samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
BIS Review 56/2007  1  Property is also an attractive investment for pension companies, insurance companies and other investors. So both investors and lenders are affected by commercial property price trends. Prices for office premises are determined partly by the size of the rental income the companies are expecting to receive. Developments in rents are in turn affected by how strong employment in the services sector is expected to be, although this relationship is not entirely stable. As with prices of other assets, prices of office premises are also determined by investors’ required rate of returns. After the bank crisis, developments in prices of office premises largely followed rents. However, this trend has been broken during the past two years. Prices have risen much more than is justified by developments in rents. During the first quarter of the year prices of office premises in Stockholm rose by 14 per cent on an annual rate, and prices in Göteborg rose by 20 per cent. Prices were steadier in Malmö, with a rise of 5 per cent on an annual rate during the first quarter. At the same time as prices have risen substantially in recent years, rents and demand for office space have not increased appreciably. While employment in the services sector has increased in recent years, this does not seem to have had an impact on the demand for office space.

Ásgeir Jónsson: Speech – 62nd Annual Meeting of the Central Bank of Iceland Speech by Mr Ásgeir Jónsson, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Central Bank of Iceland, Reykjavík, 30 March 2023. *** "When a traveller gets lost in the fog or a storm and loses his sense of direction, it is said that he starts going around in circles and eventually feels as though water flows upstream. In our economic and labour market affairs, we Icelanders are utterly lost, and the circles we navigate are growing smaller and smaller. Similarly, our sense of real value has become distorted, so that it seems to us that the line graph illustrating the nation's prosperity is aiming upwards when it is actually pointing downwards." These words are taken from Morgunblaðið's Reykjavík Letter editorial on Sunday 19 August 1979. I am quite certain that the author was poet and editor Matthías Johannessen, and I have never found a more accurate description of Iceland's economic situation that summer. The old adage that poets see more clearly than others still holds. Yes, in summer 1979, annual inflation had soared to a new high of more than 60%. And yes, it had happened in spite of innumerable economic policy actions, emergency acts of law, and other responses that were supposed to drop a net over inflation - which nevertheless kept on climbing. Price instability begat political instability. Governments came and went. Wage agreements and currency devaluations played leapfrog, fanning the flames of inflation.
Prices adjust automatically to supply and demand, and the general view was that  Newton’s theory shown to be insufficient, during the solar eclipse of 1919. Scientists were then able to observe that the light from distant stars was bent by the Sun’s gravity, just as Einstein had predicted. Many scientists once believed that the Earth looks the way it does, with mountains and valleys, because the Earth was originally a red-hot mass that gradually shrivelled as it cooled. We know what an orange looks like after a long drying process or what clay looks like after being exposed to the air for a time. What was a smooth surface becomes wrinkled. It was 100 years ago this year that the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed an alternative theory of continental drift. He used heuristic arguments based on studies of coastlines. Brazil has a coastline that is an apparent perfect fit with the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa. Even so, the theory was not accepted until it was given a proper theoretical foundation and empirical grounding. The breakthrough came 50 years ago, when the American geologist Harry Hess proposed his theory of sea-floor spreading, and by the end of the 1960s the theory of plate tectonics became established science. The Centre for Advanced Study, which is located here in the Academy, recently hosted a research group that is at the very international forefront of this field.

