy encountered a difficult setting, characterised by economic growth problems, high risk premiums in financial markets and decreased appetite of these markets to invest in emerging economies. In the domestic context, the economy continues to face relatively low consumption and private investments, as well as an absent stimulus by the public sector as a result of the increasing orientation of the fiscal policy towards maintaining long-term stability of the public debt.
This process together with macroeconomic stability has made it possible to sustain large current account deficits. Moreover, the quality of the financing has improved considerably as the composition of the capital account is now changing in favor of long term capital inflows and foreign direct investment. At this point, I would like to reemphasize the support of the fiscal policy as an important factor contributing to this achievement. The involvement of the government in the process first came from the fact that inflation targets have been set jointly by the Government and the Central Bank. The government’s pricing, tax and income policies have been carried out in tandem with inflation targets. Another crucial factor has been the fiscal discipline: Very high levels of primary surplus have been maintained all over the years. Thus concerns over the sustainability of the public debt stock have faded away, helping inflation expectations to be consistent with the targets, maintaining confidence in the economy and thus reducing the risk premium. The continuity of fiscal discipline and tight fiscal policies consistent with targets are critical for the credibility of the inflation-targeting regime. Thus, the support from the fiscal side is still an indispensable part of the economic program. Dear Guests, Central bank independence generally implies the ability to act free of direct political pressures when taking and implementing decisions concerning monetary policy.

In this context, the floating exchange rate regime was introduced; the Central Bank Law has been amended and the primary objective of the Central Bank has been, for the first time in its history, defined as achieving and maintaining price stability. Together with these changes, a new economic program entitled “Strengthening the Turkish Economy-Turkey’s Transition Program” was launched in May 2001. This new program addressed the two main issues of chronic inflation and high public debt with tight monetary and fiscal policies backed up by structural reforms. In this environment, the Central Bank needed to introduce a transparent monetary policy regime with a clear nominal anchor to shape inflation expectations, as inflation inertia was the biggest problem and authorities lacked credibility. The choice of the exchange rate as a nominal anchor again was out of question: The exchange rate based stabilization program had been abandoned in total loss of confidence. The other option then could be to use monetary aggregates as a nominal anchor. However, they too were not good candidates for a couple of reasons: One, monetary targeting implicitly incorporates the inflation target as the ultimate objective of monetary policy and relies on a forward looking assessment when responding to shocks; the pure form of this regime considers only money and ignores the potential information contained in non-monetary variables. Two, the success of the monetary targeting regime relies on the two assumptions that the velocity of money is entirely predictable and inflation is solely determined by money growth.
(c)  A Distributed Architecture  Central banks historically have tended to be, well, centralised. But in a world where understanding of the economy is often localised and trust is built on a distributed basis, a centralised infrastructure may be far from ideal. What is needed instead is a distributed architecture for engagement. In response, central banks have over time changed their structures and further change seems likely. The Bank of England has had a network of Agents around the UK for around 90 years. Today, the Bank’s twelve regional agencies cover all corners of the UK, with an extensive network that generates around 9,000 meetings with company contacts each year. This is a valuable source of intelligence on the economy and financial system. Indeed, I would say it is increasingly valuable. It provides colour and context to accompany our data and models. It offers folk wisdom, the wisdom of the company crowd. But companies are only one crowd among many. Companies are an important lens on the economy, but far from being the only one. Reflecting that, the Bank has recently sought stronger connections with some other crowds, crowds with a different lens on the economy with which it has perhaps had less contact historically – trades unions, charities, community organisations and the like. For more than a year, I have augmented those Agents’ efforts with my own “Townhall” meetings across the UK.

