samchain/econo-pairs-v2 huggingface dataset:
mr hayami discusses the bank of japan ’ s thinking behind the current zero interest rate policy speech by the governor of the bank of japan, mr masaru hayami, at the japan national press club in tokyo on 22 june 1999. i. introduction four months have passed since february when the bank of japan launched its so - called zero interest rate policy, and my speech today explains our thinking behind this historically unprecedented policy. at the outset, it should be pointed out that all decisions regarding the bank ’ s policies, including the present zero interest rate policy, are made after deep and wide - ranging discussions by the policy board. for example, as can be seen in the recent minutes of monetary policy meetings, when the policy board decided upon a zero interest rate policy, it gave serious consideration to such policy alternatives as quantitative monetary easing and inflation targeting. for details of these discussions, the minutes of monetary policy meetings are available. ii. zero interest rate policy a. elements of the zero interest rate policy the so - called zero interest rate policy comprises three elements. first, to encourage the unsecured overnight call rate to move as low as possible by providing ample funds. second, to pay due consideration to maintaining the proper functioning of the market so as to avoid disturbance in the short - term money market. and third, to continue with the current policy until deflationary concerns subside. of these three, the first element is a specific directive to guide the interest rate down to around zero. like the central bank in the us and elsewhere, daily monetary control in japan is conducted through guiding the shortest inter - bank rate, namely the unsecured overnight call rate. up to last february when the bank decided on the zero interest rate policy, the target for guiding the unsecured overnight call rate had already been as low as 0. 25 percent, which had left hardly any room for further reduction. under such circumstances, a view was expressed at the monetary policy meeting on february 12 that for further monetary easing quantitative targeting might be more effective. the majority view, however, was that the demand for monetary base fluctuated widely depending on money market developments and that its relationship with the real economy was not stable. after thorough discussion, it was decided to make the maximum use of the remaining room for the further reduction of interest rates by eliminating the de facto floor for the call rate. interest rates and the quantity of money are two sides of the same coin. a reduction of interest rates to zero accompanies

##ly pursue technological innovation and explore new business areas. in addition, to take advantage of new investment opportunities, it is essential to have efficient and well - functioning financial markets which enable savings to be smoothly channeled to investment through various financial instruments. if the changes in industrial structure and reform of the financial system progress and public expectations for growth become more optimistic, our monetary easing policy to date will become even more effective.
central bankers ’ speeches annex : charts bis central bankers ’ speeches

and the intelligence gathered by our network of agents, the current margin of spare capacity within companies is not particularly pronounced. so even if companies ’ pricing strategies have become less sensitive to space capacity, this is unlikely to explain much of the recent stickiness in inflation. all told, i ’ m not particularly persuaded that the relationship between economic slack and cost and price pressures has become unusually weak. wage growth has moderated broadly as expected given the rise in unemployment. and there does not appear to be a significant margin of spare capacity within companies. what is unusual is that the moderation in wage growth has not been reflected in a corresponding fall in domestic cost pressures. from an accounting perspective, that reflects the unprecedented weakness in productivity in recent years. the level of private sector productivity is around 15 % below the level implied by a continuation of its pre - crisis trend. this weakness in productivity has meant that, despite muted pay growth, unit labour costs – the single biggest determinant of companies ’ costs – have grown at or above their historical rate for much of the four years since the financial crisis. and indeed, it ’ s this weakness of productivity that underpins the second argument put forward for why the relationship between growth and inflation may currently be unusually favourable. the suggestion here is that the recent stagnation in productivity – and of the supply side of our economy more generally – is in large part a direct consequence of demand weakness. if only demand were to pickup, this – on its own – would prompt an increase in the effective supply capacity of companies. the economy could recover without significantly reducing the degree of spare capacity and with little or no additional inflation. my mpc colleague ben broadbent made a similar point in a speech last year ( broadbent 2012 ). bis central bankers ’ speeches the possibility that persistent demand weakness may erode supply capacity is not new. indeed, it was central to the economic doldrums that characterised our economy in the first part of the 1990s. but what is different is that many of the channels which were important in detracting from our supply capacity then don ’ t seem to be operating particularly strongly today. in particular, the scourge of long - term unemployment and of discouraged job seekers leaving the labour market that typified the malaise of the early 90s has been in far less evidence in this downturn. the rate at which the long - term unemployed are able to move back into employment has remained around its historical average ( chart 2 )
would also like to extend the assurance that we will continue to diligently monitor incoming macroeconomic and financial sector data and stand ready to make necessary adjustments to our policy instruments and intervention strategy, should the need arise. thank you. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

