toshihiko fukui : developments in japan ’ s economy and an overall review of the central bank ’ s conduct of monetary policy statement by mr toshihiko fukui, governor of the bank of japan, concerning the bank's semiannual report on currency and monetary control, before the committee on financial affairs, house of councillors and house of representatives, 1 - 2 november 2007. * * * introduction the bank of japan submitted its semiannual report on currency and monetary control for the second half of fiscal 2006 to the diet on june 8, 2007. i am pleased to have this opportunity to present an overall review of the bank's conduct of monetary policy. i. developments in japan's economy japan's economy is expanding moderately. exports have continued to increase due to the expansion of overseas economies. business fixed investment has also continued to trend upward against the background of high corporate profits. the positive effects of the strength in the corporate sector have been feeding through moderately into the household sector. although nominal wages per worker have been somewhat weak, employee income has been rising moderately with the increase in the number of employees. the positive effects of the strength in the corporate sector have also continued to be passed on via various other channels, for example, increased dividends. in this situation private consumption has been firm. with the rise in demand both at home and abroad, production has continued to be on an increasing trend. looking forward, japan's economy is likely to continue its sustained expansion with a virtuous circle of growth in production, income, and spending in place. however, instability in global financial markets stemming from the u. s. subprime mortgage problem continues, and there is uncertainty regarding global economic developments, for example downside risks to the u. s. economy. although overseas economies, taken as a whole, are likely to keep expanding as growth in economies other than the united states is likely to remain high, developments in global financial markets and the global economy continue to warrant attention. on the price front, the three - month rate of change in domestic corporate goods prices has been positive, mainly due to the rise in international commodity prices. the year - on - year rate of change in the consumer price index ( excluding fresh food ) has been around 0 percent. from a longer - term perspective, however, it is projected to continue to follow a positive trend as the output gap continues to be positive. as for financial conditions, the environment for corporate finance has

jean - pierre roth : life in a two - headed monetary system - the swiss experience speech by mr jean - pierre roth, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the 50th anniversary of the bank of israel, jerusalem, 29 november 2004. * 1. * * introduction it is almost a common - place to state that the birth of the euro on january 1, 1999 was a milestone in the process of european integration. giving up national sovereignty in monetary matters was without doubt a very bold move of historical proportions. it will have long lasting economic and political consequences. it is meant to promote efficiency, transparency, and growth. the creation of a single currency should also act as catalyst towards further european integration. moreover, and this is really what i would like to focus on today, the creation of the euro has changed the world ’ s monetary landscape. i believe that one can say without fear of exaggeration that it has led to a new international monetary order. countries such as israel and switzerland, situated on the periphery of the euro area, are affected as well. i would like to share with you some of our experiences in this regard, and i would be very interested to know to what extent these findings apply to your country too. 2. our pre - euro worries quite frankly, my colleagues and i at the swiss national bank were somewhat worried before the introduction of the euro. although we fully appreciated the benefits that switzerland would draw from the creation of the euro in terms of increased transparency and lower transaction costs, we were also quite concerned about the possible risks. three of these came to mind. first, we feared that the swiss franc might be in for a bumpy ride. in the past, whenever the dollar was under attack, international investors turned their attention to the german mark and the swiss franc. their status as safe - haven currencies meant that at times of turbulences on foreign exchange markets they would move well beyond what economic fundamentals could justify. in fact, the swiss franc often revealed a tendency to appreciate even more than the german mark, a phenomenon that was generally attributed to the relative narrowness of the swiss financial markets. now with the german mark gone, wouldn ’ t all attention focus almost exclusively on our currency? would it not mean that in a dollar crisis the franc would have to bear even more of the adjustment than in the past? even more frightful, what would happen if the euro itself were under attack? the last thing