samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Economic and business environment in Malaysia Malaysia has entered this period of global uncertainty from a position of strength. In 2007, the Malaysian economy expanded by 6.3 percent, the fastest pace in the past three years. This has been largely due to strong domestic demand from the private and public sectors. This is also the result of the increasingly more diversified structure of the Malaysian economy. This growth has also been achieved with relative price stability, high level of savings at 38 percent of the GDP, and a strong external balance with international reserves that is now exceeding USD120 billion. The Malaysian economy is expected to sustain a growth of 5 to 6 percent in 2008. Malaysia has an open economy with a strong commitment to promote international trade and investment. Malaysia with a population of over 26 million is ranked among the top 20 trading nations in the world that offers a wide range of world class products. The volume of trade activities in Malaysia is now about two times the size of our economy with the ratio of trade to GNP being among the highest in the world. Not too long ago, Malaysia's total trade has breached the RM1 trillion mark or USD320 billion, reflecting the robustness of the economy. Malaysia has also been an important destination for foreign direct investment for more than a hundred years. In 2007, Malaysia was ranked the 16th most attractive destination for such investment.

Up to USD100 billion investments in the region are expected over the next 25 years. As at the end of April 2008, more than USD10.4 billion of investment have been committed by investors, accounting for about 70 percent of the USD15 billion investment targeted by 2010. The targeted sectors identified for development in the region are financial advisory and consulting services; creative industries; logistics; educational services; tourism related services; and healthcare. As an international Islamic financial hub in the Asian region with a track record of almost three decades in Islamic finance, Malaysia is well positioned to promote stronger economic linkages between our two regions. Malaysia is not only already highly integrated to the ASEAN region and to the greater Asia, but also has own initiatives and exciting development projects. On that note, it is our hope that the Malaysia Country showcase be an engaging event for the business and financial communities from this region and the Malaysian delegation. It is hoped that this greater engagement will lead to increased economic and financial ties between our regions. Thank you. BIS Review 57/2008  3
When monetary policy is the only available instrument, the presence of the banking friction leads the monetary authority to set the policy rate at a lower level than it would if the friction were absent, in order to boost output and moderate the decline in bank capital. Subsequently, the policy rate is returned to around its steady-state level and inflation is stabilised by the emerging output gap. The lower path for capital (and therefore investment) is maintained by a lower level of bank capital as the leverage ratio returns to its previous level. The case when both instruments are available is more complex. The ability to use two instruments allows the policy maker to manipulate the capital to labour ratio by boosting credit supply (through a reduction in the bank levy) and constraining labour supply (through a  13  Though note that this implies a countercyclical leverage ratio, which is somewhat at odds with experience. BIS Review 111/2010  21  higher nominal interest rate). The substitution of capital for labour reduces the marginal cost of output, holding down inflation for a given level of output. Moreover, it puts capital and output onto paths with much narrower gaps. But this capital-friendly policy boosts the current return on, and price of, capital. Without an immediate rise in the bank levy, future credit supply would be too high. It is this which gives rise to the rather odd oscillation in the bank levy/subsidy.

The most uncertain element of the recoverable amounts is the estimation of the outcome of the sale of Catalunya Banc, currently under way, and of the divestment of BFA/Bankia and BMN. However, it is likely that these disposals will entail an appreciable lessening of the cost that the restructuring of the financial system has involved for taxpayers. In any event, the figures are sizeable. However, in terms of GDP they are not higher than those recorded in other European countries during the financial crisis despite the fact that, in most of them, banks have not had to face a real shock with an impact on the scale of that of the collapse of the real estate sector in Spain. As discussed earlier, the banking industry – via the Deposit Guarantee Fund – has also contributed notably to stabilising the financial sector. This contribution has been possible thanks to the maintenance at all times, despite the severity of the economic and financial crisis, of appreciable financial soundness at most institutions, representing more than 80% of the sector as a whole. The DGF’s support was in the specific form of direct injections into CAM, UNNIM and CCM (for a value of € million), the APSs granted to these institutions (whose estimated cost as at 31.12.2013 was € million at present value) and the potential losses caused by the acquisition of shares in NCG and CX, provisionally evaluated at € million. 4.
Charles Bean: Quantitative easing and the economic outlook Speech by Mr Charles Bean, Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy of the Bank of England, to the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Glasgow, 21 February 2012. *  *  *  Good evening! I doubt that many of you will be aware that the Bank of England was actually founded, in 1694, by a Scotsman named William Paterson. Our original purpose was to raise the funds to enable the King to finance his foreign military adventures. But Paterson soon parted company with his fellow directors, leaving the Bank the following year. Rather more of you may be aware that same William Paterson became the financial brains behind the Darien scheme, a project to establish a Scottish colony in Panama that could act as trading post between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Unfortunately, just about everything that could go wrong with the project did, resulting in not only the deaths of many of the colonists, but also substantial financial losses for the many Scottish people who had backed the scheme. According to historians, the Darien disaster and its financial consequences contributed directly to the pressures leading to the 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland. The possible dissolution of that union is, of course, now on the agenda. Whether or not Scotland becomes an independent country once again is a matter for the Scottish people to decide.

