samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
In the long term, there may even be a risk associated with investments in government bonds. This has been experienced by the Norwegian state. The State Reserve Fund, established in 1904, lost much of its capital during the First World War as a result of losses on investments in German and French 2 government bonds. Chart 16. From oil to assets Per cent of mainland GDP 18  18  15  15  Cash flow from petroleum activities  12  12  Return on Petroleum Fund  9  9  6  6  3  3 0  0 2000  2010  2020  2030  2040  2050  Sources: Ministry of Finance and Norges Bank  Buying a bond means lending money to others. Buying equities is the same as investing in real assets. Buying equities gives us direct ownership of the means of production in global business and industry. On the one hand, these ownership rights provide high returns when companies are flourishing. On the other, shareholders are the first to sustain losses when companies fail. As a result, returns on equities fluctuate far more than returns on bonds, reflecting the higher level of risk. Over the past 75 years, equity returns in the US market have been negative almost every third year. Chart 17.

Chart 18. Average return in the US Rolling 10-year periods. Per cent 25  25 20  Equities  20  15  15  10  10  5  5  0  0  Fixed income instruments  -5  -5 1935  1945  1955  1965  1975  1985  1995  2005  Sources: Ibbotson Associates and Datastream  Since short-term fluctuations in equity prices are difficult to predict, it may be a sound strategy to keep the share of equities constant over time. This means buying a relatively large volume of equities when prices are low, and buying a smaller volume - or selling - when prices are high. This is the strategy applied by the Petroleum Fund. Optimism and pessimism, confidence and doubt influence equity prices. In periods when markets are characterised by optimism and confidence in the future, equity prices tend to be high. When markets are marked by pessimism and fear, prices tend to be low. The actual income flow from equities - the dividend - depends more on developments in the global economy over time. This is a far more stable variable than equity prices. Investing a large share of the capital in bonds diversifies risk even further. We are nevertheless left with the question of whether we are now entering a long period of very low or negative returns on investment in global business.
The Bank of Zambia therefore compiled all the stakeholder inputs and comments and submitted proposed amendments to Government. Managing Director, I am glad to report that Government responded favorably to the submissions made and have today re-issued the regulations as SI 55, incorporating the majority of the proposed amendments. As you may be well aware, Government extended the date of implementation of the SI to 1st July 2013 from the initial 16th May 2013. I now urge all stakeholders to read the new regulations carefully and make appropriate representations where need arises. The commercial banks in particular will play a critical role in giving guidance to their customers on the Regulations. The SI has already been posted to the Bank of Zambia website which can be accessed from www.boz.zm. Allow me to reiterate that the intention of the Balance of Payments regulations are merely to monitor the flow of funds in and out of the republic with the ultimate aim to provide more accurate data to facilitate decision making on the national economy. Managing Director, The Bank of Zambia will continue to implement and monitor various regulatory measures aimed at enhancing the operations of the banking sector and efficiency in the wider economy and remains committed to support all efforts to reduce the cost of doing business in Zambia.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to conclude my remarks by reminding commercial banks that they must become proactive in identifying new markets and developing appropriate new products and services, especially for the excluded population if they have to remain competitive and relevant in our fast growing banking sector. As has been echoed at various meetings, the Bank of Zambia has financial inclusion as one of its strategic objectives and initiatives by market players to make this vision a reality are always highly commended. The Bank of Zambia will play its own role and make every effort to create an environment that supports innovation and market developments by financial institutions. Managing Director, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, It is therefore, the Bank of Zambia’s expectation that Zanaco and other banks will take advantage of opportunities arising from the general positive economic outlook on account of improving macroeconomic conditions and improvements so far recorded in various sectors of the economy and foster greater developments in the financial sector. Finally, let me extend my gratitude to the Board of Directors and the Managing Director of Zanaco inviting me on this occasion to mark the official launch the Ndola west Branch. It now my honour and privilege to declare the Ndola west Branch officially opened. I thank you. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches
In this context, in addition to the intensive work on the CTC project that I have just described, the HKMA is also busily working on a number of other market development initiatives. One of such initiatives that I wish to highlight today is our effort seeking to modernise the legal framework and tax treatment to make it attractive for private equity funds to domicile in Hong Kong. The objective of this project is simple: to strengthen Hong Kong’s leading position as a private equity fund hub in Asia. 8. Market development is a never ending race. It is not enough for us to be making good progress and improvements every now and then. We must be able to improve and move faster than our peers if we wish to stay ahead of the game. 9. Now that I am talking about ‘brand’, it should be no surprise to you if I now return to the theme of my first choice, “culture and ethics”. Just like any luxury goods, a brand in the context of IFC entails quality and credibility. Quality requires technical competence in a wide range of financial services, such as FX, interest rate, credit, hedging, derivatives, ECM, DCM, asset management, private equity, etc. I think Hong Kong is in a good position in all these markets. We have done rather well in all these markets and should be able to further deepen and broaden them given the exceptional opportunities emerging from the internationalisation of RMB and the latest Belt and Road Initiative.

