samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
But these difficulties are not excuses for not trying. And we have tried; although I must confess, on the basis of the reaction from some of the politicians to the actions we have taken recently, that the returns on our efforts to promote a better general understanding of monetary issues in Hong Kong have not been impressive. 12. So we must try harder, and we will. There are then the questions on how and the areas in which we need to concentrate our efforts. On the former I shall seek advice from my colleagues. On the latter, the recent episode surrounding our operations in the stock and futures markets, culminating in the defeated Motion Debate in the Legislative Council on 30 September 1998 to review the HKMA, provides excellent guidance. If one filters away the noise from political posturing, including the rather unpleasant and unnecessary personal attacks, there are three areas that require attention. Basic Monetary Concepts 13. The first area that requires attention concerns various concepts in modern monetary management that need to be more effectively put across. This is essential if discussions on the technical issues are to be more meaningful. I am aware that this is not intended to be a lecture on monetary economics, so let me just bring out one or two of them here for illustration. 14. Under our linked exchange rate system, stability in the exchange rate is ensured through the control on what is called the monetary base.

ASEAN is becoming increasingly integrated so that its market will be at least half as big as China's and India's. ASEAN made a fundamental strategic choice to form the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2020. It is also formulating an ASEAN Charter, a visionary document that will chart its future direction. 29. In addition, ASEAN is positioning itself to ride on the growth of China and India. ASEAN's total trade with China and India has grown significantly over the past decade, and in 2004 amounted to $ billion and $ billion respectively. 30. ASEAN is working hard to ensure that its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China and India are completed and fully implemented by 2010 and 2011 respectively. Besides China and India, ASEAN is also negotiating FTAs with other major economies like Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. BIS Review 83/2005  3  Japan's role and response 31. In the past decades, Japan has led the growth of China, South Korea and many other countries in the region in a 'flying geese' formation. Japan has been an important source of investments, capital and technology, and a major export market for many Asian countries. After a decade of stagnation, Japan is firmly back on the path of healthy sustained growth. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's leadership and overwhelming victory in the recent election give cause for hope that his reforms will be sustained. As the second largest economy in the world, Japan will remain an important global player. 32.
But in our own case this effect has been offset by the weakness of the euro – or by sterling's bilateral strength against the euro, if you prefer – which has dampened both external demand and our domestic price level. The result of these external developments – the global economic slowdown and the pattern of exchange rates taken together – for us has been that, notwithstanding only a rather modest slowdown of our overall economy, we have continued to see a growing imbalance between the internationally-exposed (particularly the euro-exposed) sectors, which have been having a rather torrid time, and the more heavily domestically-oriented sectors, which have been doing rather better. The weakness of manufacturing alongside continuing growth in the services sectors is a crude reflection of this imbalance. With inflation running somewhat below the Chancellor's symmetrical 2½% target, and with developing uncertainties about the continuing strength of domestic demand, the MPC was in a position to respond to these developments by reducing interest rates earlier this year. In fact we cut rates by ¾%, while the Federal Reserve cut much more aggressively, by 2½% over much the same period, and the European Central Bank by just ¼% – reflecting the different overall monetary conditions as they saw them in their respective currency areas. You might suppose that these relative interest rate movements would have encouraged the dollar to weaken against sterling and by more against the euro – and given the pattern of international imbalances it would have been helpful if they had.

This dynamic suggests scope for a strong recovery in which falls in unemployment are much more limited than usual. Potential growth in the UK could also be pro-cyclical but for different reasons. In Britain, the employment rate has fallen only a third as much as in the US (Chart 6). The flipside of that strength has been exceptionally weak productivity growth (Chart 7). Will UK productivity growth pick up alongside demand? The fundamentals are promising. Given the flexibility of its labour market, the continued openness of the economy and the credibility of macro policy, it is hard to think of any reason why there should have been a persistent deterioration in the rate of potential growth in Britain. This hypothesis holds particularly now that the UK financial system is beginning to function more effectively. Until recently, the weakness of the banking system limited the reallocation of capital and labour from less to more productive activities. Indeed, whereas half of all productivity growth at the economy-wide level in the years prior to 2008 occurred through this channel, reallocation appears to have made no contribution to productivity growth in recent years.5 There are other reasons to think that growth itself should bring a supply side improvement. As the economy recovers, investment should pick up and part-time workers should shift into more productive full-time work. With the sharp fall in real wages during the recession (Chart 8), employees effectively priced themselves into low-productivity work at a time of weak demand.
The SRB and the national resolution authorities could play a fundamental role, acting as insolvency administrators, with similar instruments and criteria to those already in place at the European level for resolution of public interest entities (asset separation, sale, bridge bank, etc.). This is not an easy challenge to address, but it is important to analyse its viability and how it may be phased in. 6/7  Last but not least, we must complete the banking union. And we all know what that entails: establishing a common European deposit insurance scheme, by a specified date. We need to ensure that all European citizens’ bank deposits up to € are equally secure, irrespective of the institution holding the deposits and of the depositor’s country of residence within the banking union. Once again, if banking supervision and resolution is centralised, then the responsibility for bank deposits should also be centralised. In other words, there should be correspondence between decisions and the consequences of those decisions. Moreover, the empirical evidence available2 shows that if banks’ contributions to deposit insurance schemes are risk sensitive they should not entail systematic cross-subsidisation between countries. It is not only a question of economic efficiency or of shared institutional responsibility, but also of equity between all those of us under the umbrella of this common project – the euro – that was launched now some 20 years ago. In short, I would venture to say that neither Spain nor the rest of Europe has wasted time in this decade marked by the crisis.