It also boosts the value of people’s wealth, which should encourage more spending. As I noted a moment ago, we aim to acquire the gilts from institutions other than banks. But as a by-product of the purchase, banks will find that they have both more customer deposits and an increase in their claims on us (what are known as bank reserves). That may encourage them to increase their lending, though in the particular circumstances prevailing during and after the financial crisis, we expected this effect to be quite weak. That is in line with the observed weakness in bank lending over the past three years. Our analysis of the first phase of quantitative easing suggests bond yields were around one percentage point lower than they would otherwise have been. And UK equity prices rose 50% during the programme, though only a small part of that is likely to be down to quantitative easing. That made it cheaper for companies to access finance through the capital markets and issuance was indeed strong during 2009. But the ultimate aim was to sustain demand. Though we cannot be sure what would have happened in the absence of our asset purchases, our internal work suggests that the first phase of quantitative easing boosted the level of activity by around 1½–2%. Having finished the first programme of purchases in early 2010, why then did we deem it necessary to restart the programme last October and extend it at our February meeting?
Today's conference provides a platform to widen the knowledge and understanding on the critical issues confronting the effective implementation of the AML/CFT regime. Please do take advantage of and benefit from this opportunity. On this note, I wish you a productive and successful conference. Thank you. 4  BIS Review 46/2009

Global data reveal that close to 95 million people during 2020, fell below the threshold of the poverty line, more that it was expected or projected at the start of the crisis. In this context, labor market data clearly indicate that youth, low skilled workers and women particularly in emerging and developing economies, have been hit harder. There is statistics pointing to a global employment rate for men below the pre-pandemic level by about 5 percentage points, while the women employment rate is still 7 percentage points below the prepandemic level. Given the nature of the crisis, Western Balkan region was not shielded from this global shock. Economies in the region are small and highly open in trade and financial terms, heavily exposed to external developments. GDP in the region declined by 3.4% in 2020, but with intensity that differs across counties in the region, ranging from –1% in Serbia to –15.2% in Montenegro. Henceforth, the disproportionality of the impact of the crisis pertains to the region, as well. Let me use labor statistics to illustrate some important aspects of how COVID affected women. First of all, in general, I can say that this crisis hit women more heavily than men, and this has come on top of the fact that women faced pre-crisis gaps in many respects on the labor market. Couple of numbers in this segment.
On the other hand, the growth prospects are gloomier, with global growth forecast trimmed by 1.3 p.p., with similar downgrade for the CESEE region (1.7 p.p), where growth is revised down to 3.0% on average. The economic loss will not be contained during this year, as visible by downward revision for the next year, as well. Overall, while current recession is not a central scenario, the risk thereof is not out of the window. Against this background, policymakers are faced with delicate trade-offs - how to address the risk of stalled recovery/ recession, while curbing the rising inflation? Fiscal and monetary policy again are expected to play their role in mitigating social costs, although now in a more complex environment than during the pandemic, which calls for different division of labour. In a high–inflation  2/4  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  environment, monetary and fiscal policy cannot work hand in hand to support demand, as they did when the pandemics emerged. Now central banks do not have leeway to focus on other objectives beyond their traditional remit. They have to remain focused on their mandate of medium-term price stability, which requires gradual normalization of monetary policy. Short-term effects of the crisis have to be addressed by using fiscal policy tools, which given the tight fiscal space need to be well-targeted and time-bound. Another argument that supports the above is that despite normalization, monetary policy will remain accommodative as observed by historically low real policy rates.

