samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Strengthening countries’ resilience through advice on better financial sector reforms or ways to reduce excessive debt would also help. Though, I should note that the IMF’s job of assessing sovereigns’ fundamentals is made more difficult by the fact that they have no formal supervisory role in relation to sovereigns. Stress testing The Bank of England carries out an annual stress test 12 for major UK banks to assess their ability to withstand shocks in a range of scenarios and takes pre-emptive measures to enhance resilience if necessary. This not only reduces the likelihood that banks will require liquidity support from the Bank of England, but also provides an ongoing assessment of their solvency. This informs the difficult judgement of insolvency vs illiquidity in the event that a bank does require access to the Bank of England’s liquidity facilities. There is scope for the IMF to strengthen its surveillance toolkit to include stress testing. The 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review 13 highlighted the importance of national balance sheet analysis in detecting risks and identifying spillover channels. The IMF could extend debt sustainability assessments to cover external liquidity risks and analysis of how balance of payments flows are likely to respond in crisis scenarios. This ex ante analysis would provide greater assurance on the economic fundamentals of countries seeking liquidity support from the IMF and enable countries to take pre-emptive measures to increase their resilience.

It would be foolish to declare categorically that the Bank of England has eliminated stigma or moral hazard. But we can say that these regulatory reforms have made it easier for the Bank of England to provide liquidity insurance to solvent institutions. In turn, this has allowed us to increase the availability and flexibility of our liquidity facilities and to give more clarity around the circumstances under which that insurance would be provided. These changes should help to reduce the stigma attached to the use of central bank liquidity facilities, and encourage earlier take-up to limit contagion and protect financial stability during future crises. 4  See Hume (1758). 5  See Carney (2013) and Shafik (2015). 6  See Hauser (2014) and Tucker (2014). 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3. Are sovereigns like banks? Attention more recently has turned to sovereign rather than banking vulnerabilities and two issues in particular have brought this into sharper focus. First, do fundamentally sound emerging market economies have access to the right form of liquidity insurance to deal with the challenges posed by lower growth, falling commodity prices and potential spillovers from the possible exit of exceptional monetary policy in advanced economies? And second, how can we manage the tension between the need to recognise when one sovereign’s debt has become unsustainable and the need to avoid contagion across countries in times of stress? There are many ways in which sovereigns are like banks in terms of the liquidity risks they face.
Less than a week ago we members of the Riksbank’s Executive Board decided to hold the repo rate unchanged at 4.25 per cent. What does this mean? How can we steer the short-term interest rate and thereby affect inflationary pressures in the economy? I shall begin with the formulation of the inflation target and then describe how the repo rate affects inflation. After that I will talk about the background material for monetary policy decisions. I will then go through the Riksbank’s monetary policy steering system, that is, how a decision on the repo rate is actually put into practice. Finally, I will mention a few words about the financial turmoil and why there has not been reason for the Riksbank to take any special measures, although the financial developments are of course one of many factors affecting our assessments of inflation and resource utilisation. I shall also partly use our most recent interest rate decision as an example. Inflation shall be low and stable The Riksbank’s statutory objective is to maintain price stability. We have specified this as an explicit inflation target according to which the annual change in the consumer price index, CPI, is to be 2 per cent. In addition, we have formulated a tolerance interval around the target of plus/minus 1 percentage point. The tolerance interval marks both the fact that monetary policy cannot achieve the target exactly all of the time and the fact that excessive deviations cannot be accepted if the target is to remain credible.

But the effects have undoubtedly been felt most severely by manufacturing. The frustration felt by those who have built up efficient and competitive businesses, only to find their market position threatened by a rise in the exchange rate over which they have no control, is entirely understandable. In our judgments on interest rates, we consider it extremely important to take account of differences in the conditions that different sectors of the economy, and different regions of the country, may be facing. For that reason, our 12 Agents, located around the country, keep closely in touch with local business and provide us with a continuous and very up-to-date feedback on local business conditions. Visits like my own today provide valuable opportunities for MPC members to supplement at first hand the feedback we get from our Agents. The message we get - that the rise in sterling has been, and is, causing severe strains, comes through loud and clear and we give that considerable weight in our judgments about interest rates.
Moreover, rising house prices are likely to encourage a further loosening of credit and appraisal standards that remain unduly tight. Third, the international economic outlook has improved somewhat. Global financial market strains relating to concerns about the euro-area have receded since last summer, though  1  The household obligation ratio is the sum of payments on mortgage and nonmortgage debt, automobile lease payments, rental payments on tenant-occupied property, homeowners’ insurance, and property tax payments divided by disposable after-tax income. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  recent developments in Cyprus highlight the challenges that remain. Chinese growth appears to be climbing after a slowdown in 2012 and Japan is making renewed efforts to grow faster and exit from a long period of deflation. Fourth, U.S. corporate profits relative to national income are at an all-time record (Exhibit 5) and cash balances are very high. As uncertainty recedes and the outlook improves, I expect business will increasingly shift towards real investment from mainly buying back shares and hoarding cash. Fifth, the U.S. is in the middle of an energy revolution marked by a steady rise in oil and natural gas production (Exhibit 6). Just as significant, the sharp fall in natural gas prices in the U.S. has created a huge impetus to investment in energy-intensive manufacturing, such as in petrochemicals. Because the lead times on such investment are long, this impulse will likely persist for many years.

