samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
This means that the number of hours worked could increase by an average of 0.8 per cent annually instead of 0.4 per cent  4  BIS Review 44/2003  during the period up to 2008. If it was also possible to break the negative trend for persons born abroad and bring them into the labour market to a greater extent than now, this would also increase the number of hours worked. In 2002, 75 per cent of the working-age population was employed on average, while the figure for those born abroad was 60 per cent. If it were possible to increase the employment rate for this group to the national average, the number of hours worked would increase by approximately 0.1 percentage points more up to 2008. Ensuring that persons with a non-Swedish background can enter the labour market is a central issue, partly because the net addition to the working-age population will come from this group over the coming decade. If no measures are taken to increase the labour supply, the Swedish economy's long-term growth prospects are likely to be subdued for a fairly long period. The Riksbank usually states that the potential growth rate lies in the interval 2-2.5 per cent. If nothing is done, it is likely that potential growth will decline. In concrete terms, this means that the Swedish economy could reach its capacity ceiling at an earlier stage.

In particular, due to the still exceptionally low interest rates, there is, however, a considerable risk that these imbalances continue to build up, and the risk of an abrupt correction over the medium term keeps increasing. Under these circumstances, the SNB is carefully monitoring the developments in mortgage and real estate markets. It periodically assesses the necessity to activate the countercyclical capital buffer. Issuance of the new banknote series in 2015 at the earliest In February 2012, the National Bank informed the public that the new banknote series would be postponed. Today, I would like to provide some background information on our decision. The National Bank is committed to putting banknotes into circulation that are state of the art in terms of both their design and their technological aspects. In order to meet this standard, such a project must be launched at an early stage. Integrating and combining security features involving new technologies that have not previously been used for banknotes presents a special challenge. Since the development phase for new security features is very long, launching a new series is likely to take several years for the technical feasibility assessment alone. Certain insights can only be gained during the actual serial production. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  The development of the new banknote series began in 2005 with a design competition.
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Focus on human capital development in Malaysia Welcoming remarks by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the INCEIF Strategic Partnership 2006, Kuala Lumpur, 14 December 2006. *  *  *  Yang Berhormat, Dato' Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of Higher Education, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great pleasure and honour to welcome you to INCEIF Strategic Partnership in conjunction with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between INCEIF and nine institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. This occasion is of particular significance as, on this day, with the grace of Allah, we are laying the foundation for the promotion of collaborative efforts in human capital development which will benefit the Islamic financial services industry. Against an environment of a rapidly evolving Islamic financial industry and the growing significance of Islamic financial institutions globally, human intellectual capital has become the defining factor in sustaining the performance and competitiveness of the Islamic financial industry. Indeed, the fast pace of innovation in global financial services in general and in the Islamic financial services sector in particular, demands new expertise and skills. In this environment, the creation of a substantial pool of talent is indispensable for the future growth of Islamic finance. In this regard, Malaysia has placed strong focus on human capital development through training and education.

I now live in Frankfurt and feel good. How many days a week do you spend there? It's difficult to say. To express it like a central banker: perhaps 3.25 out of 6.5 working days! The rest of the time I spend working elsewhere, in Europe and further afield. 2  BIS Review 18/2007  In 2011 the ECB will leave Frankfurt's city centre for a former industrial area on the edge of the city. Do you regret the fact that you will have to leave the city centre? On the contrary, I believe that the design of the renowned Viennese architects COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, with its two intertwined towers and incorporating the listed Grossmarkthalle building, will greatly enrich the city's skyline while creating a European icon. BIS Review 18/2007  3
We will have a better internal base for making decisions. In addition, if we manage to succeed in communicating how we see the driving forces behind economic developments and also the objective and effects of monetary policy, it will also be easier for others to assess how new information will affect the future development of the repo rate. If it becomes clearer to the general public and financial market agents how we view future interest rate developments, this will give us better tools for influencing expectations of the future repo rate. By affecting expectations of short-term interest rates, we as the central bank can also indirectly affect interest rates with a slightly longer duration, which in turn increases the effect of monetary policy. As I said, monetary policy largely works by influencing expectations of future repo rates. When we based our forecasts on market expectations of the repo rate we could only indirectly express our view of the interest rate path by commenting on market pricing. For several reasons this was not very clear. One reason is that there is no clear-cut method for measuring expectations of the repo rate on the basis of market pricing. Different securities differ from one another with regard to duration, credit risk and liquidity, which makes the calculations complicated. Different calculations give different results without any of them being clearly better than the others. Another reason for the lack of clarity was that market expectations could change quickly.

