luis de guindos : the euro area economy and our monetary policy stance remarks by mr luis de guindos, vice - president of the european central bank, at the business leadership forum, organised by ie university, madrid, 30 october 2023. * * * recent economic developments the euro area economy remains weak. 1 foreign demand is subdued and tighter financing conditions are increasingly weighing on investment and consumer spending. the services sector is also losing steam, with weaker industrial activity spilling over to other sectors, and the impact of higher interest rates is broadening. recent indicators point to continued weakness in the near term. the labour market has been a bright spot supporting the euro area economy and has, so far, remained resilient to the slowdown in growth. but there are signs that it is turning. while unemployment stood at 6. 4 % in august, the lowest level recorded since the start of the euro, fewer new jobs are being created, including in services, which suggests that the cooling of the economy is gradually feeding through to employment. moreover, the risks to the growth outlook are tilted to the downside. growth could be lower if the effects of monetary policy transmission turn out stronger than expected, or if the world economy weakens further. furthermore, major geopolitical risks have intensified and are clouding the outlook. this may result in firms and households becoming less confident and more uncertain about the future, and dampen growth further. at the same time, while remaining significantly above our medium - term target of 2 %, recent inflation data have been in line with our expectations, confirming that our monetary policy is working. inflation dropped sharply to 4. 3 % in september and the fall was visible in all its major components. food price inflation decreased again, but – at 8. 8 % – remains high by historical standards. energy prices fell by 4. 6 %, but have risen again more recently, and have become less predictable in view of the new geopolitical tensions. inflation excluding energy and food also dropped to 4. 5 % in september, and we see continued declines in measures of underlying inflation. however, domestic inflation remains strong owing to the growing importance of wage pressures. the inflation outlook remains surrounded by significant uncertainty. in particular, heightened geopolitical tensions could drive up energy prices and higher than anticipated increases in wages could drive inflation higher. by contrast, a stronger transmission of monetary policy or a worsening of the global economic environment would ease price pressures. longer - term interest

delisle worrell : the economic and financial system in barbados welcome remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the domestic financial institutions conference, bridgetown, 20 september 2012. * * * the time we spend together here today is an opportunity to reflect on the nature and effects of financial transactions in our economy, in an effort to better understand how the financial system works. we do well always to remember how imperfect is our understanding of the economic and financial system. in economics, as in many other areas of life, we often speak as though we are sure of the consequences of this or that policy, when in fact there are so many factors at work in every case that the outcome is always uncertain. that is why, from time to time, it is essential that we step back from the action and examine in some depth how things have turned out, and what that tells us about how things work. it is important that the central bank and the financial services commission, the regulators, do this in collaboration with you, the private financial institutions. the economy works to our benefit only when all actors, the central bank, government, financial institutions, firms and households all share an understanding of how the actions of each affects the others and the economy as a whole. a great strength of the barbadian economy, and one which we should celebrate, is the quality of the institutions which inform the discussion of our economy. our social partnership is celebrated around the world, and we need to pay tribute to the quality and comprehensiveness of our media ’ s coverage of economic issues. today ’ s conference is a contribution to the study and discussion of our financial system, so that we can improve the way it works, in the interests of our national development. our agenda today includes an update on the stability of our financial system, which we continue to monitor closely. in january we published a comprehensive report on the financial system, and we published an update in july. our system is sound and our major institutions have adequate capital and reserves, but we continue to see the adverse effects of the prolonged recession on credit quality. the process of resolving the clico insolvency is on - going, managed by the judicial managers, under the supervision of the courts. other insurance companies are profitable. our financial services commission is now into its second year, and there have been changes of substance in the regulation of nonbanks. the financial system as a whole, banks, other