A pragmatic approach is therefore necessary, leveraging on existing infrastructure within each jurisdiction and creating a network of bilateral links between jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction will, of course, develop its own infrastructure and links according to needs, although the main lesson in this field is that it is better to be ahead of needs than behind. Let me take Hong Kong as an example. We have a reasonably advanced and sophisticated financial infrastructure, in keeping with our status as a regional and international financial centre. We have, over the past decade, extensively developed our payment and settlement systems to enable cross-border, multi-currency transactions to be conducted and settled in real time, without settlement risk. For debt settlement, we have established bilateral linkages between our Central Moneymarkets Unit and debt depositories in other jurisdictions, such as Euroclear and Clearstream, Australia, New Zealand and Korea. We have also recently set up a direct link with the GSBS in Mainland China. Hong Kong already has a real time settlement system for the Hong Kong dollar, the US dollar and the euro. We have a standing offer in the region to link up the RTGS payment system with other currencies in other centres with RTGS capability - for example Tokyo. We hope that, in time, when circumstances permit, it will be possible to extend this to the renminbi. The aim is to provide a platform that prepares Hong Kong to maintain and develop its role in the changing regional and international financial intermediation process.
Jean-Pierre Roth: Switzerland - small, but global Speech by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Swiss-Argentine Chamber of Commerce, Buenos Aires, 16 November 2004. *  *  *  Argentina is a country that fascinates us Swiss. At one time it offered my fellow countrymen a new home when they could no longer see a future in Switzerland. Today, Argentina largely attracts business people and tourists. As you know, Switzerland is a tiny country in comparison with Argentina. Situated in the heart of Europe, it has more or less come to resemble one huge agglomeration. It is therefore not surprising that many Swiss view Argentina as a land of space and opportunity. But as to what Switzerland could mean to the Argentineans is only something I can guess at. Perhaps you still associate my country with chocolate and watches. On the other hand, maybe you recently visited Switzerland and discovered that a great deal has changed. The country has become more liberal-minded and has begun to question its traditional views - partly of its own accord and partly as a result of external pressures. I am delighted to be here this evening and to have this opportunity to give you a brief overview of the challenges facing Switzerland in an era of growing globalisation, under the heading “Switzerland: small, but global”. 1.

It was able to consolidate its position as a significant international financial centre, and thus remains an important pillar of Switzerland’s economy. Stiff global competition, meanwhile, is still forcing the financial sector to increase its efficiency and lower costs. The days when banks and insurance companies were reliable job machines are gone and will probably not return in the foreseeable future. The challenges I mentioned - from securing the social security institutions to standing our ground in a global environment - will be major issues for the Swiss economy, politics and the public in the coming years, and they will put Switzerland’s adaptability to the test. Allow me now to comment briefly on a few of these challenges. 4. Current challenges  As in most industrialised countries, demographics create a need for action in Switzerland, too. The population is steadily aging and grows only slowly. It is thanks to immigration that it is rising at all. We will therefore face a massive increase in social security expenditure in the decades ahead. At the same time, economic growth in Switzerland is weak. This constellation threatens to destabilise public finances. There are solutions, yet none of them come for free. BIS Review 69/2004  3  The first two solutions, i.e. cutting back social benefits and/or increasing social contributions, are not very popular. In the first instance, the people are opposed to such measures. As to the second solution, it does not make economic sense to further increase the already heavy tax burden.
Data is an integral part of researching economic issues and the labor and financial markets. Data is also central to our jobs of forecasting and identifying trends. Our understanding of interest rates, reserves, and balance sheets is built on data. In our efforts to promote financial stability, data is fundamental to stress testing. In our financial services efforts, payment information and data flows figure critically in our payment systems. The scope of our data consumption and creation spans a wide range. It encompasses local, regional, national, and global coverage and extends from the micro to the most broadly aggregated levels. Consequently, as an organization we are increasingly dealing with a growing number of data challenges. They include the multitude of legal topics associated with contractual terms and conditions of data use, data sharing, and privacy restrictions. We are constantly challenged to develop and maintain clear and comprehensive data dictionaries that enable us to repurpose data appropriately. Moreover, as we continue to create more data, we are focusing on data governance. This entails oversight and measures to ensure that our own data are accurately posted (with updated revisions and associated documentation) by commercial aggregators. All of this growth requires investments in both technology and personnel to support our ever-expanding data requirements. Challenges in the use of data I’ll focus my remarks on two important challenges that we face in using data effectively, as well as some models we may draw from to overcome those challenges.