4  BIS Review 112/2007  However, I think it is unavoidable that a central bank sometimes surprises analysts when publishing its own forecast for the policy rate. The future is uncertain and different analysts may at times have vastly differing perceptions of economic developments. Publishing a forecast for the repo rate means that the central bank more clearly reports its view of future developments than with earlier more mechanical assumptions of the interest rate. At the same time it means that the central bank to a greater extent risks being exposed to criticism. Even if this is the case, it is my firm opinion that it is better to go the whole way and publish a forecast for the repo rate. The advantages of an own interest rate path clearly outweigh the disadvantages. We will not normally give any signals regarding the way we will vote on the next interest rate decision other than in connection with the monetary policy meetings. This means it will become more important to try to understand the way we reason and how we estimate the driving forces behind inflation and growth. What we will contribute is forecasts for the most important variables, combined with individual clarifications by the respective members. If one understands our way of thinking, one has in total all the information needed to be able to form a good impression of coming interest rate decisions.
This expansion has also been noted in the microfinance sector which is growing to fill the supply gap for finance that arose from the closure of banks  4  BIS Review 99/2008  and branches in rural and peri-urban areas earlier on. With the microfinance regulations issued in 2006, the number of microfinance institutions licensed by BoZ, for instance, has grown from 3 in 2006 to 15 as at June 30, 2008, with several other applications currently under consideration. This change in strategy is partly due to the strengthened fiscal position of the Government and the significant fall in annual inflation to single digit levels in 2006 for the first time in three decades. These developments have resulted in reduced returns on investment in Treasury bills and Government bonds thus compelling banks and NBFIs to actively seek other investment avenues. To this end, domestic credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP has increased from 18.7 percent at the end of 2005 to 43.0 percent at end of 2007. In the same period, the proportion of national savings increased from 18.1 percent to 21.6 percent. 4 These statistics are good indicators of improving access to financial services. 4.1.2  Government  The Government is encouraging the state-owned NBFIs, that already deal with the lowincome market to deepen and broaden their services. Some of these already have an increasing presence country wide and have developed strategic development plans, aimed at extending financial services to the low income population.

In Section Three, we provide a brief summary of the financial sector in Zambia. This will be followed by a discussion of financial access in section Four. In sections Five and Six highlights on the issue of sustainability and concluding remarks are provided, respectively. 3.0  The financial sector in Zambia  The financial sector in Zambia comprises banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and are regulated and supervised by three agencies, namely, the Bank of Zambia (BoZ), the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA), and the Security and exchange Commission (SEC). 1 However, the presentation will focus on the component of the financial sector under the regulatory and supervisory ambit of the BoZ. It is expected that the rationale for such a focus will become clear as the presentation progresses. As participants may be aware, the mission statement of the Bank of Zambia is to “formulate and implement monetary and supervisory policies that achieve and maintain price stability and promote financial system stability in Zambia.”  1  The Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) regulates and supervises insurance companies and pensionfunds, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates securities firms.
This is 40 per cent of the number currently employed. Recruitment difficulties are forecast to begin within certain teacher categories as early as 2006. This means that measures must be taken immediately to ensure a satisfactory supply of staff in the future. Investing in education is different to investing in care. Education is unique in the sense that it can be an investment to both increase productivity and to increase fairness. A society that for various reasons is forced to accept increasing income gaps can to some extent make up for this by providing education on terms that enable real freedom of choice and opportunities for everyone. Monetary policy and wage formation The labour supply is a problem in both the short and long term. If it is not dealt with through measures that increase the labour supply - e.g. by reducing sick leave, raising working hours per employee or through an influx of foreign labour - potential growth in the Swedish economy may decline. The Riksbank may then be forced to curb demand in the economy through interest rate rises at a lower level of growth than during the last ten years. In coming years, when actual growth is expected to approach and gradually reach its potential level, the labour market's ability to ensure satisfactory wage formation will be put to the test.