ali hashim : current state of the maldives ’ economy and outlook remarks by mr ali hashim, governor of the maldives monetary authority, at the press conference, male, 22 august 2021. * * * a very good afternoon! let me first and foremost, warmly welcome you to the maldives monetary authority and thank you sincerely for accepting our invitation by being here today. it always gives me great pleasure to engage and interact with the hard - working journalists of the maldivian press and media community. i would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about the current state of the economy, our outlook going forward, and the work being undertaken by the mma to ensure that the economic recovery stays on track. as we all know, the maldives is one of the most affected economies due to the covid - 19 pandemic, with an estimated gdp contraction of 32 % in 2020. nearly all major economic sectors, including tourism, construction, transport, communication, and the trade sector recorded negative growth numbers due to the dampening effects of the lockdown and concurrent border closure during the 2nd quarter of 2020. the bank intervened at the beginning of the crisis, actively providing liquidity support to the banking sector to mitigate adverse economic impacts. with the strong tourism sector recovery in recent months, the foreign exchange ( fx ) liquidity position of the banking sector has since improved. in order to ensure an adequate fx buffer, we have established and continue to maintain bilateral liquidity arrangements with other central banks. despite the very trying and challenging circumstances we faced in 2020, the maldives is also among the quickest to rebound from the crisis. the tourism sector, which accounts for an estimated 26 % of real output, has significantly exceeded expectations when compared to initial forecasts for the first half of 2021. this recovery is expected to continue over the medium - term and support the recovery of other economic sectors. other important sectors of the economy continue to rebound as well. the quarterly national accounts for the 1st quarter of 2021, indicates a quarterly gdp growth rate of 34. 4 % compared to the preceding 4th quarter of 2020. most major economic sectors registered positive growth numbers. while we anticipate a slight dampening in the growth prospects for the 2nd quarter of 2021 due to the second lockdown and travel restrictions imposed earlier this year, the revival of economic activity in general and the tourism sector in particular since then, gives us cause for optimism for 2021 as a whole. july 2021 was a particularly good month for tourism with
end but rather as a beginning of a new life. it is my hope that you will find life after retirement fulfilling and a fitting reward for many years of hard work. it is my earnest appeal to all retirees to utilize all the skills and knowledge you have acquired during your working life most especially in the bank, to use your retirement resources wisely by investing prudently. stories of destitution among retirees is one but many of the sad stories, i would like you to avoid. guard the assets that you have acquired in your working life jealously, because retirement does not give you multiple chances to make amends when you make unsound business decisions. it is for this reason that the bank, through human resources department, has engaged future search a consultancy firm to give you tips on how to live in retirement, i urge you to attend the upcoming workshop. i therefore wish you god ’ s blessings as your pursue the challenges of life in retirement. thank you.