Norman T L Chan: Building "Hong Kong" as a brand for financial services - beyond marketing Welcoming remarks by Mr Norman T L Chan, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the Treasury Markets Summit 2017, Hong Kong, 18 September 2017. * * * Ladies and gentlemen, 1. A few months ago when my staff asked me what I would wish to talk about at today’s Summit, my immediate response was “culture”. In a rather polite manner, my staff told me that I had spoken on this subject many times before and it would help the TMA sell the tables if I could talk about something else. I didn’t commit myself one way or the other and so I hope it won’t disappoint you too much if I am going to talk about culture and ethics again this morning. 2. That said, I am not totally insensitive to the audience’s desire to hear something different from me, so I am going to start with a true and, I hope, interesting story on what marketing can and cannot do. We all know and appreciate the importance of good marketing in the commercial world. Rule number one in marketing: No matter how good your product is, you need to undertake an effective campaign to reach out to your target customers to make them aware of the product and convince them that they should be interested in it.
That year the output slack closed and a positive output gap opened up, and sustained growth without economic overheating called for increased labour importation. In recent years, Icelanders income has risen above its pre-crisis peak, owing both to GDP growth and to the improvement in terms of trade. Real wages were 24% higher in 2018 than in 2007, and real per capita income was 12% higher. According to international statistics, Iceland ranked 11th in the OECD in terms of per capita income in 2007. We dropped to 19th place in 2010, but by 2017 we were up to sixth place. I always expected that the economy would recover, but I dared not dream that we would get to where we are today. As I mentioned in my speech at the 2010 Annual Meeting, I was also worried that the endemic imbalances in the Icelandic economy would surface again once the economic recovery was further advanced. This could manifest itself in economic instability, an unsustainable external position, and above-target inflation. Fortunately, that did not happen. We have experienced a long, sustained period of growth. Certainly, a positive output gap could have ended in overheating and instability. But we managed to avoid this with imported labour and prudent economic policies, particularly monetary policy. Now the output gap is narrowing quickly, but without yet giving way to an economic contraction. In the future, considerable effort will probably be spent on seeking explanations for this success.

Plantin, G, Sapra, H and H S Shin (2008), “Fair Value Accounting and Financial Stability”, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Research Paper 08–15. Simonson, D G and G H Hempel (1993), “Banking Lessons from the Past: The 1938 Regulatory Agreement Interpreted”, Journal of Financial Services Research, pages 249–267. BIS central bankers’ speeches  7
To seize the opportunities and address the risks stemming from highly evolving financial technologies, initiatives often start at the national level. The case of crowdfunding is a good example. In 2014 France was a pioneer in issuing a new bespoke regime for crowdfunding and marketplace lending platforms. This new regime opened a playing field for new players while limiting the regulatory burden and strengthening the protection of consumers and investors. As a result, although crowdfunding will not replace traditional lending in the near future, the French market is today the biggest market in continental Europe for alternative financing for the fourth consecutive year. 1 The latest figures for 2018, released by KPMG and Financement Participatif France (FPF),2 show that more than 33,000 projects, for a total amount of EUR 402 million, were financed by crowdfunding platforms. Compared to 2016, the total amount financed has increased by 20%. In the last three years, it has been multiplied by 2.4. Further to national initiatives, European convergence is always the ultimate goal. National initiatives are beneficial because they can be swiftly implemented and tested. By contrast, the European decision-making process is not known for its rapidity. But the size of the European market is critical for allowing our Fintech start ups to reach an appropriate scale for their activities. That is why the Banque de France advocates a European regulation of crowdfunding platforms based on the French model.