This is best illustrated by the following statistics: •  According to the Bank for International Settlement's triennial survey in 2004, our average daily foreign exchange turnover was close to $ billion, which was the sixth largest in the world;  •  On average, transactions settled through the various RTGS systems in Hong Kong amounted to $ billion each day in 2005;  •  New debt securities issued in 2005 amounted to $ billion; and The total amount of funds raised through IPOs reached $ billion in 2005. 3. Our treasury markets have done well in servicing the financial businesses behind these impressive numbers. Further globalisation of financial markets and financial liberalisation on the Mainland will likely place new and increasing demands on our treasury markets. We need to move with the times, if we are to maintain our status as an international financial centre, and I think the establishment of the TMA provides a good mechanism for us to do so. In my view, there are four key areas which the TMA should focus on: professionalism, market development, codes and standards, and publicity. 4. The professionalism of market practitioners contribute significantly to the competitiveness of a financial centre. An important area of work of the TMA is therefore to enhance the professionalism of the practitioners in the Hong Kong treasury markets.
These first set of parameters for core capital has been carefully calibrated after considering the conditions in the various economies, as well as the results of  BIS Review 121/2010  1  the bottom-up Quantitative Impact Studies and the top-down macroeconomic impact of the proposed changes. The phase-in arrangement for the new benchmarks strikes an important balance between strengthening the financial system and supporting economic recovery. Singapore supports the Basel Committee’s reforms, and the further work to be done. 9. Going forward, our key challenge is to ensure robust implementation of these new capital standards. In an interconnected global system, major problems in one part of the system will eventually affect us directly or indirectly, through various channels. All economies, whether advanced or emerging, and whether they had a direct banking crisis or not, have therefore a shared interest in strengthening the resilience of the global financial system. 10. However, as we phase-in these measures, we need to be vigilant that these do not have unintended consequences on credit availability and economic growth, or in reducing diversity in the financial system. 11. In striving towards a convergence in regulatory standards in order to preserve a level playing field across jurisdictions, we should be cognizant that the starting conditions and future challenges of countries differ. For many emerging economies, their priority lies not in re-capitalising banks or reducing leverage, but in continuing the reform of the banking system and in developing deeper capital markets to support future economic expansion.

All in all, it can be said that the financial crisis is now behind us and that the situation is in the process of normalisation. This also requires a normalisation of monetary policy in the form of rising repo rates in the years ahead. In this context, allow me to clarify an important issue linked with the forecast for Sweden’s economy. As I have mentioned, our assessment is that growth in the Swedish economy – following its very bumpy journey during the financial crisis – will gradually decrease (see Slide 2). Whether the forecast for Sweden’s GDP growth “levels off” at 2, 2.5 or 3 per cent will be determined by the workings of the economy, by the development of output and more. Monetary policy cannot influence long-term growth rates or the long-term level of unemployment. The inflation target and monetary policy are thus, in themselves, no guarantee of high growth, but they create the right conditions for consumption and investment decisions and reduce uncertainty over future price changes. And this is a strong foundation. BIS central bankers’ speeches  7  8  BIS central bankers’ speeches  BIS central bankers’ speeches  9  10  BIS central bankers’ speeches  BIS central bankers’ speeches  11  12  BIS central bankers’ speeches  BIS central bankers’ speeches  13
The SOMA portfolio of agency MBS is considerably larger than the portfolios of non-sovereign debt that other global central banks have purchased, which represent about 5 percent of GDP and less than 10 percent of each individual market.19 Similarly, purchases can be conducted at a pace that provides a meaningful level of accommodation without any adverse effects on market functioning.20 Over the past month, the Desk reinvested approximately $ billion of principal payments from its holdings of agency MBS and agency debt in the TBA market.21  4 / 10  BIS central bankers' speeches  By comparison, purchases of non-sovereign debt at the ECB, BoE, and BoJ have all been at a pace of less than $ billion per month.22 The payment structure of agency MBS is unique since the principal and interest of agency MBS are guaranteed by one of three federal agencies: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. However, the cash flows behind these securities are based upon the mortgage payments of millions of homeowners whose home mortgages have been securitized in an agency MBS. This structure allows the Federal Reserve to support private borrowing, and the housing market, while purchasing federal agency securities. This feature is important for policymakers to consider when deciding whether to operate in the agency MBS market or the Treasury market. Agency MBS, like the underlying mortgages, have monthly payments of principal and interest. Homeowners also have the option to make additional principal payments each month, or to pay off the loan in full.

