samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
The size of the fund and how it is funded is left open to discussion. That’s why it depends on what the European governments decide. Why did the ECB decide to launch a new programme, the PEPP, just a few days after announcing that it was strengthening the previous programme. Was your initial assessment of the situation too optimistic? Within three or four days we saw a rapid deterioration in the situation. Containment measures were taken in several countries, and we realised that the impact on the economy could be enormous, with repercussions on the financial markets. It was a swift reaction on our part. It helped to calm the financial markets and it was well understood. Interest rates are falling in several countries, in particular in Italy. Is this something that the ECB is concerned about? We are concerned about a combination of problems: a deep recession, a huge impact on public finances and an increase in funding needs. This causes tension in the financial markets and, in particular, the government bond market. We are going to remain vigilant. As we have said on several occasions in the recent past, we are not going to allow any fragmentation of the bond market and we will act accordingly. We have a new instrument – the PEPP – and we can use it flexibly in terms of timing and the assets we purchase. That’s why I hope we can deal with this situation.

On the contrary, as a result of the economic setback that normally follows a return to an inflation economy, unemployment is liable to rise even higher. Against this it might be argued that it is not a matter of giving inflation its head, but of allowing just a little more inflation. Nor is it a matter of doing this as a systematic policy, but just for once. Once again, the Swedish experience in the 1970s and 1980s is both instructive and representative of what has happened in many other countries. A little more inflation over a short period can very easily become inflation that is high and persistent. BIS Review 96/1997  -2In any event, in the longer run the level of unemployment is determined by factors other than the demand situation, factors such as institutions, rules and conventions in the economy and above all in the labour market and wage formation. If the causes of unemployment were in fact solely or even mainly cyclical, then unemployment would not differ so greatly as it does between countries that are in the same cyclical phase and have had much the same growth rate for a long time. Targeting inflation The Riksbank has the objective of safeguarding the value of money. In practice, the Riksbank targets inflation. The target rate is 2 per cent (with a tolerance interval of ±1 percentage point), assessed in annual terms.
Josef Bonnici: Lessons from the crisis Address by Professor Josef Bonnici, Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, at the annual dinner of the Institute of Financial Services, Saint Julian’s, 25 November 2011. *  *  *  Hon. Minister, Excellencies, Members of the Institute, Distinguished Guests I would like to thank the Malta Institute of Financial Services for inviting me to address this distinguished audience. Mr President, I am aware of your Institute's leading role in banking and financial education in Malta and of its endeavours to establish forms of collaboration with other educational institutions with the aim of increasing the variety of courses offered to professional staff within the financial services industry. I understand that a notable development over the last year was the relationships you established with the University of Bangor and other strategic partners in order to launch a Chartered Banker MBA course locally. This is certainly an achievement and I augur you further success in expanding your reach to all members of the financial community through the activities that your Institute organises and the training facilities it provides. This evening I shall dwell on the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, a topic which has persistently made news headlines over the past 18 months, and unfortunately continues to do so today. There are lessons from this period of crisis that are relevant for both policymakers and the banking community.

2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  However, it is important to underline that the financial mechanisms created by the EU to assist Member States in distress come with strict conditions that are designed to ensure that needed changes are implemented in economic policies and in national institutional capacity building. The European System of Central Banks has also responded to the crisis. Apart from the conventional interest rate tool, which is currently almost at a historical low, the Eurosystem introduced a number of so called non-standard measures to ensure that the transmission channel of monetary policy is not impaired. These measures include the provision of the necessary liquidity to eligible counterparties, against adequate collateral, on the basis of a fixed rate and full allotment procedure. When tensions emerged in the financial markets after Greece requested financial aid in April 2010, the Eurosystem also activated a Securities Market Programme which is intended to facilitate the monetary transmission mechanism. This involves secondary market purchase of government bonds of a number of euro area countries, and the programme was broadened in the summer of this year to cover purchases of securities of other countries facing funding difficulties. Apart from instituting financial mechanisms, European authorities responded to the sovereign debt crisis by also focusing on reform in economic governance. Clearly, the macroeconomic imbalances that developed in a number of Member States, together with the ineffective implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, signalled a need to strengthen the surveillance framework.
Year-on-year growth of household debt has moderated from nearly 13% in the third quarter of 2011 to 5.5% in the first quarter of 2014. Second, the risk profile of new housing loan borrowers has improved. Almost all new housing loans granted since introduction of Total Debt Servicing Ratio, or TDSR, were within the 60% threshold. 27 But it is too early to ease property-related measures 28 The measures can be broadly categorised into structural and cyclical measures. •  Structural measures include the TDSR and caps on loan tenures. They aim to ensure that households do not take on financial obligations beyond their repayment capacity. Structural measures are therefore meant for the long-term. •  Cyclical measures include MAS’ LTV limits and MOF’s stamp duties. They are designed to prevent households from over-extending themselves in purchasing property during periods of rapid price increases or elevated prices. Cyclical measures can be recalibrated according to market conditions. 29 It is too early to unwind cyclical measures as the risk factors have not changed. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  •  Property prices remain at elevated levels. Prices went up 60% over last four years but have declined by just 3.3% over the last three quarters. •  Global interest rates are still at historical lows. Relaxing property measures in the current easy liquidity environment may set off another spiral of price increases. •  The level of debt among highly leveraged households remains high.

