of companies in the 21st century and urging the general public to boycott them shows not only a lack of responsibility, but also a lack of taste and common sense. i feel certain that our citizens know better and will continue to buy those products and services that suit them best, guided exclusively by their economic interest. the key principle of the late 18th century economy of comparative advantage explains that international trade is beneficial to all parties involved, and i guess that serbia of the 21st century wishes to benefit from international trade and finance, as well. i would also like to remind you on this occasion that today ’ s standard of living in serbia is largely based on foreign direct investments and access to foreign borrowing. hence, pensions are paid out regularly and on time, new jobs are created ( in the banking sector alone, the number of jobs is 50 % higher than at the onset of transition ), our citizens can take out mortgage loans, etc. in order to finance the current account deficit measuring 16 % of gdp in 2007, serbia needs foreign direct investments and fresh money. if we were to finance growth and development exclusively from our domestic accumulation, the volume of lending in 2007 would have been 4 to 5 times lower. it is true that the national bank of serbia can sustain macroeconomic stability in the short run by relying on monetary policy measures and interventions in the foreign exchange market. however, in the medium and long run, you do not make something out of nothing. i feel it is my duty to warn you that the ultimate costs of a significant decline in the level of fdis and restrictions on foreign borrowing will in the long - run be borne by our enterprises and citizens. however, i am sure it will not come to this, because it is not in serbia ’ s interest.

andriy pyshnyy : national bank of ukraine press briefing - monetary policy decisions speech by mr andriy pyshnyy, governor of the national bank of ukraine, at a press briefing on monetary policy decisions, kyiv, 14 march 2024. * * * dear colleagues, the board of the national bank of ukraine has decided to cut the key policy rate to 14. 5 % effective 15 march 2024. a further decline in inflation, sustained stable fx market conditions, and positive developments in the prospects to receive external assistance lay ground for an earlier resumption of the easing cycle of interest rate policy. at the start of 2024, inflation slowed more rapidly than expected by the nbu in february, inflation decelerated to 4. 3 % yoy. among other things, this was facilitated by higher supply of some food products and effects from last year's strong harvests. the reorientation of some producers to the domestic market also had an impact on food prices. in addition, the moratorium on raising some utility prices continued to restrain inflation. core inflation decelerated as well, to 4. 5 % yoy. stable fx market conditions – among other things, owing to the nbu's monetary policy and currency supervision measures – improved inflation and exchange rate expectations across the majority of respondent groups. this reined in underlying price pressures. the official and cash exchange rates became almost equal, and the hryvnia exchange rate fluctuated moderately in both directions, which was in line with the managed exchange rate flexibility. since the previous monetary decision taken in january, market rates on hryvnia instruments have not changed much. yields on bank deposits and domestic government debt securities continued to exceed inflation expectations of businesses and households. together with the controlled situation on the fx market, this supported interest in domestic currency savings. in particular, ukrainians'holdings of domestic government debt securities increased, and retail deposits placed for three months and longer showed steady growth. inflation will remain moderate, in particular thanks to the nbu's consistent monetary policy the nbu estimates inflation will remain within the target range of 5 % ± 1 pp in the coming months and will accelerate only moderately in h2. a gradual increase in incomes of ukrainians and higher business costs during the war will fuel the inflationary pressure. at the same time, some utility tariffs being frozen and the nbu's monetary policy aimed at supporting the attractiveness of hryvnia