Bigtechs already have a material footprint in financial services, and not least in payment services: Amazon Pay operates in 10 countries, Google Pay in 22 countries and Apple Pay in 25 countries. Facebook Messenger allows peer-to-peer payments in 3 countries and a Facebook wallet is reportedly in preparation. Moreover, Bigtechs like the GAFA companies have competitive advantages in terms of expanding their activities further in this area, including massive financial resources, strong brand recognition, a worldwide customer base and privileged access to cutting edge technologies. Therefore, Bigtechs, more than Fintechs, have the potential to fundamentally redefine financial intermediation by integrating the entire landscape of financial services into their own digital ecosystems. This does not mean that banks will be disintermediated; but rather that banks may be interfaced with Bigtechs’ platforms. Such a move is already gaining considerable traction in China. So, digital finance driven by Tech firms may not lead to a more decentralised system as the centripetal forces of network effects may benefit large conglomerates the most.
When we embark into this journey during the early 1980s there was no precedent to follow. We did not wait until we were 100% sure or until we were sure we could tackle all the possible issues that might arise. Some might say that this is a “trial and error” method. But history has taught us that many break through ideas and solutions originated from this approach. The willingness to try new things and the ability to move on should an idea doesn’t work is an important attribute. It pays over the long run. The willingness to use existing resources that had served the financial system well is another contributing factor. Malaysia has already in place an efficient custodian, payment and settlement system, the principal dealership system, the real time gross settlement system and the process of tendering of government securities. All this has a proven track record of being effective and efficient. We avoid “reinventing the wheel” because it is costly, time consuming and risky if we create an entirely new approach. We adopt and adapt with the existing system so long it does not contravene any shariah principle or requirement. Willingness of shariah scholars to practice ijtihad is another contributing factor. The courage to set a precedent and the resolve to agree to a new concept never done before.

In light of this, the Bank of Albania has in the past years initiated a campaign to improve the financial education of the Albanian people. The recent results of our questionnaires indicate that the Albanian urban population shows increasing and a more complete knowledge related to various financial problems they encounter. But the results on rural areas reveal that the education level remains considerably lower. Second, the Albanian agricultural sector suffers from the lack of information and evaluation. As I noted above, one of the reasons why banks hesitate to increase their lending is the lack of complete information on farms and their products. Further, the quality certification standards for Albanian products remain low. One of the main reasons restricting higher exports and, consequently, higher production, is the lack of certification in accordance with the highest standards for all the Albanian agricultural products. This type of certification does not only prove the elementary food security required by the European markets, but also establishes a starting point for competition in the market. The presence of these standards at a reliable level would lead to the improvement of all market mechanisms, by helping bank lending in proportion to the quality of products. In the framework of concerns facing the agricultural sector, the Bank of Albania has increased its interest in microcredit institutions.
The rotation from the asset purchase programme to forward guidance on rates At our June monetary policy meeting, we initiated a rotation of our policy instruments from the asset purchase programme towards more conventional instruments of monetary policy – the policy interest rates and forward guidance on their likely evolution. We expressed our anticipation of a gradual winding-down of net asset purchases, subject to incoming data confirming our outlook for inflation. And we updated and enhanced our forward guidance on the path for interest rates, which is now expressed in terms of the expectation that key ECB interest rates will remain at their present levels “at least through the summer of 2019 and, in any case, for as long as necessary to ensure the continued sustained convergence of inflation to levels that are below, but close to, 2% over the medium term”. In addition, we re-affirmed our intention to reinvest principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the APP “for an extended period of time after the end of our net asset purchases and, in any case, for as long as necessary to maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation”. This combination of policy measures aimed to preserve the degree of monetary accommodation that is necessary to ensure sustained convergence of inflation towards our aim. Clearly, the end of net asset purchases is not tantamount to a withdrawal of monetary policy accommodation.