I am confident that the Zambian business community shall appreciate the benefits that accrue to both the company and its stakeholders in this vein, and hope I shall one day have the honour of being present at the first event to award deserving entities in this noble sphere. I thank you all. BIS Review 28/2006  3
In other words, ensuring that the banking industry caters fully to the needs of the wider economy and community, rather than focussing purely on the most profitable activities and market segments. 31. Hong Kong is a capitalist, free-market place. But the regulatory authority works not only for the industry but also for the public. And our population has a keen sense of community and fairness. 32. In the last 10 years, anyone concerned with public policy, corporate governance and business regulation has noticed rising expectations of good corporate citizenship. I took over as Chief Executive of the HKMA just a few months after the SFC and HKMA pushed through a solution to the Lehman minibonds episode. I think everyone learned some valuable lessons from that. 33. One market segment we need to consider is the elderly and low-income retail customer. 34. Some of these retail clients obviously have limited savings to deposit and limited banking 3/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  needs, and the reality is that they will not provide banks with much fee or interest income. However, the community expects banks to provide them with basic services, essentially on a pro-bono basis. 35. Some of them have difficulties using technology, and cost-saving service-delivery channels such as ATMs, online banking or mobile device. We could try harder to persuade – or even compel – the elderly to adopt modern technology, in the name of efficiency or modernity.

As I said in that meeting, there are challenges ahead that, together, we must address in a cooperative manner, namely creating sustainable financial inclusion and ensuring the linkage between greater financial access and improvement in wellbeing. Please allow me to offer my initial thoughts on the subject. With wellbeing as the ultimate goal of policy makers, many policy building blocks need to be woven together. Examples include policies on career development, education, macroeconomic stability and so on. While these policies do not necessarily fall under the mandates of financial regulators, efforts should be made to ensure that policy directions of all relevant institutions, government and private, are aligned. Closer to our hearts though, are policies that aim to improve the poor’s capacity to be financially included. In this regard, I believe that there must be at least three key policy ingredients, namely financial access, financial literacy and consumer protection. First, for access, there is a need to ensure that the range of basic financial services provided can address financial needs of the poor in all important aspects of their lives. For instance, we need to consider an “inclusive package” of credits, savings, transfers, and insurance that fit their livelihood. Secondly, to ensure quality of usage, we need to enhance financial literacy. With higher financial literacy, the poor could utilize the services more efficiently and productively, for example, having the ability to turn received credits into income and savings and so on.
6  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  6  losses on the swings of increased working hours more than made up for on the roundabouts of reduced time spent commuting. The second potentially potent effect, brought out in today’s study, is improved worker empowerment. This could arise in part from the increased flex home-working gives us, with our working days now tailored more to our personal needs and less to organisational requirements. It might also reflect on increased ability to “be ourselves” at work, when work is at home – the pyjamas, the unkempt hair, the Bermuda shorts - none of which, I hasten to add, I am sporting today. Well-being studies suggest these agency and empowerment effects are important for well-being. For example, studies have found that working from home is positively associated with perceived autonomy and this, in turn, has positive spillover effects to our job satisfaction and levels of stress.19 Both boost workplace productivity over the medium term. If home-working is broadly neutral in its impact on our economic contribution, but positive for our welfare, this suggests it is win-win, or at worst draw-win. The Covid crisis may inadvertently have fast-forwarded us to a better-way-of-working, perhaps even back-to-a-future where most work takes place in and around the house rather than in an office or factory, as was the case prior to the Industrial Revolution. I would hesitate before jumping to that conclusion.

As arid as these concepts can sometimes sound, they are crucial for shaping how this crisis will affect incomes and living standards over the medium-term. Equally important are issues of well-being, not least given understandable concerns about how the virus and lockdown are affecting our mental health. The background report for this event is timely in providing some early answers to these questions.1 Taken at face value, its conclusions are encouraging. Workplace happiness is, in general, higher and many are feeling a greater sense of workplace empowerment. At the same time, it is too early to be reaching definitive conclusions on what the long-term effects of these seismic shifts in how we work will be. It is also crucial to recognise that these changes have affected individuals in very different ways. For many frontline workers - from health and social care, to public transport and police – home-working has simply not been an option. Those jobs, and many others like them, have become both harder and more hazardous as a result of the Covid crisis. The report captures some of those important distributional differences, with happiness lowest among young people, black people, females and those in the worst-affected sectors whose jobs and incomes are most at risk. Even for those who are currently content home-working, there is a question about whether the benefits will persist.