Almost everywhere convergence of entangled ergodic averages

We study pointwise convergence of entangled averages of the form $$\frac{1}{N^k}\sum_{1\leq n_1,\ldots, n_k\leq N} T_m^{n_{\alpha(m)}}A_{m-1}T^{n_{\alpha(m-1)}}_{m-1}\ldots A_2T_2^{n_{\alpha(2)}}A_1T_1^{n_{\alpha(1)}} f,$$ where $f\in L^2(X,\mu)$, $\alpha:\left\{1,\ldots,m\right\}\to\left\{1,\ldots,k\right\}$, and the $T_i$ are ergodic measure preserving transformations on the standard probability space $(X,\mu)$. We show that under some joint boundedness and twisted compactness conditions on the pairs $(A_i,T_i)$, almost everywhere convergence holds for all $f\in L^2$. We also present results for the general $L^p$ case ($1\leq p<\infty$) and for polynomial powers, in addition to continuous versions concerning ergodic flows.Comment: 16 pages, to appear in Integral Equations and Operator Theor

The Single Euro Payments Area

The objective of the pan-European regulatory and self-regulatory work related to the creation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is to improve the efficiency of low-value payments (i.e. retail payments) by establishing a common legal framework and the application of standards. Among the elements of the SEPA project, our focus will be on schemes, in particular the SEPA Credit Transfer Scheme (SCT) already essentially implemented in the EU and Hungary, which we will discuss in detail, stressing the fact that SEPA is not a concrete payments system, but rather a set of procedural and legal rules regulating payment methods, in addition to the entire infrastructure supporting the clearing and settlement of transactions. In the longer term, the broad implementation of the schemes can potentially lead to a substantial reduction in costs for banks, which may ultimately be passed on to customers. We will present the practical experience gained in connection with the Credit Transfer Scheme, in light of the information compiled in the course of the central bank’s informative meetings conducted at the affected Hungarian banks. Currently, 12 banks now apply the Credit Transfer Scheme in Hungary. Due to the lack of a domestic euro infrastructure, domestic euro payments are carried out through international channels. Consequently, a much larger portion of euro transfers made by Hungarian banks have already shifted to the new SEPA format than what has been characteristic of retail payments within the euro area thus far. This phenomenon stems from the fact that initially, the SEPA Credit Transfer Scheme offered a competitive alternative most simply from the perspective of cross-border transaction fees.SEPA, SEPA payment schemes, SEPA payment methods, SEPA Credit Transfer Scheme, Payment Services Directive, PSD.

Traffic routing oligopoly

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel family of games related to congested networks. Traffic routing has been extensively analyzed from the non-cooperative aspect. A common assumption is that each individual optimizes his route in the network selfishly. However looking at the same network from a different scope in some cases we can find some actors that are responsible for the majority part of the traffic. From the point of view of these actors cooperation is indeed an inherent possibility of the game. Sharing information and cooperation with other agents may result in cost savings, and more efficient utilization of network capacities. Depending on the goal and employed strategy of the agents many possible cooperative games can arise. Our aim is to introduce and analyze these wide variety of transferable utility (TU) games. Since the formation of a coalition may affect other players costs via the implied flow and the resulting edge load changes in the network, externalities may arise, thus the underlying games are given in partition function form