Housing construction has long been at a low level for several reasons, including weak competition in the construction sector, a low supply of land to build on and complex planning processes. 3 Neither has the design of the taxation system promoted mobility on the housing market, as it benefits homeowners ahead of renters. This is probably also helping to make the housing market more sluggish: the costs of moving are high at present, as taxation from the sale of a home is high compared with the current taxation of the home. The policy being conducted has distribution policy effects and has created a system of insiders and outsiders on the housing market, which benefits households 1 See Financial Stability Report, Sveriges Riksbank. Ingves, S (2006) and S Ingves (2007). 2 See, among others, European Commission (2019), IMF (2016), OECD (2019) and European Systemic Risk Board  (2016). 3 Emanuelsson, R. (2015). 1 [13]  that own their homes but, simultaneously, disadvantages households who are outside the housing market and have not been able to make corresponding deductions or take advantage of the rising prices. The failure of the housing market to function is not just leading to problems linked to indebtedness and the accumulation of risks this involves. A non-functioning housing market can also form a threat to the healthy development of society and can thereby create conflicts of interest between generations.
But, it should be stressed that throughout survey vintages, a rebalancing of the 4  CESEE Bank Lending Survey, European Investment Bank. sources of financing was visible. Given the deleveraging of the international banks present in the region, the intra-group financing which was receding was substituted with local funding. Easy access to retail and corporate deposits was reported as a feature in the second half of 2015, and the first half of 2016 as well. Chart 4: Average annual credit growth Annual credit growth in %  70  average 2005-2008  60  average 2009-2012  average 2013-2016  50 40 30 20  10 0 -10  SLO  SRB  ROM  POL  MKD  LIT  LAT  HUN  EST  CZR  CRO  BUL  BIH  ALB  -20  Source: Central Banks’ internet pages. In light of the rising importance of local funding as a source of financing for the banking systems in the region, and hence as a basis for further credit revival, one important aspect is the impact of low interest rates on the savings in the banking system. The dynamic observance of the deposits rates in the banking system of the region reveals a large downward adjustment of the yield on deposits, both for corporates and for households.

The need for further fiscal adjustment is clearly emphasized in the latest available IMF country reports. The screening shows that with exception of two countries (Romania and Lithuania) all the countries should adjust further. According to the IMF, most of the countries are in the so-called group of "strong adjustors"7. This means that the governments should have a very "ambitious" agenda, or have to significantly shrink the primary deficit in order to ensure fiscal sustainability. Expectedly, the most indebted countries are amongst the ones where the strongest downward adjustment is envisaged, such as Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Albania. However, even if they pursue their consolidation plans, some of them will still have vulnerable position as the debt level will be higher then what the Maastricht criteria prescribes (60% of GDP) - chart 13 lower right and left quadrant. Further fiscal consolidation against the background of still "anemic" economic activity and rising interest rates may be very challenging. 7  Authors’ definition, presented on chart 13. Chart 13: Size of fiscal adjustment -2021-2015*  Debt change and distance from the Maastricht Criteria 60% of GDP** -40  Cumulative change of primary deficit (in p.p.)
The emerging economies will be the key drivers of economic transformation over the next decades, both within and across borders resulting in a more integrated global economy. It is therefore imperative that efforts are increased in ensuring collaboration and sharing of experience for the common good. The Langkawi International Dialogue continues to be an important platform for such exchanges and it is a great honour for me to have this opportunity to be here today. Thank You. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches

In fact overall GDP growth in the year to the fourth quarter of 2001, at 1.9%, was by some margin, the highest among the G7 countries, and the rate of UK unemployment is currently the lowest, on a comparable basis, in the G7. And interest rates are the lowest they've been in this country in a generation. Of course we'd all have been much happier with better balanced growth. Stimulating domestic demand to offset the external weakness - the only option available to us - was very much a second best option, and not without its own risks, but it was better than doing nothing at all. That would have meant a much sharper slowdown, and probably recession, in the economy as a whole. And, given what was happening on the inflation front, it would have meant a quite unnecessary loss of overall output - and income and employment. In effect we took the view that unbalanced growth was better than no growth. The question now, of course, is where do we go from here. 2  BIS Review 10/2002  There have recently been encouraging, but tentative, signs that the worst of the global slowdown may now be behind us, and that the US and Eurozone economies are now beginning to bottom out and are likely to pick up as we go through this year, perhaps to around trend. And the euro, which has, as I say, been puzzlingly weak since soon after its introduction 3 years ago, still seems likely to strengthen eventually.
As a somewhat nerdy child, I attended an inspirational maths and computing club at Homerton College where we learned, amongst other things, how to do recursive coding using a robot turtle. We purloined one of the earliest Local Area Networks for our ramshackle school computer shed. And I had a holiday job at the Cambridge Science Park – right at the start of its astonishing growth story. I recall one particularly memorable experience working on a robot designed to extract the meat from shellfish: let’s just say the results were messy! FinTech and the Bank of England Nearly three decades on, my current role in charge of the Bank’s banking and payments infrastructure gives me a bird’s eye view of how technology is transforming financial services. From the very visible application of the latest mobile technology in retail banking, to the much less visible but just as important application of cloud computing, cryptographic techniques and ultra-high speed processors to the wholesale and back office functions that keep the financial markets running. Some say there is nothing fundamentally new here: technology has always played an important role in driving change in the financial sector: from the telegraph to the ATM (celebrating its fiftieth birthday this year); from screen-based trading to online banking. Harsher critics even suggest the very phrase ‘FinTech’ is little more than a marketing tool, promoting hype over substance.

I would like to present a briefing on accomplishments achieved during the last year, the most important of which were: The Kingdom achieved tangible progress in its AML procedures, in the framework of the follow-up process that followed the Mutual Assessment Process. The Kingdom submitted the First Follow-up Report to the MENAFATF in February 2012. The report includes the new and updated legislations issued and the actions taken to cope with the implementation of all international standards and practices issued recently. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  The Kingdom amended the Anti-Money Laundering Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/31) dated 11/5/1433H to cover many domestic and international requirements and developments. Its Implementing Regulation was updated as well. Here, I would like to highlight that the national AML legislation was finalized in line with international developments and standards. The Kingdom hosted a number of conferences, symposiums and training courses on combating money laundering. The most important of which was the Fifteenth MENA-FATF General Meeting held in April 2012 in Jeddah. In September 2012, the Investigation and Public Prosecution Authority, in cooperation with MENA-FATF, also hosted a symposium on “the Role and Responsibility of Public Prosecution Agencies and Judicial Organs in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing”. In September 2012, SAMA, in collaboration with the Secretariat General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, organized a workshop on Updating FATF Recommendations to Combat Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Weapons Proliferation.
“Smooth Landing or Crash? Model Based Scenarios of Global Current Account Rebalancing”, NBER Working Paper 11583; O. Blanchard et al. „The U.S. Current Account and the Dollar”, NBER Working Paper 11137 and many others. 4  BIS Review 19/2006  thanks to the intensified scale of those phenomena and thanks to including an increasing number of countries into the international economic processes. Taking into consideration the labour market, it may be observed that the inclusion of the CEE countries as well as the former Soviet Union countries, India, China, and other developing countries resulted in an increase in the global labour supply of 2 billion workers. Thus, we are witnesses to the establishment of the global labour market. Actions of international corporations undertaken to relocate manufacturing or orders to countries with lower manufacturing costs simply make use of the existing comparative advantages. The foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow between 1990 and 2004 increased more than threefold, amounting to ca. USD 648 billion in 2004. In the same period, the FDI inflow to developing countries was six times higher and in 2004 it amounted to USD 233 billion 17 . A significant factor contributing to intensification of the above phenomena is trade liberalisation, which involves reduction or elimination of customs tariff rates and all other non-tariff barriers that increase the costs of trade. Studies undertaken so far 18 point to a significant role of preferential trade agreements, which in the years 1993-1997 involved about 70% of all trade exchange of West European countries.

