stylised facts from individual consumer price data, ecb working paper no 524 ; for the united states, see bils, m. and p. j. klenow ( 2004 ), “ some evidence on the importance of sticky prices ”, journal of political economy, vol. 112, no 5, pp. 947 - 985. see, for instance, sahuc and smets ( op. cit. ). see sahuc and smets ( op. cit. ) as well as cristiano, motto and rostagno ( op. cit. ). see the article entitled the “ activism ” of monetary policy published in the november 2006 issue of the ecb ’ s monthly bulletin. see also j. - c. trichet ( 2006 ), chairman ’ s speech delivered at the conference entitled “ the ecb and its watchers ix ”, held in frankfurt am main on 7 september 2007. one way of boosting monetary policy ’ s effectiveness is to reduce the overall persistence of inflation, which can simply be defined as the period of time that inflation takes on average to return to its initial value after a shock. the overall persistence of inflation can be represented as a function of two factors, apart from the price inflexibility that i have just mentioned. the first factor is linked to the extent to which, when determining prices, agents stay focused on the long - term inflation target rather than allowing themselves to be guided by the most recent inflation trends ; in the phillips curve this is represented by the coefficient on past inflation. the second factor is a result of the process whereby expectations are formed and in the new keynesian model it is represented by the term indicating inflation expectations. if there isn ’ t full information on the nature of the shocks and the structure of the economy or the central bank ’ s determination to ensure price stability, then businessmen have a long learning curve to embark on. this increases the danger that a shock that temporarily raises the inflation level, such as a major hike in oil prices, may end up gaining a foothold in inflation expectations rather than rapidly disappearing. that is why an effective monetary policy depends to a large extent on pegging those expectations to the goal of price stability. 2. 3 preferences the third element of difference between both sides of the atlantic can lie in the approach adopted by the central banks, which to some extent reflect also their mandate, in accordance with the institutional setup prevailing in each individual country

about when i became governor. and now, its warmly anticipated reincarnation. the new management of bank one ltd is in the hands of a well - regarded kenya - based investment and mortgage bank and a prominent local business house, ciel group. bank one ltd. is now being set up to become a fresh and exciting player on the field for a new premier banking season full of promise. you might ask, what ’ s in a new name? but changing names is often a special event. on marriage for example ; what was she before she was mrs. thatcher? on stardom : to take a couple of well - known examples from tinseltown, what was the name of john wayne or marilyn monroe? on religious conversion ; that great olympian with that great punch will surely be always renowned as mohamed ali. and it was not just for a change of name that we as a nation underwent mass conversion into the republic of mauritius. thus a new name is an integral part of re - branding. it is a signal to the world ; a break from the past. a much - needed one in this case. but as such it must not be merely a signal for the outside world ; it must also be internalized in the very spirit of operation of the bank. the essence is in the transformation of the inner space. this re - branding exercise must renew the very gears of this bank, to give it the capacity to adjust effectively to the ever more challenging banking world. new customers come to you if you offer a distinct and improved level of service. the new branding makes the promise ; it is now for you and your staff to deliver on it. these good first impressions will only yield returns if they are matched by the lasting reality of the accessibility, profitability and security of transacting business with you, and your positive contribution to the economic growth and development of this country. we at the central bank, share in the joy of this occasion with you today. yet we shall keep an ever - watchful eye on your development, as a watchdog must, to safeguard this country ’ s reputation for probity as an international financial centre. a central bank always welcomes new ventures ; and a failure or two : “ pour encourager les autres! ”. today we have in a nutshell one of each ; a demise and a resurrection. looking beyond our shores, it is not a good time for banks. many, today, are suffering from a liquidity crunch from