Transaction Banking: Respecting its role in the real economy. ECRI Policy Brief No. 6, 6 December 2013

This paper sketches the main features and issues related to recent market developments in global transaction banking (GTB), particularly in trade finance, cash management and correspondent banking. It describes the basic functioning of the GTB, its interaction with global financial markets and related implications of global regulatory developments such as Basel III. The interest in GTB has recently increased, since its low-risk profile, tendency to follow growth rates worldwide and relative independence from other financial instruments became an interesting diversification opportunity both for banks’ business models and for investors. Transaction banking has been a resilient business during the crisis, despite the reduction in world trade figures. In the post crisis period, GTB must cope with new challenges related to increased local and global regulation and the risk of inconsistency in regulatory approaches, which could negatively impact the global network and increased competition by new market entrants. Increased sophistication of corporate clients, as well as the pressure to develop and adopt technological innovations more quickly than other areas of banking continues to impact the business. The future of the industry closely depends on its ability to adjust to complex regulatory developments while at the same time being able to operate a global and efficient network

Collateral and Credit Rationing. The role of collateral in explaining and remediating the limited flow of credit to households and SMEs. ECRI Policy Brief No. 7, February 2014

European-wide data concerning both companies and households indicate that the credit rationing phenomenon, which has been predicted by theory, does in fact occur to a significant degree in the European credit market. Among SMEs, micro companies are most vulnerable and the current economic crisis has only made these concerns more pressing. Top-down use of the monetary transmission mechanism alone is insufficient to counter the problem. The other solution consists of a bottom-up, microeconomic stimulation of lending transactions, by focusing on collateral and guarantees. The data confirm the high importance that lenders – especially individual households and micro companies – attach to collateral and guarantees when making their lending decisions. As a consequence, we would argue that those parts of the law governing security interests and guarantees should be one of the primary targets for government policy aimed at improving credit flows, especially in avoiding a conflict between consumer protection measures and laws on surety and guarantees. This policy brief firstly aims to give an overview of the problem of credit rationing and to show that low-income households and SMEs are most concerned by the phenomenon. Focusing solely on loans as a way of financing and on the issues related to access to finance by micro and small companies as well households, it then sketches possible solutions focused on guarantees. This paper brings together data from the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption survey (HFCS), Eurostat, and both the latest wave of the extended biennial EC/ECB Survey on the access to finance of SMEs (EC/ECB SAFE 2013) and the latest wave of the smaller semi-annual ECB SAFE Survey, covering the period between October 2012 and March 2013

Contract Law and its Potential Impact on Parole and Probation Searches

When considering a defendant\u27s motion to reconsider his sentence or motion to reduce his sentence, Illinois courts apply principals of contract law to hold the defendant to his negotiated plea agreement. However, courts only utilize contract law to enforce the sentence length and not other material terms of a negotiated plea. Specifically, Illinois courts have not enforced search conditions in probation or parole orders when challenged through a motion to quash and suppress. The failure to extend the use of contract principals to the search term of a sentence could create a conflict with how courts enforce negotiated pleas. In addition, a court\u27s failure to uphold the search condition of a parole or probation term may have a negative impact on the State\u27s willingness to enter into a plea agreement

Size Reduction and Specification of Granular Petrol Coke with Respect to Chemical and Physical Properties