17 Taking all non-cooked food items together, prices went up by 2.8% in H1 2014. This is higher than overall inflation. The greater volatility reflects the periodic shocks in global food prices that have become more frequent in recent years. 18 Domestic inflationary pressures, however, remain firm. These stem mainly from the passthrough of higher costs, particularly wages, to consumer prices. The cost of services most affected, given their high labour content. As a result, the cost of eating out, education, healthcare, and recreation rose at a faster rate compared to overall inflation in the first half of 2014. 19 Taking together imported and domestic sources of inflation, Core Inflation was higher than the historical average but well contained – the forecast for Core Inflation is unchanged at 2-3%. Core Inflation was 1.8% in the second half of 2013, rose to 2.1% in first half of 2014, and is likely to increase slightly over the rest of the year. 20 But overall or CPI-All Items inflation is on a different trend. All-Items inflation was 1.9% in the second half of 2013, came down to 1.7% in the first half of this year, and is likely to continue easing through the rest of the year. The MAS is therefore narrowing the 2014 forecast range for All-Items inflation to 1.5–2.0% from 1.5–2.5%. Overall inflation is falling due to the moderation in housing costs and car prices. Government measures to cool the property market have helped stabilise prices and rent and higher COE supply has lowered premiums.
More recently, Brexit brought to the forefront the concerns over the health of the European economy, leaving the rest of the world with less hope of a broadbased economic recovery. Furthermore, 6 central banks have implemented the negative interest rate policy resulting in irregular financial market structure1. An extraordinary amount of the world’s sovereign debts carry negative yields. Meanwhile, major currencies have been volatile. Relative to the USD, the Japanese Yen appreciated by 18%, whereas the British Pound dropped 1/5  BIS Central Banker's Speeches  by 12% year to date. As for a small open economy like Thailand, domestic financial markets inevitably felt the ripple effects of the developments and growing anxiety at the global level. Once again, risk appetite has turned towards emerging markets – and Thailand is no exception. While last year, we saw a net portfolio outflow of around 7.6 billion USD, the first 7 months of this year already recorded a net inflow of over 5 billion USD into bond and equity markets combined. 10year bond yield hit a record low at 1.54%, while the Stock Exchange of Thailand index has marked about 20% gain to date, compared with a 14% fall just one year earlier. Despite volatile asset price movements, the Thai financial system remains resilient thanks to our sound external position and sound financial system. As in the past, foreign participation in the Thai bond market remains at less than 10 percent, while that in the stock market is around 30 percent of the market capitalization.

With it has also come an unwavering sense of identity, ethics and purpose for medical practitioners. The numbers are equally telling. Polls such as Gallup and Ipsos have consistently ranked doctors among the most competent and ethical professionals worldwide. In 2016, 65% of people surveyed believed that medical doctors had either a high or very high level of honesty and ethical standards. The corresponding number for bankers was a mere 24%. A sad reflection of the state of affairs in the banking industry. We trust doctors with the most intimate details of our health problems, complications and issues. We adhere to their instructions and advice, often assuredly and willingly. Few professions enjoy such stature, respect and trust. This is the epitome of professionalism. Professionalism matters. Like the medical field, professionalism ought to form the cornerstone of the banking sector. It can be fostered. It should be practiced. And above all, it must be earned. As intermediaries in the economy and guardians of public funds, banking sector cannot hope to perform its role effectively if the respect and trust of the people is not earned. As we commemorate this graduation today, there’s no better time to ask ourselves what it means to be a professional banker. Drawing from the medical profession and the Hippocratic Oath, let us ponder on the traits to guide our pursuit of developing high calibre and trustworthy bankers, and professionalising the banking industry. Three traits come to mind; Competence, Character and Calling. The first is Competence.
Taking into account the conditions of the Albanian market, with a low level of financial inclusion and education, and the relatively high costs for the provided services, our goal is to urge the banking system to offer citizens easily-accessible and cost-effective services, supporting thus the objective for broader financial inclusion. Therefore, it is both necessary and challenging to intervene in this aspect, especially as we are experiencing rapid and comprehensive developments in technology. Most of the aspects in our everyday life are becoming subject to digitalisation and automated processes and the modernisation of payment systems, in turn, is becoming increasingly important. The research and analyses carried out by the Bank of Albania with the assistance of the World Bank clearly show that the promotion of digitalisation and innovation in the payment market contributes considerably to the reduction of costs of these instruments, providing services that are easily accessible and affordable by everyone. In Albania this development is considerably lagging behind other countries, with which we aim to approximate in the framework of European Union integration process; hence, its promotion becomes even more important both in the framework of this integration, and in the broader context of international markets. The modernisation of these systems through digitalisation will be achieved through a wellregulated development and clearly-set goals in the medium-term strategy, which will be presented later today during the Conference.