6  Hermod Skånland (2004): Doktriner og økonomisk styring: et tilbakeblikk [Doctrines and economic management in retrospect], Norges Bank’s Occasional Papers No. 36, Oslo. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  Budget deficits and high sovereign debt levels meant that the authorities had little slack when the financial crisis hit in autumn 2008.7 Countries rapidly embarked on an unavoidable path of fiscal austerity at the very time that demand was falling and unemployment rising. Unsound fiscal policies have particularly severe consequences when they coincide with a financial crisis. Capital markets were unable to manage the large pool of savings from emerging market economies in Asia. Safe yields had fallen and the search for returns provided fertile ground for creativity in financial markets. Governments worldwide allowed the banking system to grow in the belief that regulations were sufficiently stringent, that a large banking sector is a benefit and that banks’ self-interest would prevent them from taking excessive risk. The regulations, which in the 1980s were regarded as overly rigid, had been introduced during the crisis of the early 1930s as a still-vivid memory. The well-known Glass-Steagall Act had been passed in 1933 precisely to prevent financial sector excesses. Banks that took deposits from the public were subjected to strict rules concerning the amount of risk they could take. Deposits were guaranteed by deposit insurance, and banks could draw on central bank liquidity if necessary.
But at this particular point in history, with local or national identities becoming an increasingly potent force shaping our economies and societies, those words have a particular resonance. That set me thinking. Does the O’Neill hypothesis hold for our economies too? Is all economics local? Are our economies better understood as a nation-state solid or as a set of loosely-linked local clusters? Might this have implications for how we map, model and manage the economy? And might it even have  implications for central banks, despite their policies operating nationally rather than locally? I want to explore these questions, tentatively and provisionally, first by drawing some simple maps of the economy at different spatial resolutions. These maps provide some insight into how “local” economies really are. How large are differences between-region? How do they compare with differences within-region? And what do we know about flows of factors, including people, between and within regions? This local lens poses some interesting questions about how the economy should be modelled. Existing models of the macro-economy operate at a high level of aggregation. When is this telescopic lens on the economy the most useful one? When might a microscopic, or local, lens offer additional insights? And how, practically, can those microscopic perspectives be pieced together to give a macroscopic overview? When it comes to managing the economy, this has been fertile ground for policy debate recently.

Krzysztof Rybiński: Outlook for Poland’s economic and financial situation Speech by Mr Krzysztof Rybiński, Deputy President of the National Bank of Poland, at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Warsaw, 18 May 2006. *  *  *  Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for your invitation to address the Annual General Meeting of the ACCA. Today I am going to speak about prospects of the Polish economy with a special emphasis on the financial situation. In short, I can say that economic prospects of the Polish economy are good. Let me justify this conclusion by presenting four dimensions of future prospects of the Polish economy: global outlook, financial markets, domestic outlook and public finances prospects. Global outlook According to recent IMF and European Commission forecasts 1 , 2 , the global economy, after recording a growth of above 5 percent in 2004, slowed to an estimated 4.6-4.8 percent in 2005 and is expected to grow at a similar or marginally higher rate this year. Forecasts for 2007 call for a global growth moderation by 0.2-0.3%. If the forecasts come true, the global conditions will remain favorable and conducive to robust growth of the Polish economy.
This should not necessarily be seen as a failure with regard to the initial ambitions, but is also a result of new trends in the financial system making new demands of the regulatory systems, which it is to be welcomed that the political system embraces. And there has also emerged a partially new view on the purposes of government rules and regulations, which has been a process that has taken some time as it is based on a long tradition of fairly detailed provisions regarding which transactions were allowed or forbidden and who should do what. This has applied at least to financial services primarily aimed at the household sector, which has made it difficult to continuously adapt the financial sector to changing market conditions and has entailed considerable costs for the consumers. Now the emphasis is on ensuring that those who produce the services are clear in showing what they have to offer and what risks may be involved in different financial commitments, which gives the customers greater scope to decide for themselves how they want to make their arrangements. Continued pressure for political initiatives The EU has high ambitions to make the European economies more efficient. At the summit meeting in Lisbon two years ago the heads of state and government adopted a strategy aimed at making the EU the most competitive, knowledge-based economic area in the world by the year 2010! Financial integration plays an important role in realising this strategy.

If the element of national thinking in financial investments were reduced, more savers would also be able to benefit from a broader supply of products. At the same time, it is essential that increased financial exposures towards companies and financial operators in other countries occur in controlled forms, i.e. with a high degree of transparency with regard to the risks attached to them. This is particularly important with regard to financial commitments of normally very long duration, e.g. investments in connection with life insurance. There is reason to believe that the demand for financial services will continue to be a driving force behind the integration process and give a basis for further structural changes in the financial markets. Increased corporate financing through securities is one trend that will undoubtedly be further reinforced. Similarly, households’ saving in funds will probably show a rapid increase in the future, particularly in order to secure future pensions, and this will call for a capacity to diversify investments, where geographical spread in particular is an important aspect. In these two latter aspects, however, Europe is a long way behind the United States. One obvious difference between the US and Europe is that the banking system plays a much bigger role here. This 1  Heinemann, F & M Jopp (2002): The Benefits of a Working European Retail Market for Financial Services, Report to the European Financial Services Round Table. 2  idem.
Yet, much remains to be done and we are determined to keep at it. I recognize fully that there can be no return to pre-crisis business as usual – whether on the part of the financial sector or on the part of regulators like ourselves. All in all, there is a lot to keep my colleagues busy even in normal times. Macro conditions The statement issued by the Federal Open Market Committee earlier last week presents a sober assessment of the state of the U.S. economy. Economic growth so far in 2011 has been quite a bit slower than we expected earlier in the year. While jobs growth picked up early in the year, in the last few months conditions in the labor market have deteriorated again and the unemployment rate has edged up. Household spending has flattened out, and  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  the housing sector is depressed. Business investment in equipment and software is expanding, but investment in corporate offices and other commercial buildings is weak. Some of the weakness in economic activity in the first half of the year was due to temporary factors such as the hit to household income from higher food and energy prices, and supply chain disruptions following the tragic earthquake in Japan. These restraining forces have abated and thus, we should see stronger growth in the second half.