Carbon required for the reduction of alumina by electrolysis in the Hall-Héroult process is supplied by the anode. Anodes are produced from a mixture of petroleum coke with coal tar pitch as the binder. The minimum theoretical carbon consumption is 0.334 kg C/kg Al. But due to current efficiency and oxidation losses the consumption is typically 400 kg C/kg Al. Petroleum coke is a by-product from crude oil refineries, but as its value represents only about 2 per cent of the overall production it has a limited interest to the producers. Mechanical and physical properties of coke are influenced by the crude oil, processes within the refineries and calcining of the coke. Continuous high demand for calcined coke by aluminium smelters has created a difficult situation with respect to quality and availability, leading to the use of lower quality coke in aluminium smelters and potential disturbances in the production. Understanding the consequences of varying calcined coke qualities is crucial for to possibly compensate and adjust process parameters in the subsequent use of the coke, in order to obtain economical production of aluminium. In the present work, the subject of study was four different petroleum coke types, where three were derived from a single source (SSA, SSB and SSC) and one was from a blend of different cokes. All of the cokes had different chemical and physical properties. Single source cokes have homogenous chemical and physical composition in the whole size range while the blended coke had heterogeneous composition due to the mixture of different coke types used. The blended coke consisted of several different coke types (25) in order to meet the required specification. This work also describes new characterisation/measurement methods which can contribute to a better understanding of variations in material properties due to physical and mechanical changes in the calcined coke feed materials. Each step in the production of pilot scale anodes is described. A new method was developed for the characterisation of the mechanical strength of calcined coke. This method, the drop test, originates from the study of materials for road construction for the determination of the grain stability of rock materials. The method determines the coke grain strength in the entire size distribution. On the other hand, established measuring methods for calcined coke, HGI (ASTM D5003-95) and grain stability (ISO 10142), determine only the mechanical strength in a specific size range, +0.6-1.18 mm and +4-8 mm, respectively. In other words, both methods give limited information about coke mechanical strength distribution throughout the whole size range, which is especially important when blended cokes are used. Additionally, the results from the drop test are expressed in volume reduction, size reduction, impact force and amount of fines below 148 μm generated during the test. A good correlation between ISO 10142 and the drop test was found. The results show good correlation between the size and volume reduction and the specific grinding energy. The method can also determine the grain strength of a specific size fraction which might be critical to further processing during anode production. Totally, about 8 tons of four calcined coke types were processed during this work. The majority of this material was ground in the air swept ball mill, for production of the finest fraction, dust. The pilot scale air swept ball mill circuit is identical to the equipment used in industry today. This investigation showed the importance of process optimisation for the stable production of dust with the required specification (particle size and Blaine). Each coke exhibited different behaviour in the grinding circuit, due to different mechanical strengths, which is reported as a specific grinding energy. The mechanically weakest coke produced dust with the lowest specific grinding energy. The particle size variation in the coke used in the mill produced a significant disturbance in the product quality. It was found that the sweeping speed through the mill influences the particle size distribution in terms of the proportion of the finest particles. It also affected the particle roundness of the produced dust, which can influence the flowability of the coke when mixed with pitch. The ratio of ball sizes and the rotational speed of the mill influenced the particle size distribution, Blaine and specific grinding energy. On-line particle size control was utilised during the dust production. This system allowed continuous control of the product size by regulation of the air classifier rotor speed. Three different dust sizes were produced in the air swept ball mill, which were all below about 200 μm but contained different proportions of material below 63 μm. Sieved coke fractions together with dust were weighed according to a specified recipe and blended in a sigma blade mixer together with coal tar pitch. A vibration compactor was used for the production of green anodes under optimal conditions. The anodes were produced with three different pitch contents (15, 18 and 20 wt%) and three different dust sizes (45, 63 and 94 %, -63 μm). Core samples of green anodes were investigated in an improved dilatometer for the determination of thermal expansion and shrinkage during baking. Improvements made to the dilatometer during this work contributed to better reproducibility, increased precision and a healthier working environment. An increase in the heating rate influenced the initial expansion, shrinkage and baking loss of the anode. The heterogeneous pitch distribution throughout the anode due to the forming force, friction between coke particles and between the paste and mould showed the importance of selecting a consistent sampling position. The results showed that the bottom samples have greater expansion due to a thicker pitch bridge layer while the top samples have reduced expansion. The sample packing material contributed to a higher initial expansion due to the reduced free surface area for binder volatiles release, and the shrinkage was reduced because of the radial thrusts from the packing material. Thermal dilation results showed differences between samples with varying pitch, dust size and coke type, which can be used to indicate the final properties of baked anodes. A good correlation was found between the thermal dilation after the pitch expansion and the dust content. Green anodes were baked under controlled conditions and then characterised. The baked apparent density showed a good correlation with the pitch content and dust size. The results showed that 18 % pitch content and 63 % -63 μm produced the highest baked densities. The variation in coke type exhibited differences in baked density, specific electrical resistance, air permeability, CO2 and air reactivity and modulus of elasticity.dr.ing.dr.ing

