ardian fullani : overview of albania ’ s latest economic and financial developments speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the joint press conference of the imf mission, albanian ministry of finance and bank of albania, tirana, 2 october 2012. * * * dear journalists, during the last two weeks, intensive discussions have taken place between the imf mission and albanian authorities. as a key player in drafting and implementing macroeconomic policies, the bank of albania has been active in these discussions, sharing its vision on current and expected developments in the albanian economy and concerns surrounding it, as well as optimum measures to address them. the albanian economy is increasingly facing the economic growth challenge. while the albanian economy enjoys consolidated macroeconomic stability and sound financial foundations, aggregate demand has been weak during the first nine months of 2012. both domestic demand and foreign one suffer from high uncertainty, relatively tight lending standards, and limited space for discretionary and stimulating policies. in the global context, the albanian economy encountered a difficult setting, characterised by economic growth problems, high risk premiums in financial markets and decreased appetite of these markets to invest in emerging economies. in the domestic context, the economy continues to face relatively low consumption and private investments, as well as an absent stimulus by the public sector as a result of the increasing orientation of the fiscal policy towards maintaining long - term stability of the public debt. in the presence of temporary shocks from the supply side, these factors were translated into negative economic growth for the first quarter. according to our estimations, the following months have recorded improved aggregate demand and economic activity, yielding economic growth for 2012. this growth, however, remains relatively low and inadequate to ensure full production capacity utilisation. it has led to low inflationary pressures during 2012 and is reflected in improved external position of the albanian economy. the banking and financial system remains sound. banks that operate in albania are characterised by satisfactory liquidity and capital levels, and fit for financial intermediation. transaction and risk indicators are also improving, as perceived in the financial markets and, following fluctuation in the first half of the year, interest rates have trended down. given the above - mentioned circumstances, the monetary policy of the bank of albania has been increasingly stimulating. during the past year, we have sequentially eased the monetary conditions ; after five consecutive key interest rate cuts, the cost of money in the economy reached its record low. moreover, through our monetary operations, we

luis de guindos : monetary policy and financial stability in the euro area introductory remarks by mr luis de guindos, vice - president of the european central bank, at a meeting with business group hotusa, madrid, 28 october 2024. * * * inflation inflation in the euro area has come a long way. after peaking at more than 10 % in october 2022 ( in spain, it peaked in july 2022 ), headline inflation stood at 1. 7 % in september this year. this was 0. 5 percentage points lower than in august, largely reflecting a sharp drop in energy inflation. core inflation has also fallen substantially from its peak, edging down from 2. 8 % in august to 2. 7 % in september. most measures of underlying inflation have declined or remained unchanged. domestic inflation remains high, reflecting elevated services inflation as wage pressures remain strong, but it too is showing signs of moderation. inflation is expected to rise again later this year – partly due to base effects, as previous sharp falls in energy prices drop out of annual rates – before declining to our target of 2 % in the course of next year. inflation expectations of euro area firms and consumers have declined across all horizons. most measures of longer - term inflation expectations stand at around 2 %. so, taken together, the incoming information shows that the disinflationary process is now well on track. the outlook, however, is surrounded by substantial risks. the geopolitical situation, especially the conflict in the middle east and russia's war against ukraine, poses a particular upside risk to inflation. heightened geopolitical tensions could push energy prices and freight costs higher in the near term and disrupt global trade. extreme weather events could drive up food prices. and inflation could also turn out higher than anticipated if wages and profits increase by more than expected. but we may also see downside surprises in inflation – for example as a result of a stronger - than - expected dampening impact of monetary policy on demand, an unexpected worsening of the global economic environment, or a slower recovery in consumption and investment due to concerns about geopolitical events. economic activity economic activity in the euro area has been weaker than expected, with persisting differences across sectors. the composite output purchasing managers'index ( pmi ) fell into contractionary territory in september, its deterioration broad - based across countries and sub - indices. the manufacturing output pmi fell further while the services sector continued to expand, though at a