to overall inflation. some other services, like restaurant meals, also remain persistently high. looking ahead, we expect core inflation to continue to ease gradually. the more timely three - month rates of core inflation fell below 3 % in february, suggesting some downward momentum. but with gasoline prices rising, cpi inflation is likely to remain around 3 % in the coming months. it is then expected to ease below 2a½ % in the second half of this year and reach the 2 % target in 2025. as always, there are risks around our forecast. inflation could be higher if global tensions escalate and this boosts energy prices and further disrupts international shipping. house prices in canada could rise faster than expected. and wage growth could remain high relative to productivity. on the down side, economic activity globally and in canada could be weaker than expected, cooling demand and inflation too much. we don't want to leave monetary policy this restrictive longer than we need to. but if we lower our policy interest rate too early or cut too fast, we could jeopardize the progress we've made bringing inflation down. based on our forecast and the risks, governing council decided it was appropriate to maintain the policy rate at 5 %. we also concluded that, overall, the data since january have increased our confidence that inflation will continue to come down gradually even as economic activity strengthens. our key indicators of inflation have all moved in the right direction and recent data point to a pickup in economic growth. i realize that what most canadians want to know is when we will lower our policy interest rate. what do we need to see to be convinced it's time to cut? the short answer is we are seeing what we need to see, but we need to see it for longer to be confident that progress toward price stability will be sustained. the further decline we've seen in core inflation is very recent. we need to be assured this is not just a temporary dip. in the months ahead, we will be closely watching the evolution of core inflation. we remain focused on the balance between demand and supply in the economy, inflation expectations, wage growth and corporate pricing behaviour as indicators of where inflation is headed. to conclude, we've come a long way in the fight against inflation, and recent progress is encouraging. we want to see this progress sustained. with that summary, the senior deputy governor and i would be pleased to take your questions. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches

zeti akhtar aziz : a milestone towards a more efficient and internationally integrated global islamic financial system speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the global launch of thomson reuters islamic finance gateway, kuala lumpur, 22 february 2010. * * * in this more challenging global economic and financial environment, islamic finance has remained dynamic with a steady pace of innovation and fast growing as its expansion gains further momentum. this has demonstrated not only its viability and resilience but also its ability to remain competitive. this decade has also seen the increased internationalisation of islamic finance as it extends it outreach to serve the global community. the accelerated development of the islamic financial markets and the supporting international islamic financial architecture as well as the trend towards greater liberalisation have increased the integration of islamic finance into the international financial system. today ’ s launch of the islamic finance gateway by thomson reuters is indeed a welcome development. the timely access to a broad range of key information on islamic finance including on the products terms, structures and shariah rulings will contribute to enhanced transparency in the islamic financial markets. as a platform that allows for price discovery, it will contribute towards the more efficient functioning of the various islamic financial markets across the world. it will also foster a greater international understanding of islamic financial practices in the various islamic financial markets. i have been informed that this gateway will also include in its content, the shariah resolutions database of the international shariah research academy ( isra ) following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between thomson reuters and isra that is scheduled today. isra was established in 2008 to provide a platform for greater engagement amongst practitioners, scholars, regulators, academicians in the area of shariah and to promote applied research contemporary issues in islamic finance. their efforts have contributed to the harmonisation of shariah interpretations and thus the standardisation of shariah applications and practices is islamic finance. isra has now become an important repository of knowledge for shariah views or fatwas. the reuters islamic finance gateway thus has the potential to become an important vehicle for worldwide dissemination of high quality information on islamic finance. in performing the function as an aggregator of information on islamic finance, the gateway will showcase the dynamic pulse of the global islamic financial services industry. this increased information flow across borders in real time will also reinforce the trend of the internationalisation of islamic finance. there is already an increasing level of foreign participation in the islamic financial markets resulting