andreas dombret : the euro area – routes to a stable monetary union speech by dr andreas dombret, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the banken - und unternehmensabend at the bavarian regional office, munich, 28 november 2013. * 1. * * introduction ladies and gentlemen president muller it gives me great pleasure to speak to you this evening at the banken - und unternehmensabend at the bavarian regional office here in munich on the topic of “ the euro area – routes to a stable monetary union ”. i ’ m sure we all agree on what the current action in the euro area is seeking to achieve : a stable monetary union. but have we taken the right route to make sure that we actually reach this destination? everyone knows that all roads lead to rome, but the routes to a stable monetary union are few and far between. i believe that we are on the right path – at least what we can see by the wayside gives cause for hope. 2. the national level – some early signs of success let ’ s take the problem of competitiveness. significant imbalances have been evident in the euro - area countries ’ current account balances in recent years. countries like germany or the netherlands are consistently running surpluses, while others like greece, spain or portugal have produced nothing but deficits. these imbalances have been symptomatic of the differences in competitiveness between the individual countries. a topic which has made a comeback recently is the question of whether surplus countries should also contribute towards redressing these imbalances. but at the end of the day, structural problems in the deficit countries were what brought about these imbalances – so that is where the adjustments must take place. we must ensure that the other countries make their economies as competitive as germany ’ s, is how ecb president mario draghi put it. doing the exact opposite simply wouldn ’ t work. and casting a glance at the crisis countries, we can see that many of them have already implemented necessary reforms, thereby boosting their competitiveness and narrowing their current account deficits. the european commission ’ s latest estimates suggest that most crisis countries will run a current account surplus this year. even more important is the fact that this adjustment is being driven not just by shrinking imports but also by growing exports. all the crisis countries ’ exports are likely to edge higher this year, with growth ranging from just under

manuel sanchez : the mexican economy in difficult times remarks by mr manuel sanchez, deputy governor of the bank of mexico, at the jp morgan 7th annual mexico ceo conference, mexico city, 31 july 2012. * * * thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. it is a pleasure to participate in the annual jp morgan mexico ceo conference and share my thoughts with you on mexico ’ s economic outlook and challenges. as you know, the world economy is going through difficult times, characterized by low growth prospects and financial and fiscal problems in many developed countries. i would like to focus my comments today on how this external scenario is constraining the mexican economy, and what tasks await on the domestic front. my main message will be twofold. first, although mexico ’ s ongoing economic recovery from the global financial crisis of 2008 seems to be firmly grounded, its continuation and possible strengthening are highly dependent on future global economic conditions. second, in order to enhance its growth potential, mexico should confront its domestic challenges, including those related to the consolidation of price stability. as always, my comments are entirely my own responsibility and do not necessarily reflect the views of the bank of mexico or its governing board. economic developments and outlook during 2012, mexico has continued a process of economic recovery which began in the middle of 2009. in the first quarter of this year, gdp increased 4. 6 percent versus a year ago, a rate that surpasses the growth observed both in the first and the last quarters of 2011. all major demand components expanded significantly, especially exports of goods and services and domestic investment. available data suggest that this upward trend continued during the second quarter. in particular, during april and may, year - over - year growth as measured by the global economic activity indicator ( igae ), a monthly gdp proxy, averaged 4. 4 percent, with its two main components, the industrial and services sectors, showing considerable momentum. monthly contraction of industrial production in may was mainly due to a slowdown in the production of transportation equipment, as a result of temporary closures of some auto plants for production line retooling. indeed, auto production in june picked up. furthermore, the services sector continued to expand year over year. on the demand side, manufacturing exports since april continued to be a significant source of growth, with shipments increasing both to the united states and to the rest of the world, of both automotive and non - automotive products. although preliminary figures for june suggest that manufacturing exports may