And in OTC derivatives, the notional value of cleared SONIA swaps is now only slightly less then cleared Libor referencing swaps, with SONIA starting to dominate at shorter maturities; but this hasn’t materially changed over the last six months. SONIA futures as a share of the overall market have increased, but stand at only a small portion of the total. However, we are yet to see a SONIA based loan. There is also a need for further progress in building required infrastructure, not just to issue, but to hold, value, and risk manage SONIA based instruments. This progress is a positive sign, but the pace of progress needs to accelerate. There is much more to be done. We have a positive, market-driven plan geared towards finding ways to overcome the barriers to further transition. This is led by the Sterling Risk Free Rate Working Group, whose objective is to catalyse a broad-based transition to using SONIA. The authorities were delighted when Tushar Mozaria agreed to take on the chairing of this3 and today he will speak about the group’s recent initiatives and plan for the rest of the year.4 But the efforts of the UK’s working group, and those of the others’ currency groups, need to be supported by actions at individual firms.
Many of my friends in the real economy say that the Czech Republic is a country where everything is produced, from planes, through turbines, cars, buses, locomotives and guns, to bearings and brushes. Whatever you need to produce you will always find at least one factory capable of making it, the anecdotal evidence seems to suggest. The question we face is rather whether we are overindustrialised for a country of our size. Furthermore, yesterday I heard many comments about the trade deficits of numerous countries in the Eurozone with Germany. Again, not in our case. If you look at a map of Europe you won’t 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  be surprised to learn that Germany is by far our biggest trading partner, with more than 30% of our exports going there and with the biggest proportion of foreign investment in the Czech Republic coming from Germany. But you might be surprised when I tell you that the Czech Republic is one of the few countries having a trade surplus, not a trade deficit, with Germany. We export more to Germany than we import from it. And that trade surplus has been increasing over time. With currently the lowest unemployment rate in the EU, decreasing public debt, yields on some government bonds below those in Germany (which is chiefly because of the current monetary policy of my bank), and the state budget this year heading for a surplus, you might think my country is almost an economic paradise. Are people happy? Not really.

François Villeroy de Galhau: Central banks and climate - not the only game in town, but more committed than ever Speech by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Climate Finance Day, Paris, 26 October 2021. * * * Ladies and Gentlemen, It is always a pleasure to attend this landmark event for sustainable finance. But on the eve of COP 26 opening, climate emergency is such that I owe you more than just another speech. I see it as my duty both to report the great progress we have made in this area and to set out the enormous challenges that lie ahead: in very concrete and practical terms, what we have achieved since the last Climate Finance Day in October 2020 (I), and what we have to further achieve in the coming year, notably on a better understanding of the macroeconomic effects of climate change (II). **  I. Our climate action has accelerated over the past year I am proud to stress that the Banque de France, and more generally Central banks have never been more committed. Addressing climate change is part of our missions as supervisor and Central bank: we are acting in the very name of our mandates. Our actions revolve along two axes, as stylised in this quadrant. [Slide] Against the vertical axis, as supervisors, we have made significant progress to identify and help contain climate-related risks born by financial institutions.
Compared with in the 1970s and 1980s, the social partners today take greater account of competitiveness and employment. This process enables wages to adjust more quickly to cyclical shifts and contributes to keeping unemployment low. Norges Bank analyses have found that real wage flexibility, measured as the correlation between real wage growth and unemployment, has been stronger in Norway than in most other countries, as shown in the chart (Chart 4).5  Chart 4 Real wages are flexible Fall in real wages in response to higher unemployment Norway New Zealand  UK  Denmark  Germany  France  US  Sweden  Average of Canada 23 countries  0  Source: Norges Bank  5. The results are based on an estimated real wage relation for a sample of OECD countries, inspired by the earlier analysis of Olivier Blanchard and Lawrence F. Katz (1999). "Wage Dynamics: Reconciling Theory and Evidence." American Economic Review, 89 (2). In the estimated relation, real wages depend on inflation surprises, productivity changes, unemployment and the labour share of income. The latter captures the fact that real wages often rise (fall) whenever real wages are low (high) relative to productivity. The result that shows a high degree of real wage flexibility in Norway is in line with other earlier studies. See, eg, Miquel Clar, Christian Dreger and Raúl Ramos (2007). “Wage Flexibility and Labour Market Institutions: A Meta-Analysis”. Discussion Paper No. 2582, The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