With today’s interest rate increase, we are also raising the interest rate on sight deposits above the threshold. For domestic banks, this threshold is calculated on the basis of their minimum reserve requirements. 1 By remunerating sight deposits above the threshold now at 0.5%, we ensure that our tighter monetary policy will continue to be passed through efficiently to interest rates in the money market overall. 1  Further information is available in the Instruction sheet governing interest on sight deposits. Page 1/2  Berne, 15 December 2022 Andréa M. Maechler  News conference  Page 2/2
1  6  Svensk Basindustri , Ds 2001:63 (Basic industries in Sweden, Ds 2001:63)  BIS Review 56/2003  Figure 2. Capital stock per employee  M a n u fa c tu rin g  300  300  P a p e r a n d p u lp M e ta l w o rk s a n d m e ta l p ro d u c t in d u s try  250  250  1993  1991  1989  1987  1985  1983  0 1981  0 1979  50  1977  50  1975  100  1973  100  1971  150  1969  150  1967  200  1965  200  1963  SEK million  M in in g  Sources: Statistics Sweden and the Riksbank  So basic industries in Sweden have undergone the necessary adjustment to a modern structure and have subsequently performed very well in relation to international competitors. The contrast is striking compared with the rusting steel-industry and the problem-ridden forestry industry in the United States where attempts have been made to circumvent the necessary adjustment by way of import tariffs. While Swedish industry as a whole lost just under 20 per cent of its world market shares in relation to other OECD countries between 1970 and 1990, basic industries recovered towards the end of the 1980s.

Basic industries also outperformed other industry in terms of productivity, with vigorous productivity growth in particular during the second half of the 1980s. In the iron and steel industry, for example, productivity rose sharply between 1977 and 1984, reflecting extensive rationalisation measures especially as regards the manufacture of merchant steel. As I said earlier, Swedish capital formation as a percentage of GDP was halved in the mid 1970s. Thus, factors other than a good supply of cheap real capital have been behind the favourable development of basic industries. Our country has specialised in capital-intensive process industry based on inexpensive energy and a good supply of raw materials, notably wood. Thus, the driving force has mainly been the supply of energy and raw materials rather than cheap real capital. Another important factor is growth in total factor productivity. This is a result of technological progress and essentially measures how much production can rise during a given period without needing to increase labour and capital. Total factor productivity depends in turn on how many resources the country and industry invest in R&D. In 12 of 19 industrial sectors, R&D intensity is higher in Sweden than in the other OECD countries. Relative R&D intensity is particularly high - that is R&D compared with corresponding sectors in other countries - in basic industries, i.e. in the steel and paper industry. Besides a cheap supply of energy and raw materials, the success of basic industries is also due to the relatively sharp focus on R&D compared with other countries.
While the Chilean economy has refined its economic policy framework to make it more resilient to external shocks, and both the funding of the current account deficit and the destination of its resources mitigate these risks, it is essential to prevent the incubation of imbalances. The opposing forces facing monetary policy remain. Some external risks have eased, but the European situation is delicate. Inflationary risks in the medium term remain in place due to strong demand. The MPR is within an estimated neutral range, but its current level is high by international standards. (figure 8). Interest rate differentials with the developed world pose challenges for policy making in emerging economies, including Chile. The Board follows closely the evolution of the external and internal macroeconomic scenarios and their impact on inflation, and reiterates its commitment to conduct monetary policy so that projected inflation stands at 3% over the policy horizon. Allow me some final thoughts. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  Final remarks The Chilean economy has made great progress in the past several decades. The improvements to our economic and financial policy regimes, together with an external environment that has been relatively favorable for our country – particularly the price of copper, which owes in turn to the strength of the Chinese economy – permitted us to successfully weather the worst international crisis of the last sixty years. We healed quickly and today we are close to full employment, with personal income growing steadily and low inflation.