Today we focus very much on the price increases on some services after the introduction of euro coins and notes, but let us bear in mind that prices on durable goods that are more subject to cross border comparisons, have indeed increased less than the average or even decreased. There are already signs of a convergence of prices on such durables and there is also area-wide euro pricing from some firms, which reflects increased price competition across borders. To conclude, the Monetary union presents an attractive proposition for Sweden, given that we continue to improve the functioning of wage formation and labour markets and that we ensure a solid institutional foundation for fiscal policy to stabilise the economy. The same could in fact be said about the euro area countries: With structural reforms and more solid foundations for fiscal policy, the present EMU-countries would have much better possibilities for employment growth and productivity gains. Monetary Union is putting pressure on both industry and politicians to improve their performance in the years to come. 4  BIS Review 70/2002
Jean-Pierre Roth: Recent economic and financial developments in Switzerland Introductory remarks by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, at the half-yearly media news conference, Berne, 14 June 2007. *  *  *  The Swiss National Bank is raising the target range for the three-month Libor with immediate effect by 0.25 percentage points to 2.00–3.00%. With this move, the National Bank is ensuring that inflation prospects remain favourable. The SNB intends to hold the rate in the middle of the target range for the time being. Switzerland's economy is in excellent shape. Indeed, the economy is developing even better than expected back in March. For 2007, the National Bank now expects real GDP to grow at a rate of close to 2.5%. The healthy economy in the neighbouring countries and exchange rate developments have been contributing factors. Together with a renewed rise in oil prices, this has led to a slight deterioration in inflation prospects – even after today's increase in the interest rate. Assuming that the three-month Libor remains unchanged at 2.50%, the National Bank expects an average annual inflation rate of 0.8% in 2007, 1.5% in 2008, and 1.7% in 2009. Consequently, forecast inflation continues to rise. However, at present there is considerable uncertainty with regard to the assessment of the inflation outlook. On the one hand, structural changes in the economy still have a dampening effect on prices.

Moreover, labour demand continued to be met by a significant influx of labour from abroad. The opening of the labour market within the context of the bilateral agreements with the EU creates additional growth potential. The competitive position of our economy is high, and the recent depreciation of the Swiss franc on the foreign exchange market gave it an additional boost. While exports continued to increase at a rapid pace, their growth rate may slow down somewhat compared with 2006. The healthy state of the economy and the improvement in the labour market have a favourable impact on consumer sentiment. Since the beginning of the year, household spending has been increasing at very steady pace. A continuance of this trend is possible, since the current near full employment is likely to lead to an increase in real wages. During the next quarters, companies will continue to step up equipment investment since the rate of technical capacity utilisation – in particular in the manufacturing sector – is high. Construction investment should stabilise at a high level. BIS Review 67/2007  1  These developments in demand components led us to revise our GDP growth forecast upwards for 2007. For the current year, we now expect growth close to 2.5%. Development in monetary and financial conditions In the Swiss capital market, we have been observing a steady increase in long-term interest rates over the past three months. The yield on 10-year Swiss Confederation bonds reached 3% in May.
We will then be back to managing monetary policy through the more traditional tool of the overnight lending rate that anchors the yield curve. Enter forward guidance This is no small matter. Quantitative easing has made life easy not only for corporate treasurers and homeowners and consumers burdened by debt, but also for money market operators. It has run up the price of stocks and bonds mostly in straight-line fashion, and it has taken volatility out of the marketplace, allowing market operators and their clients to profit with little effort. The question of when and under what conditions the FOMC will begin to raise the base rate off the floor is understandably of intense interest. For example, every quarter, FOMC participants each provide forecasts of the year in which they presently think the target overnight rate will be raised, based on what they individually consider to be the proper conduct of monetary policy. This has given rise to what I consider a rabid focus on the economic projections, or “dots,” that accompany our FOMC statements on a quarterly basis. Monty Python could almost have written a sketch on the pundits’ preoccupation with the dots. 4 Truth be told, although many of us have econometric models and all of us have a phenomenal team of economists who help us develop our projections, these estimates are, in the end, largely guesswork. Especially the further out in time they go.

