I want to review these claims by examining the cold, hard facts around:   the foundational contributions that monetary policy makes to the good of the people of the UK;    how effective monetary policy has been in achieving macroeconomic outcomes since the crisis; and 10  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/speeches/default.aspx  10    what have been the associated developments in the distribution of income and wealth - the financial outcomes - since extraordinary monetary policies were first implemented. Reinforcing the foundations Any assessment of the distributional consequences of monetary policy must recognise that the negative effects of unemployment and volatile inflation fall predominantly on the poorest in society. High inflation hurts those, typically the less well off, who don’t hold equities or property or whose incomes are xxiii  fixed in nominal terms. Equally, if inflation is too low in a highly indebted economy, dynamics can quickly develop that raise real interest rates, increase debt burdens, lower wages, and reduce growth. In extreme, these can morph into debt deflation, causing very high and persistent unemployment. Again, the highly indebted tend to be less well off, and to pay the heaviest price. The happy medium is a monetary policy framework with a credible commitment to low, stable, predictable inflation over the medium term, as in the UK’s tried and tested arrangements. These give monetary policy the space to respond to shocks, while avoiding the distortionary effects of volatile inflation.
As I understand, the Citigroup MGS Index will potentially be part of their global bond index, an inclusion that would indeed contribute to increasing the significance of the MGS market in the global bond markets. The Citigroup's global bond index, previously known as the Salomon World Bond Index, has been one of the most referenced benchmark market index by the international investment community. It would promote Malaysia in the investors' investment horizon, whether as a long-term benchmark holding in their portfolio or as a tactical investment in seeking market out-performance. When this becomes a reality, the Citigroup Global Bond Index will be the first benchmark that has Malaysia as a component. The index could also serve to facilitate enhanced trading or liquidity in the market, with the commitment to make market or provide prices for the bonds comprised within the index. Besides enhancing the trading volume and related business prospects, it would also spur competition among dealers and the growth of derivative products. Increased market activity and continuous availability of prices in a benchmark government debt market would, in turn, enable other markets; namely private debt securities and asset backed securities to be appropriately priced relative to the degree of risks, and for such securities to be further developed. The Dow Jones-RHB Islamic Equity Index heralds another milestone in the growing Islamic financial markets.