##erabilities of international trade and production that caused dilemmas about future globalization trends that are of key importance for small wb economies. to conclude, the main challenges ahead are twofold. first, a " wise " exit from the macroeconomic policy stimulus in order to strike a right balance between the need to support economies and prevent accumulation of imbalances. second, shifting the focus back to structural and transformational policies to address deep seated pre – crisis structural bottlenecks, as well as new structural hurdles that will be left as a legacy of the pandemics, which might not be even well known at the current juncture. this is the only way forward towards transformation of the traditional economies into more smarter, inclusive and greener economies. finally, when written in chinese, the word'crisis'is composed of two characters. one represents danger and the other represents opportunity. i hope that, we have left the danger behind us, and now we will use the opportunities to elevate the wellbeing of our economies. 1 imf weo, april 2021. 2 global competitiveness report, 2019. 3 https : / / www. worldbank. org / en / publication / global - economic - prospects 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches
to fulfil the convergence criteria and to be allowed to join the euro, almost all of them became more lax as soon as they entered. in the first ten years of emu, they ran up deficits and debts, including during times of growth. as a result in 2008, when the crisis started, these countries had no more fiscal room and their public finances deteriorated substantially. member states ’ individual discipline has therefore been too weak, and collective discipline, which was nonetheless provided for in the stability and growth pact, was not applied in practice. i would like to recall the spirit of this pact. it was designed to be the fiscal pillar of monetary union. it was based on a peer - review mechanism. but, on the one hand, it was deliberately misinterpreted : whereas countries were required to maintain a fiscal balance over the cycle, without bis central bankers ’ speeches breaching the 3 % of gdp reference value for the annual public deficit, they interpreted this to mean : “ we can constantly run a 3 % deficit ”. and, on the other hand, the pact was not respected, as sanctions were not imposed on member states that breached these rules ( including france and germany around 2002 ). 2. the second cause of this crisis lies in the competitiveness gaps that had widened for a long time before the crisis. the economic rationale is easy to understand : when joining a currency area whose goal is to achieve an inflation rate of just below 2 %, changes in unit production costs must be in line with this central bank objective, modulo the productivity gains. in all countries that did not abide by this calculation and this discipline, year after year, there was a loss of competitiveness that ultimately proved very significant. as regards these budgetary slippages and competitiveness losses, i hasten to add that markets did not play their role. as soon as the euro was adopted, they ceased to differentiate between countries and sovereign yield spreads narrowed, even aligning themselves at the lowest levels, i. e. those of germany and france. for the first decade of emu, the single currency appeared to play a buffer role that in addition to protecting countries against monetary instability – which the euro successfully did and was its raison d ’ etre – also protected them against the economic reality. member states were labouring under the illusion that they could, without ever suffering the consequences, allow themselves to flout the rules for budgetary discipline or make no efforts to remain

the president of the republic, « how france and europe will defeat inflation », april 2023. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches
choice of these premises, the mumbwa caves, was in recognition of their historic and scientific significance. the caves are an exceptional site because of the deposits and preservation of organic remains found here. the site preserved human and animal bone in some of its 8 - meterdeep deposits. the caves are an important archaeological site as they are believed to have provided shelter to prehistoric man and, are an important centre for present day cultural activities as demonstrated by the revival of a number of kaonde - ila traditional ceremonies being conducted at the site. further, the bank was given an assurance that resources have been secured for drilling of a borehole in the area. with water provided, we can rest assured that the saplings will grow into a forest. as i conclude, i want to urge business houses in the country to develop a culture of planting trees in their various areas of operation. this act will contribute to global reforestation efforts, repair the damaged ecosystem, and engender the culture of climate change mitigation. let me end by appealing to all of us to save trees in order to save our lives. i may venture say, many of us react to the presence of trees with a pleasant, relaxed, and comfortable feeling. the bank of zambia will remain steadfast in supporting sustainable practices. allow me to extend our sincere gratitude to their royal highnesses, the national heritage conservation commission and all other stakeholders who contributed in one way or another to making this exercise possible. thank you for listening. god bless! 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

connection, i would like to take this opportunity to call on zambia national commercial bank plc, as a national bank, to take the lead in responding to our call and indeed government ’ s call to reduce lending interest rates further. i am mindful of the fact that zanaco ’ s base rate is one of the lowest in the country but would like to urge zanaco to live by its slogan, “ big, strong & reliable ” by being proactive and set an example of supporting our efforts in developing the economy. at the central bank, we have continued to do our best, in support of government ’ s effort of reducing inflation, stabilising the currency and implementing sound monetary policies. with inflation of 8. 4 %, the lowest in the last 30 years in the history of our country and other positive developments, we surely would not be asking for the impossible for commercial banks to respond favourably and reduce their lending interest rates further. at this point, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to declare the zanaco bill muster officially launched. thank you.
you very much for your attention.