Thus, many unemployed workers may be returning to work without needing to retrain or look far afield from the job they lost. However, an equal number may need to search outside the industry they know best and this may require retraining in some cases. Thus, the need for job search assistance and training opportunities is likely to be high in New Jersey and the nation in the near term.2 Now let’s look at the situation of New Jersey households. Here, too, there is room for improvement. While the median household income among New Jersey families is the second highest in the nation – at about $ in 2009 – about 9 percent of residents are in families with incomes below the poverty line. This rate compares favorably with the national rate of 13.6 percent, but varies by city across the state: here in Newark that share is 24 percent. Reducing poverty is a major challenge for policymakers. Local organizations like Newark Now are working hard to create greater economic independence for low- to moderate-income residents. More broadly, how are the state’s families doing in restoring their finances? During the recession, all across the nation, the number of debt delinquencies soared and many families had to reduce their debt to more sustainable levels.
We are also considering what a layer of the framework for ‘mid-tier’ firms might look like, and are currently undertaking some engagement with relevant firms to understand where they see scope for simplification of the prudential regime. Other Priorities Before I close, I did want to note our ongoing focus on Diversity & Inclusion in the sector. This is an important area which helps enhance governance, decision-making and risk management in firms, as well as the services you provide your members. We plan a consultation paper later this year, building upon the joint 2021 PRA/FCA discussion paper18, setting out proposals to introduce a new regulatory framework on diversity, equity and inclusion in the financial sector. I strongly encourage you to engage with those proposals once they are published. In Conclusion Let me briefly sum up. I’ve stressed today the important role that mutuals play in providing your services to a diverse range of households and business right across the UK. It’s vital those services are 16 CP4/23 - The Strong and Simple Framework: Liquidity and Disclosure requirements for Simpler-  regime Firms | Bank of England 17 FS1/21 – ‘Responses to DP1/21 ‘A strong and simple prudential framework for non-systemic banks and building societies’ | Bank of England 18 DP2/21 – Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together to drive change | Bank of England  Bank of England  Page 9  underpinned by resilient firms.

This is probably due, not least, to progress in overcoming the crisis as well as encouraging economic data from the euro area. However, investors are still cautious, so that demand is still high for investments seen as safe havens. Consequently, in recent months, the Swiss franc has moved in a narrow range above the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20. Nevertheless, in view of the progress in the euro area, many market participants expect that the Swiss franc will depreciate. Despite this progress, it is still too early for an all-clear. Conditions on financial markets could change again rapidly. In order to counteract possible tensions on financial markets and lessen their potential impact on the economy, six leading central banks including the Swiss  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  National Bank (SNB) converted their reciprocal swap lines into a standing arrangement in October. These swap lines had initially been arranged on a temporary basis at the height of the financial crisis, in order to secure access to liquidity. Developments in foreign exchange reserves At the end of September 2013, our holdings of foreign exchange reserves stood at CHF 443 billion. I would now like to make a few comments on income from foreign exchange reserves. I should begin by stressing that monetary policy has priority over investment policy, and that generating income is not the primary objective of investment policy. We are guided, first of all, by the criteria of security and liquidity.
These factors include the role played by ECB monetary policy and the significant drop in the oil price between mid2014 and early 2016, and, until the end of last year, the improvement in external markets, in a context of a global economic recovery. However, the effect of these factors can be expected to taper in the future. The foreseeable loss of momentum by the expansionary effects of demand-side policies is also relevant. In  10/14  this context, it is particularly desirable for prominence to be given to a renewed reform drive, geared towards correcting the Spanish economy's persisting vulnerabilities. Fiscal policy I will first mention the fiscal policy situation. Over the past decade the Spanish authorities have had to make the fiscal adjustment needed to guarantee the sustainability of the public finances. This process has brought the budget-deficit-to-GDP ratio down from a maximum of 11% in 2009 to 3.1% last year. Despite this deficit cut, Spain’s public accounts continue to show significant weaknesses. First, the European Commission estimates the (cyclically adjusted) structural budget deficit to still be around 3% of GDP in 2018, the highest in the euro area. Second, although government debt is on a slightly downward path from its historical peak of 100.4% of GDP in 2014, at around 98%, it is still very high.