This finding is consistent with other past and ongoing research here at the New York Fed that points to the potential longer-term negative implications of student debt on homeownership and other types of consumer spending. Of course, homeownership is more than just consumption—it has historically been an important form of wealth accumulation. For a large share of households, housing equity is the principal form of wealth. Thus, changes in the way we finance post-secondary education could also have important implications for the distribution of wealth. Before turning it over to my colleagues, I would like to comment briefly on the importance of college costs, financing and access to higher education. It is well known that the average earnings premium from having a college education is high and has risen over the past few decades, in part because of a decline in real average earnings for those without a college degree. In addition to higher earnings, a college education is associated with increased homeownership, as I just discussed. The economic and social returns to having a well-educated and skilled labor force are also well documented. However, I would like to highlight another important role of higher education: it is a pathway to and engine of upward income mobility. I believe that income mobility—the degree to which individuals or families can move up or down in the income distribution over time—is a foundational element for a well-functioning society and indicates the ability of an economy to provide opportunities for all.
Lars E O Svensson: Monetary policy and employment – monetary policy is too tight Speech by Prof Lars E O Svensson, Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, to the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, LO, Stockholm, 16 January 2013. *  *  *  I would like to thank Karolina Ekholm, Gabriela Guibourg, Kerstin Hallsten, Per Jansson, Kerstin af Jochnick, Pernilla Johansson, Ulf Söderström, Staffan Viotti and Anders Vredin for useful comments and discussions. Anna Lidberg and Marianne Sterner have contributed to this speech. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily shared by the other members of the Executive Board of the Riksbank or by the Riksbank’s staff. Monetary policy is too tight in Sweden Although I am myself a member of the Executive Board of the Riksbank, it is hardly a secret that I see major problems with Swedish monetary policy. In a shorter-run perspective one can note that both CPI and CPIF inflation are now significantly below the inflation target of 2 per cent, and that unemployment is way above a reasonable long-run sustainable rate. There is no doubt that monetary policy has contributed to this, in that it has been too tight since the Riksbank began raising the policy rate in the summer of 2010. This may of course sound strange given that the policy rate is at a historically low level.

But that should not obscure the fact that in terms of the overall economy - including here in the North West, things are better than they’ve been in a long while. And I am reasonably confident that we will find a way through the macro-economic, demand management, challenges. In the meantime there is a great deal that you can do - and are doing - yourselves, here in the North West, under the leadership of the NWDA, in partnership with the other public authorities, the Universities, and the private business sector, to identify - on the basis of your local knowledge - the particular obstacles to, and the particular opportunities for, creating a more positive and flexible supply-side environment for the future. In thanking you, Bryan, once again for joining with us in hosting this dinner this evening, I wish you all possible success. BIS Review 59/2002  3
The HKMA has now decided that Participating AIs can include two more types of RMB assets, namely “RMB sovereign bonds issued in Hong Kong by the Ministry of Finance of China” and “RMB bond investment through the Mainland interbank bond market”, in the calculation of this limit. The above two relaxations take effect today. I believe they will help expand the scope of development for offshore RMB business in Hong Kong and provide banks with a greater flexibility in RMB asset management, which will be conducive to further development of the market. Third, the HKMA has imposed some restrictive arrangements on the inclusion of RMB assets as liquid assets in calculating the statutory liquidity ratio of AIs. As the offshore RMB market in Hong Kong becomes more mature, I believe there is room for suitably relaxing these restrictions. Since the adjustments to be made in the calculation are more complicated and technical, we shall announce the details later. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1

Credit providers are required to disclose the annual interest rate charged on a loan. Although, interest rates on loans and charges on services and products may vary significantly from one institution to another, it is incumbent upon all financial services providers to provide clear information and full disclosure on the costs and options available. It is also important for institutions to sensitise customers on what products may best suit their incomes and to educate them to borrow prudently. In this way, transparency is enhanced and consumers would have a clear picture of precisely how much they need to borrow relative to their income levels. This would result in responsible lending and a more competitive and transparent financial industry. However, financial education needs in Zambia are many and varied. They stem from inadequate understanding, by a good proportion of the population, of basic financial terms and concepts on the one hand, and a lack of knowledge of financial products and services that are increasingly available, on the other. To this end the Bank of Zambia through the FSDP in collaboration with stakeholders has developed a national financial education strategy for Zambia. The proposed national strategy for Zambia clearly identifies all the possible financial education delivery channels and responsible institutions in order to avoid duplication and waste of efforts during the implementation stage of the strategy.