Supervisory advanced control of glass melters and forehearths by the GS expert system

Advanced control is one of the most important tools to increase glass quality and production in existing furnaces. This paper describes a method of how advanced control has been applied in glass industry. Practical experience of an advanced control system called EXPERTSystem II is shown and explained. The present state of control in the glass industry is relatively poor compared to other chemical industries, therefore the potential increase in benefits by advanced control systems is very high for the glass production system

Gedenken denken im terrain vague: ein postkonstruktivistischer Weg für die Erinnerungsforschung

Wie können wir Gedenktage als kollektive und hochgradig politische Erinnerungsanlässe untersuchen? Während das Forschungsfeld bisweilen durch unproduktive Polarisierungen gekennzeichnet ist wie die zwischen Akteur und Struktur, Ideen und Materie bzw. Realismus und Konstruktivismus, bahnt der Beitrag einem spezifischen Denken dazwischen den Weg. Hierfür werden die ritual- und gedächtnistheoretischen Arbeiten von Jan und Aleida Assmann mit Michel Foucaults genealogischem Denken und dessen Machtanalytik kontrastiert. Über Ernst Cassirer und Roland Barthes gelangt der Beitrag zu einem postkonstruktivistischen Verständnis von kollektivem Gedenken als Inszenierung – unter dem ›Druck der Realität‹ (Barthes)

Medizin oder Krankheit? Deutschland diskutiert die Rolle von Ratingagenturen

Jahrzehntelang hatte ihre Expertise als verlässlich gegolten, im Zuge der Finanzkrise 2007/2008 gerieten sie ins Fadenkreuz: Die Rede ist von Standard and Poor's, Fitch und Moody's, den weltweit größten und einflussreichsten Ratingagenturen. Nun, vor dem Hintergrund der anhaltenden Euro-Krise, ist ihre Macht wieder ein Zankapfel. Grund genug für einen polarisierenden Abriss der deutschen Diskussion

Implementation of the Student Services Center: A Case Study of the University of Northern Iowa

Every student who attends a college or university will use at least one of the following offices in student service before they graduate: academic advising, admissions, the business office, career services, financial aid, or the office of the registrar. The literature has shown that a number of colleges or universities found through assessment that their services were organized in a way that was cumbersome for the students. A new approach to student services, referred to as an integrated student service center (ISSC), or a one-stop shop, is designed to allow students to access answers, solutions, and knowledge from a central location. The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) adopted the approach in 1999 and opened the Follon Student Services Center in August of 2004. The purpose of this qualitative study was two-fold: first, to determine the reasons why and how the center was implemented and second, to create a historical documentation of the redesign of student services at UNI. Interviews with eleven administrators and departmental staff, one focus group of six students, and 41 written documents provided information that was used to better understand reasons behind choosing an integrated model of services for students. Six themes emerged from the data analysis in regards to the implementation: overall, this was a very successful implementation, integrating departments increased rapport between staff, the research and assessment was a valuable tool during the preparation and planning, more communication with student, staff, and faculty was needed, strong leadership and support was essential during the implementation, and using technology to integrate services was also very important. The six themes are explained in detailed within three categories: preparation and planning, research and assessment, and communication. Recommendations within the three categories provide an interpretation of the successes and areas that needed improvement within the implementation at UNI. Documenting the process leading up to and the rationale behind the implementation of the integrated student service center at UNI can provide others insight as to how they might create their own integrated center. Also included are a number of suggestions for future research

Staat oder Markt? In Zeiten der Krise diskutiert die Welt über Sinn und Rechtmäßigkeit staatlicher Beihilfen für Unternehmen

Unternehmen erbitten staatliche Beihilfen, Konjunkturpakete werden geschnürt, und der Staat steigt ins Bankengeschäft ein. Hat die aktuelle Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise den Glauben an die Selbstheilungskräfte des Marktes erschüttert? Ein Aspekt dieser Debatte ist die Kontroverse um staatliche Beihilfen für angeschlagene Unternehmen