emmanuel tumusiime - mutebile : reforming the government debt market speech by mr emmanuel tumusiime - mutebile, governor of bank of uganda, at the bank of uganda / uganda securities exchange workshop on reforming the government debt market, kampala, 18 may 2011. * * * the chairman of uganda securities exchange chief executives of financial institutions resource persons distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen it is a great pleasure for me to be here this morning to officiate at the opening of this extremely important, somewhat technical workshop. i would like to welcome all of you. i would also like to thank the uganda securities exchange for collaborating with the bank of uganda to organize the workshop. the aim of the workshop is to discuss a number of important reforms to the debt markets in uganda ; reforms which are under consideration and about which we would like to hear your views. the reforms are intended to contribute to making debt markets deeper, more liquid and more efficient. as such they will benefit borrowers, investors, financial institutions and the wider economy. in particular, i would like this workshop to agree on practical steps to encourage and enable broker dealers to play an active role in the debt markets. over the last decade, we have achieved substantial progress in promoting the growth of the domestic capital markets, for both bonds and equities. uganda is now regarded as a “ frontier market ”, because the country is able to attract portfolio investment from abroad into its capital and money markets. therefore, we are well and truly on the road to becoming an emerging market. nevertheless, we must also acknowledge that our financial markets are still characterized by certain weaknesses. these weaknesses include the low levels of liquidity in the secondary market as well as a narrow investor base, which is largely confined to the commercial banks and a few non bank financial institutions. participation by the general public in the securities markets is very low. markets are not as fully transparent as is desirable. the listing of government securities on the stock exchange has not yet been accompanied by vibrant trading of securities. there are also problems with the efficiency and volatility of our securities markets. evidence for this is the often erratic bidding behavior at bond market auctions, with bids which are at odds with prevailing secondary market rates and a normal positively sloped bond yield curve. in part this reflects a lack of transparency in the securities markets ; for example, the closing prices and yields on the secondary markets are not available to all market participants. it also reflects the need to improve
to offer. thank you. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

particularly important, and this is an area where alternative technology such as mirs could come to the fore. the next issue relates to the times at which the bank ’ s rtgs system can be accessed by settlement banks. currently it operates for around ten hours each business day, with the most recent change occurring in 1999. since we made that change, a number of central banks have lengthened their rtgs operating hours quite considerably, most obviously driven by the demands of the internationally - harmonised cls cash settlement window, and also by a more general desire to operate with a greater overlap with major markets in other time - zones. and in the uk the move to a cash pre - funded model for two of our largest retail systems may create a latent demand to access the rtgs system outside of its current operating hours. faster payments, which operates 24 / 7, often provides confirmation to customers almost instantly. in a cash pre - funding world, settlement banks will only be able to accept further payment instructions if they have sufficient funds in their account with us. given the changes coming to our retail systems, and recognising that a number of other central banks have moved away from a traditional daylight business day, we have recently decided to review the pros and cons of extending the operating hours for the rtgs infrastructure in the uk. this is not a review with a preferred end in sight : it is entirely plausible we will conclude that no changes are warranted, but we do want to understand if a longer rtgs hours would permit beneficial change in the various wholesale and retail payments systems which connect into it, and so to the wider financial system operating in the uk. the review is a form of sensible housekeeping, being an issue that the core infrastructure provider should periodically address. my presumption is that we will draw our initial conclusions within a year, with a further implementation lag following that, were we to conclude that significant change were appropriate. the final area of focus is country specific : last month, the uk government introduced draft legislation to create a new regulator for uk payments focused on competition, innovation, and the interests of end - users. this will replace the previous regime which had relied on a self - regulatory body, the payments council, to achieve these public policy goals. the new regulator will be created under the uk ’ s financial conduct authority ( fca ), and will have extensive powers over payment scheme companies, infrastructure providers and individual scheme members. the government has already