The ECB’s asset reinvestment policy, the guiding principles of which were readjusted yesterday, aims to preserve the monetary stimulus provided by the asset purchase programme through full reinvestment of the assets on the programme’s portfolio as they mature. In short, monetary policy will continue to have tools with which to tackle future economic and financial crises, although these tools naturally have their limitations. Therefore, as the Governing Council of the ECB has been saying in recent years, rather than overemphasising the role of these tools, they need to be complemented by the implementation of structural reforms and fiscal policies to foster growth. Spanish economic policy: progress made and challenges The Spanish economy has been on a growth path since late 2013 and GDP overtook its pre-crisis levels in mid-2017. A number of structural reforms implemented during the recession contributed to this dynamism. On the domestic front, these include labour market reform, the balance-sheet clean-up and restructuring of credit institutions, pension reform and fiscal consolidation. These reforms have undoubtedly helped largely correct some of the Spanish economy’s main imbalances in the pre-crisis period: in particular, high levels of private sector debt, low competitiveness, the excessive current account imbalance and the excessive weight of the real-estate sector. Similarly, economic policy measures have enabled progress to be made on correcting the problems faced by the financial sector during the worst of the recent crisis. Nevertheless, the recovery has also benefited from a series of factors exogenous to domestic economic policy with varying degrees of persistence.
How we can support LGBT+ colleagues  The question we have been considering is what might this mean for LGBT+ colleagues given the challenges they face - some of which are unique, while others are common to many minority groups. Being open with colleagues is an example of a particular concern within the LGBT+ community. Individuals can find revealing their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression difficult or even distressing in a workplace setting. And it is a process they may need to repeat endlessly given these characteristics are not always visible. According to a report by Stonewall6, more than a third of LGBT+ colleagues had hidden or disguised the fact that they were LGBT+ at work in the prior year because they were afraid of discrimination. 3  https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/0mefw998rr/YG-Archive-SexualityScaleInternal-240519.pdf https://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Full-Fawcett-Tables-FM-Cover-1-12.pdf https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/diversity-and-inclusion-at-work_2018-facing-up-to-the-business-case-technical-report_tcm18-47062.pdf 6 https://www.stonewall.org.uk/LGBT+-britain-work-report 4 5  3  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  3  This needs to be addressed head on. We must make sure that colleagues feel they can be open at work without any fear of discrimination or judgement. LGBT+ colleagues are also disproportionately subject to bullying and harassment. The Stonewall report found that almost one in five LGBT+ colleagues have been the target of negative comments or conduct from work colleagues in the last year because they were LGBT+. Also worryingly, the survey found that one in eight lesbian, gay and bi people would not feel confident reporting any homophobic or biphobic bullying to their employer.

Of course, there is no reason to ban books, but the unrest caused by this book is actually a positive thing. It is a sign of changing times, enhanced understanding, and diminishing prejudice. When that book was published in the mid-20th century, hardly anyone thought of it as being hurtful or offensive in any way. But now we see that it can indeed be those things, and this is why the publication of the book and the ensuing discussion are a positive indication of new times and changed perspective. Actually, recent decades have seen a fervent effort to recast well-known terms and names for all sorts of phenomena so as to avoid injuring those who, either temporarily or for the long term, might be vulnerable. This is also positive, though some of these philanthropic efforts have gone a bit too far in their enthusiasm. Another phenomenon we see is that newly coined terms soon become cloaked in a sort of semi-divinity in Iceland – like the term “international expansion,” which no one dares oppose lest he be accused of being an anachronism, devoid of a sense of “vision,” as it is now called, and of not knowing when the time is ripe for action. Upon closer scrutiny, the term “international expansion” seems to be nothing more than investment abroad – together with utilisation of knowledge and talent, of course.