4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  The regulation of the financial sector affects the country’s citizens Policy discussions in Sweden, in the EU, globally  Could be perceived as abstract Often technical  Behaviour of the financial sector  Effects on the real economy  Swedish citizens and consumers  Crises cost society enormous amounts GDP growth in Sweden, 1960-2010, SEK billion  Source: The Riksbank  BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  The real effects have a high social and economic price Unemployment in Sweden, 1985-2000, percentage of labour force  Source: The Riksbank  Problems in the banking sector impact the country’s citizens in many ways Via the real economy  Problems in the banking sector  Directly against bank customers  Via the public sector  Weaker economic development  Deposit guarantee Need for capital injections  Increased uncertainty  New banking relationships  Higher unemployment Lower wages Lower pensions  Higher taxes Deterioration of public welfare  Higher interest rates  New terms  Poorer economy for households  6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  A financial crisis will ultimately threaten basic social functions The financial system is central in the society  Household  Who can pay whom in a serious crisis? Household’s bank Grocery shop  Grocery shop’s bank  ?
And it will continue to evolve with society and as the ‘technologies’ that support money change. But the underlying responsibility to ensure the machine runs in good order will remain. 13  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  13

Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Policy and regulation of financial inclusion Welcoming remarks by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the UNAG Asia Regional Forum on Policy and Regulation of Financial Inclusion, Kuala Lumpur, 6 May 2009. *  *  *  Introduction It is my pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations Advisers Group Asia Regional Forum on Policy and Regulation of Financial Inclusion. This conference takes place at a time when the world is confronted with addressing many issues that have emerged from the current global financial and economic crisis. Whilst significant attention and efforts are being channelled to resolving the financial crisis and creating an enabling environment for the resumption of growth and job creation, we must not lose sight of the financial inclusion agenda. Financial inclusion is vital for creating balanced sustainable economic growth. It provides the opportunity for all members of society to benefit from economic progress. It allows for a shared prosperity, an aspiration that is encapsulated in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The Central Bank of Malaysia is most honoured to be given the opportunity to host this forum which is being held in Asia for the first time. We are most honoured to have Governor Nout Wellink, President, of the Central Bank of Netherlands. We are also pleased to have present Mr. Jacques Toureille, UNAG Advisor, who will be delivering the keynote address by Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima on her behalf.
Since the inflation target was adopted in 1995, CPIF inflation has averaged 1.7 per cent per year, seldom dropping below 1 per cent or rising above 3 per cent. This is a significant change when compared with the high and sharply fluctuating inflation we experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. The changes made to the frameworks for wage formation are an important factor behind the lower and more stable inflation we see today. I am primarily thinking of the Industrial Agreement implemented in 1997, but also of similar but less far-reaching agreements in other areas of the labour market. I am also thinking of certain changes to the legislation and the establishment of the National Mediation Office. Another factor should be that resource utilisation has been kept at a lower level than previously, a level that is compatible with low and stable inflation. The increased credibility of monetary policy in terms of keeping inflation close to the inflation target of 2 per cent has probably also contributed. Inflation expectations over the longer term now lie close to the inflation target (Figure 24). Low wage increases during the forecast period This year, social partners will negotiate just over 550 collective agreements covering just over 3.3 million employees. The results of these negotiations will affect the wages of the  BIS Review 11/2010  5  majority of the country’s wage-earners, thereby being of great significance for economic development.

Structural reforms of this sort have been decided upon by national governments within the framework of the agreements made in Lisbon and we should not forget that the ultimate objective is to increase the pace of economic growth in order to ensure more prosperity and provide more jobs for everyone, which is fundamental for the weakest and the poorest. Rather than finding a compromise between the various members of our society, between those that have costs and those that reap the benefits, I see it more as a compromise between the present and future. It is a forwardlooking investment and a better future for the weakest part of the population which entails costs at the beginning. And in any case let us not forget that we cannot ask our children and grandchildren to pay our bills! In Europe, the population is shrinking to the point that by 2020, according to different studies, there will be 20 million people available for work. In the United States, it is on the rise. How is this? Perhaps this is because the United States is a population with entire generations of immigrants in which the birth rate is higher. And then there is the cultural aspect, they are more optimistic than us. Why? This involves philosophical and cultural aspects and I am not convinced that they are structural.