lucas papademos : financial structures, credit growth and house prices in the new eu member states - policy challenges on the road to the euro speech by mr lucas papademos, vice president of the european central bank, at the conference held by latvijas banka, riga, 19 september 2005. * i. * * introduction it is a great pleasure for me to speak at this conference organised by latvijas banka, in a country that has played such an important role as a major trading centre in european history. initially, that role partly reflected its geographic location on one of the oldest trading routes in europe – the so - called “ route from the vikings to the greeks ”, which was used to trade, among other things, latvian amber – a route dating back to the times of the ancient greeks and the roman empire. and then later, the city where we have gathered today, riga, became one of the most significant members of the hanseatic league, which controlled trade on the bustling baltic sea in the 14th and 15th centuries. today, latvia has a modern and dynamic economy, again occupying an important position in european trade, having achieved a remarkable transition towards a successful market economy after gaining independence in 1991. trade and finance have always gone hand in hand. therefore, it is no surprise that just as the latvian economy has undergone an impressive transformation, so too has the latvian financial system. latvia has made substantial progress in the development of its financial structure and has created the institutional and legal frameworks necessary to support a market - oriented financial system. 1 today, its financial markets are developing rapidly in new directions and are providing valuable services to both households and the corporate sector, underpinning the functioning of a modern high - growth economy. as i am addressing a distinguished audience with expert knowledge of the latvian economy, i consider it appropriate to take a broader and more comprehensive view, and look at the development of the financial sector not only in latvia, but in the new eu member states as a whole. after an overview of certain salient features characterising the financial structures of these countries, i will concentrate on two issues that have recently received considerable attention from both policy - makers and the media : strong credit growth and rapidly rising house prices. this will bring me to the focal point of my remarks : the challenges arising from these developments and the appropriate policy responses. ii. features of the financial structures in the new member states many of you have witnessed at first hand the remarkable

jerome h powell : welcoming remarks - teacher town hall meeting welcoming remarks ( hybrid ) by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at a conversation with the chair : a teacher town hall meeting, washington dc, 28 september 2023. * * * thank you, sarah, thank you to those in fed education who helped put together this event, and thank you to the teachers here and online who have put aside some of their planning time to listen and, i hope, also participate. if i were doing the grading, credit would always be granted for participation. we have scheduled this discussion with teachers well into the school year, partly to highlight the beginning, on october 1, of economic education month. at the fed, every month is economic education month, and we are glad to join in the celebration. it is, fortunately, a very different time for teachers than the one we faced in august 2021, the last time we held this discussion with educators. in the crisis of the pandemic, teachers were on the front lines. i know how overwhelming this challenge was for many of you, and the extent of your sacrifice, for which i thank you. and the crisis in many ways continues, as research confirms the educational deficits that students still suffer from the pandemic. in addition to the challenges they face, there are likely to be consequences for the economy and for society, in a generation of young people who may lack some of what they need to be well - informed and engaged participants in our economy and our democracy. addressing this legacy of the pandemic is a major public policy challenge, so now more than ever, teachers are crucial to america's future. a large majority of you are economic educators, a role that is of particular importance. as many of you know, the fed's ability to influence the economy depends to some extent on influencing the public's view of current and future economic conditions. when my colleagues and i publish our projections for the most likely path for the economy and interest rates, as we did a couple of weeks ago, one of our goals is to influence spending and investment decisions today and in the months ahead. that will only be the case if people understand what we are saying and what it means for their own finances. that's where you come in. by educating students about economics, not only are you providing them with valuable skills to manage their finances, and to improve their chances for future success