In contrast, the Federal Reserve’s experience conducting sales of agency MBS is limited to a few small value exercises.30 Central banks that are currently buying non-sovereign assets in LSAPs have a similar lack of experience with sales. There may be separate lessons to be learned from selling agency MBS.31 Current FOMC guidance states that the sale of agency MBS is not anticipated, other than potentially to eliminate residual holdings well in the future, and that in the longer run, SOMA will consist primarily of Treasury securities. 32 From a practical standpoint, sales may be complicated in that they would likely be conducted through the sale of individual securities, not through the use of the TBA market, because the securities in the SOMA portfolio might be more valuable than TBA cheapest-to-deliver. 33 This complication could eliminate the liquidity advantage provided by transacting in TBA.34 However, it is prudent for the Desk to be prepared for a wide variety of scenarios, including sales or the need to purchase additional agency MBS. This flexibility is particularly important given the complex nature of agency MBS and the specialized knowledge and systems required to hold and transact in the agency MBS market. From an implementation perspective, the Federal Reserve is fortunate to have the option of implementing monetary policy in a large and liquid non-sovereign market with direct implications for existing and prospective homeowners. We have spent the past two days discussing monetary policy implementation in the long run.
The economic situation Since the mid-1990s, inflation in Norway has been low and stable and it has been fairly close to, but somewhat lower than, the target of 2.5 per cent, unlike the situation in Norway in the 1970s and 1980s when inflation was high and showed wide fluctuations. The Norwegian economy has on the whole also exhibited solid growth since the beginning of the 1990s, despite a mild downturn in 2002 and into 2003. Over the past four years, the mainland economy has been in a strong upturn, with average annual growth well above 4 per cent. Preliminary accounting figures suggest that growth was particularly strong in 2007. Information from Norges Bank’s regional network also indicates that growth was strong in 2007, but that it slowed somewhat towards the end of last year. Employment has risen sharply over the past two years. In both 2006 and 2007, the number employed increased by over 3 per cent. The number employed increased by 93 000 between 2006 and 2007, the highest increase for decades. Employment growth has partly been offset by a decline in unemployment and an increase in the labour supply, as a result of increased labour participation among the existing population and labour inflows. Unemployment has not been as low since the last half of the 1980s, and the number of vacancies is record high. The labour market is tight. The present economic expansion differs from previous upturns in that inflation has remained low so far despite strong growth and increasing capacity utilisation.

With commodity price inflation running at over 25% annually in sterling terms, a renewed surge in the oil price and evidence that manufacturers’ input costs are picking up again, I believe we are likely to see continued upward pressure on inflation from global price pressures as the recovery in the world economy continues. Fiscal tightening and financial restructuring So while we should not rule out further volatility from the global economy, the most likely outcome is that the world economy is likely to provide a helpful backdrop to UK growth, with Asia and emerging markets contributing particularly powerfully, though with the associated risk of more upside shocks to inflation. However, the UK recovery also faces domestic headwinds from the rebalancing of public finances and the continued restructuring of the financial sector. Here too, however, it is important to put current concerns in perspective. In relation to the prospective fiscal tightening, the first point to make is that the overall public spending plans appear much less draconian than the view projected in the media debate over the summer – when 25% or even 40% departmental cuts were being discussed. Individual areas of public spending may face a significant squeeze to allow growth in areas where commitments to increase spending have been made – such as pensions and health. But taking all these swings and roundabouts into account, the total amount of government spending is still set to increase over the next five years in cash terms.