At the same time, the role of the financial services sector in the recent global economic meltdown has also raised questions on the issue of the quality of the leadership and workforce and for the need to place greater focus on developing ethical and responsible leaders who will be able to lead a sustainable industry over the medium and longer term. The economic costs of a failure to arrest talent shortages are strategically significant and include low productivity, the slow pace of innovation and lost opportunities. Building a strong talent pipeline has therefore become an economic imperative as human capital rivals financial capital as the critical economic engine of the future. This requires new and innovative ways of thinking about talent development, programs, processes and competencies. The human capital challenge has therefore to be approached with a different set of solutions. Giving recognition to its importance, in the United States, the accounting rules were adjusted to allow organisations to treat a wider range of talent development costs in the same manner as long-term investments in equipment, manufacturing plants and other facilities. Financial institutions today are also forming stronger relationships with business schools to increase the relevance of their curriculum. The World Economic Forum, through its recent work on skills and talent mobility, has fostered a concerted, multi-stakeholder, cooperation and dialogue among policy-makers, relevant international institutions, governments and businesses to develop interdisciplinary solutions to address the talent shortage.
Such a monetary reaction was motivated by the need for increasing the attractiveness of the CB bills, in order to redirect the Denar liquidity from the foreign exchange market and to ease the pressures on the foreign exchange rate. Although after the increase in the core interest rate of the National Bank, from the beginning of the second quarter, moderate stabilization of the movements on the foreign exchange market was registered and the demand for foreign exchange began to decrease, however, also during April and May, the interventions of the National Bank on the foreign exchange market continue to reduce to net sale of foreign exchange. Simultaneously, the trend of currency conversion of the households' savings from national into foreign currency continued, indicating that although after the culmination in March (during the presidential and local elections) the psychological pressures began to ease, they are not completely depleted. Such accomplishments were the reason for additional intervention with new measures. In May, we increased the reserve requirement allocation rate for the banks' liabilities with currency component, as follows: for liabilities in foreign currency, from 10% to 13%, and for the liabilities in domestic currency with FX clause, from 10% to 20%. The undertaken measures should stimulate the Denar saving and we expect to cause change in the trend of accumulation of foreign assets by the banks, which would contribute to decrease in the demand for foreign exchange and to stabilization on the foreign exchange market. And definitely, part of the expectations is already happening.

This downside risk is only partly balanced by a domestic upside risk to do with inflationary pressure and wage formation in Sweden. All in all, the balance of risks for inflation is accordingly on the downside. The Riksbank’s overall assessment today is that with the risk spectrum taken into account, inflation one to two years ahead will be approximately in line with the target, albeit somewhat on the low side. The most probable outcome in the years ahead continues to be that economic activity becomes stronger. Together with the difficulties in assessing the situation - not least on account of the fluctuations in the financial markets - this has led the Riksbank to opt at present for leaving the repo rate unchanged. But the financial market developments and their economic effects warrant close attention. The Executive Board therefore decided to hold an extraordinary monetary policy meeting at 1 p.m. on 14 November in order to make a renewed judgement. BIS Review 59/2002  3
So why is the growth of domestic demand also so high in Sweden, compared, for example, with the United States and the euro area? There are several explanations for this. To start with, Sweden’s public finances are in good shape in an international comparison, which means that there will be no need for fiscal policy tightening in the period ahead. In addition, household saving in Sweden was high before the crisis broke out. Saving increased further in conjunction with the crisis, presumably due to the general uncertainty prevailing. Moreover, household confidence has recovered strongly, as various types of survey have shown. Together with relatively sizable incomes, this has made it possible for consumption to recover. A further favourable factor is that, in the end, the Swedish financial system was never fully drawn into the financial crisis. Towards a normalisation of GDP and inflation – even for the repo rate Let me refer back to Slide 3, which shows the policy rates of Sweden, the euro area and the United States. The policy rates of both the United States and the euro area remain on extremely low levels. This emphasises that the situation in these countries is far from being “business as usual”. Part of this can be explained by the development of public finances. In the euro area, unease remains high over how countries such as Greece, Portugal and Ireland will cope with their long-term commitments.

The HKMA would do so at a level of defence, which would of course be close to 7.80, considered suitable by the HKMA in the light of prevailing market conditions. There is therefore an element of “constructive ambiguity”. This approach is arguably less transparent but I am not in favour of showing all my cards to speculators. Furthermore, it is very much in accordance with Hong Kong’s free market philosophy that the foreign exchange market be left very much alone. I therefore see no reason why our approach should be changed. 22 The HKMA also accepts certain high quality private sector debt securities as eligible securities for Repo under LAF. However, the interest rate charged by the HKMA on LAF Repo involving those private sector paper is set at 25 basis points above that for the Repo of Exchange Fund Bills and Notes. Private sector debt securities normally accounts for less than 10% of LAF Repo activities. 23 To improve market order and remove uncertainty towards the banks’ access to the LAF, the HKMA issued a circular to  banks on 12 November 1997 clarifying the definition of “repeated borrowers” upon which a penal rate may be charged on LAF borrowing. “repeated borrowers” are defined as those licensed banks which have borrowed through LAF on eight occasions in any period of 25 days or on four consecutive days in which LAF is open. BIS Review 19/1998  - 12 (d) The exercise of discretion 45.