must mention the calculation of another convergence criterion - long - term interest rates. this calculation is based on long - term government bond yields on the secondary market. the czech national bank thus provides the statistical foundation for assessing this criterion. international standards such as the imf ’ s 5th balance of payments manual are also observed when compiling the balance of payments. the balance of payments is now published every month and the required items are also broken down geographically. in recent years, much attention has been devoted to the category of foreign direct investment, where the data are published in very detailed geographical and sectoral breakdowns. the balance of payments is perhaps the best example of co - operation between the czech statistical office and the czech national bank. co - operation is essential in many areas, since the basic indicators of the country ’ s economic performance, for example gross domestic product, cannot be compiled without data on trade in services, which is supplied by the czech national bank, and, conversely, the balance of payments cannot be compiled without data on foreign trade in goods, which is supplied by the czech statistical office. however, our working contacts run much deeper, among other things the exchange of information for maintaining up - to - date registers or collaborating to eliminate duplication of effort in collecting statistical data from respondents. there is very close cooperation in the field of methodology. one recent example is the joint preparation of a new method of monitoring real estate prices to ensure that the data is as up - to - date as possible. daily contacts are also maintained in the area of data publication, for example when presenting information under the special data dissemination standards project, an imf standard adopted by the czech republic at the end of the 1990s. there is not enough time at this forum to list all our other joint activities. i do think, however, that the czech national bank ’ s involvement in organising this conference proves that co - operation between the two institutions is fruitful. ladies and gentlemen, i wish this statistical conference every success and do hope that all sessions live up to your expectations. i also wish you a pleasant stay at the czech national bank as well as in prague.

. trends in current account surpluses and deficits are the reflection of longer - term trends in savings - investment activities which are strongly influenced by economic developments and demographics. current account surpluses and deficits will only lead to problems when they become unsustainable, and thus a careful overall assessment is required. second, distinguishing between the structural and cyclical components of the current account balance is often a difficult task. trying to adjust the structural component through macroeconomic policy and exchange rate policy entails the risk of causing the development of financial imbalances which may destabilise the economy. a narrow policy focus on current accounts per se can be counter - productive. third, central banks and other authorities need to assess the possible emergence of unsustainable imbalances using a wide range of indicators such as asset prices, leverage, gross capital flows and information on risk pricing and risk profiles of financial institutions. current account data only provide us with a partial picture. in the past, when the crossborder flow of goods and services dominated interrelationship among economies, assessing current account and trade balances would give us a relatively good picture of emerging external imbalances. but the size of global capital flows has dramatically increased and the speed with which capital moves to and from one country to another has accelerated as well. the growing use of derivatives adds another layer of complexity. the approach for assessing global imbalances needs to change accordingly. 4. preparing for new types of crises mankind has continuously searched for “ monetary anchors ” or “ monetary benchmarks ”. this endeavor has been a repetition of initial success followed by failure or outdatedness as a result of rapid changes in the economic and financial system. in the realm of monetary policy, money supply targeting was often used in the 1970s in many advanced economies. however, with rapid financial innovation, its relationship with inflation developments became unstable and was eventually abandoned. inflation targeting emerged as a new monetary policy framework in the 1990s, but the challenges in its effective implementation have surfaced as bubbles developed in the run - up to the current financial crisis, especially in identifying imbalances when they appear in forms other than inflation of goods and services. with regard to the international monetary system, we have moved in the past from the gold standard to managed floating exchange rate systems. currently, the major currencies are free floating, but many countries still have fixed or managed floating regimes. current account imbalances can be one of many possible indicators. but there is