2023  Economic perspectives Annual address by Governor Ida Wolden Bache to the Supervisory Council of Norges Bank  Thursday 16 February 2023  Economic perspectives 2023  This is a day I have been looking forward to for some time. At long last, we can hold this event as it should be held – at our traditional Norges Bank venue filled to the brim. Three years have passed since last time – three years less ordinary. We have endured a pandemic and the most restrictive measures seen in a time of peace. We have witnessed Russia’s brutal war campaign against Ukraine. The war is a deep tragedy for the people of Ukraine and a dire threat to peace and stability in Europe. Both the war and the pandemic have had far-reaching economic consequences. Over the past year, inflation has reared its head, with inflation rates reaching multi-decade highs. The costs of high inflation have come into clear evidence. What started as a rise in a few prices ended up as a rise in a broad range of goods and services prices. Rapid and unexpected price increases are eroding peoples’ finances and are impacting those with small margins hardest. The surge in inflation is also putting monetary policy and Norges Bank to the test. It is our responsibility to bring it down. That is something I have been mindful of during my first year as central bank governor. The 1970s – high and variable inflation Let us go back in time 50 years.
And in the UK, we will be helped by the FPC’s responsibility to advise the government on when the perimeter of regulation needs to be altered. Deposit insurance and resolution The reforms of Deposit Insurance are hardly less important. In the UK, there is a push towards the deposit insurer, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, being able to pay out within 7 days. The Bank attaches very high priority to this indeed. There is still work to be done. It will entail costs for banks. The weaker standard of 20 days being contemplated by the EU is a serious mistake. That will eventually become apparent when, somewhere in the EU, depositors in a failed bank protest that they are suffering severe hardship from being cut off from their current account for weeks. Those are circumstances in which there would be calls for the state to step in to prevent the closure of ailing banks. This highlights the biggest hole in the old Social Contract – the absence of a regime for resolving distressed banks in a way that avoids both taxpayer support and systemic disorder. How to go about doing this was the principal subject of my speech here two years ago. Much has happened since. Next month, the G20 Financial Stability Board will publish a consultative document on the resolution of systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs). It will cover resolution instruments; cross-border co-operation; and steps needed to reduce obstacles to resolution inherent in the organisation and practices of firms themselves.

(2008), “The Financial Crisis and the Policy Responses: An Empirical Analysis of What Went Wrong,” NBER Working Paper # 14631. 7  We could argue that, as it was done when inflation rose, it was the result of the domestic demand cycle which, after growing fast, slowed down dramatically. However, slowdown of demand is happening throughout the world and a decrease in inflation is observed at a much higher level in Chile. Therefore, we are witnessing structural factors which go beyond changes in demand. 8  BIS Review 41/2009  Table 1  Projected Growth for 2008  (GDP measured at market prices, percent) Sep. 2008  Dec. 2008  Mar. 2009  World  2.5  0.4  -1.6  United States Eurozone Japan  1.4 0.9 0.9  -1.3 -0.9 -0.9  -2.8 -2.6 -5.8  Asia Pacific Eastern Europe Latin America  4.6 5.6 3.7  2.7 3.0 2.1  -0.2 -0.5 0.3  Source: Consensus Forecasts of corresponding date. Figure 1  Chile's MPR and US Fed funds  (percent) 12  12  10  10  8  8  6  6  4  4  2  2  0  0  90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Fed Funds  MPR (*)  (*) As from August 2001, the monetary policy rate is set in nominal pesos; before that, it was indexed to headline inflation.