Also, the global financial system currently provides ample liquidity, and since global markets have increasing access to more information on the productive and financial structure and the functioning of the economies of the region, they are more willing to provide tailored financing at good rates of return. Against this backdrop, we believe that the economies of the region have a good opportunity for building a new relationship with the Fund, which should be based rather on a collaborative dialogue about how global financial development could contribute to the final objective of achieving high and sustainable growth rates in the medium-term, than on meeting a certain set of stringent conditions associated to the lending programs as has been so far. Should the weight of emerging economies in the decision-making process of the Fund be increased, all these necessary efforts to which I have referred to above would produce better outcomes. Chile, as the rest of South America, did not support the proposed resolution on the quota reform in September, although it did fully support the search for an integral solution. The reasons for our vote are well known and it is not is my intention to reiterate our arguments in this occasion. We still believe that an increase in emerging country quotas would lead to more active and committed involvement of emerging economies in the Fund’s decisions that definitely would increase the Fund’s legitimacy in the region.
BIS Review 9/2000  2  Here is how exchange rate policy will be conducted during the program period. We are already announcing to the public the daily value of an exchange rate basket consisting of $ 1 and Euro 0.77 for the coming 12 months. The monthly depreciation rate of the basket adds up to a 12-month depreciation rate of 20%, in line with the WPI target for the period. At the end of each quarter, we will pre-announce a depreciation rate for the quarter beginning nine months later, and leaving the pre-announced rates for the intermediate quarters unchanged. This means that at the end of every three-month period, the rate of increase in the exchange rate basket for the next 12 months will be publicly known. The system will function in this manner for the first 18 months of the program. Then, starting in July 2001, a gradually widening symmetrical band will be introduced for the pre-announce exchange basket. From this point on, the total width of the band will be 7.5% by end-2001, 15% by end-June 2002, and 22.5% by end-December 2002. It will be noted that while we are making strong commitment to a pre-announced exchange rate path, we are simultaneously announcing our exit strategy, which should allay concerns about the difficulty of making a smooth exit from such systems. Of course, there are also some risks created by pre-announcing the path of the exchange rate.

Emilija Nacevska: Strengthening the capacities of the system for fight against counterfeiting of the euro Speech by Ms Emilija Nacevska, Vice Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, at the opening conference of the Twinning Light Project "Strengthening the capacities of the system for fight against counterfeiting of the euro", Skopje, 15 January 2019. * * * Dear Minister Oliver Spasovski, Your Excellencies Samuel Zbogar and Thomas Gerberich, dear Project Leaders Biljana Celeska Anevska and Peter Spicka, dear Mr Damir Bichanic, distinguished representatives of the Delegation of the European Union in the country and representatives of the Ministry of Interior, distinguished colleagues, dear guests, It is my honor and pleasure to greet you on the behalf of the National Bank and to welcome you to today’s event held in our institution, marking together the beginning of this very important Twinning Light Project aimed at strengthening the capacities of the institutions involved in the system for fight against counterfeiting of euro. At the very beginning of my speech, I would like to express the gratitude of the National Bank to the European Union, because it has recognized the determination of our key institutions responsible for fighting money counterfeit to put their maximum in establishing a strong and efficient system for protection of the national, as well as the financial interests of the Union.
A rough measure of liquidity, the ratio of bonds sold and the stock of outstanding bonds, shows that bonds were sold around 4 times during one year in the Swedish mortgage bond market. This can be compared with the market for Swedish government bonds, where the corresponding turnover rate is around 7. The difference is not insignificant, and indicates that more can be done to create a more liquid secondary market for Swedish mortgage bonds. The new legislation will create the conditions for improved terms for mortgage institutions and housing finance. However, the responsibility for making use of these conditions will lie with the banks and mortgage institutions themselves. A decisive factor as to whether the banks and mortgage institutions will succeed in utilising the new conditions offered through secured bonds is that they listen to investors’ wishes. First and foremost, this requires establishing a liquid secondary market for secured bonds. This requires willingness to issue large volumes of bonds in the primary market. Maturities and constructions must also be tailored to investors’ requirements. The institutions have not always had to work in this way in the domestic market. The composition of mortgage institutions’ loan portfolios, and the state of the institutions’ borrowers, are of course decisive factors in pricing the securities issued by the mortgage institutions. The mortgage institutions’ lending, broken down into different types of property, shows that most of the lending, around 94 per cent, goes to financing ownership of single-family dwellings and apartment buildings.

For this reason, while we must continue to work on the principle that “no single model fits all”, there is much that we can learn from each other, and this process of fruitful exchange will, I am sure, continue long into the future. I congratulate all of you on the excellent discussions you have had, and the BIS for organising such a productive meeting. And I wish you all a very pleasant time in your well-earned relaxation this afternoon. 2  BIS Review 71/2004