The economics of TARGET2 balances

It has recently been argued that intra-eurosystem claims and liabilities in the form of TARGET2 balances would raise fundamental issues within the European monetary union. This article provides a framework for the economic analysis of TARGET2 balances and discusses the key arguments behind this recent debate. The analysis is conducted within a system of financial accounts in which TARGET2 balances can arise either due to current account transactions or cross-border capital flows. It is argued that the recent volatility of TARGET2 balances reflects capital flow movements, while the previously prevailing current account positions did not find a strong reflection in TARGET2 balances. Some recent statements regarding TARGET2 appear to be due to a failure to distinguish between the monetary base (a central bank liability concept) and the liquidity deficit of the banking system vis-à-vis the central bank (a central bank asset concept). Furthermore, the article highlights the importance of TARGET2 for the stability of the euro area and points out that the proposal to limit the size of TARGET2 liabilities essentially contradicts the idea of a monetary union.TARGET2, central bank balance sheet, liquidity deficit, financial crisis

Target2 and Cross-border Interbank Payments during the Financial Crisis

Schulden; Finanzmarktkrise; Target Zone; Schuldenkrise; Europäische Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion

Universal Rashba Spin Precession of Two-Dimensional Electrons and Holes

We study spin precession due to Rashba spin splitting of electrons and holes in semiconductor quantum wells. Based on a simple analytical expression that we derive for the current modulation in a broad class of experimental situations of ferromagnet/nonmagnetic semiconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures, we conclude that the Datta-Das spin transistor (i) is feasible with holes and (ii) its functionality is not affected by integration over injection angles. The current modulation shows a universal oscillation period, irrespective of the different forms of the Rashba Hamiltonian for electrons and holes. The analytic formulas approximate extremely well exact numerical calculations of a more elaborate Kohn--Luttinger model.Comment: 7 pages, 2 eps figures included, minor change

Evaluation of Manual vs. Speech Input When Using a Driver Information System in Real Traffic

The executed study evaluated the influence of manual and speech input on driving quality, stress and strain situation and user acceptance when using a Driver Information System (DIS). The study is part of the EU-project SENECA. 16 subjects took part in the investigations. A car was equipped with a modified DIS to carry out the evaluation in real traffic situations. The used DIS is a standard product with manual input control elements. This DIS was extended by a speech input system with a speaker independent speech recogniser. For the use of the different DIS devices (radio, CD player, telephone, navigation) 12 different representative tasks were given to the subjects. Independently the type of task speech input needs longer operation times than manual input. In case of complex tasks a distinct improvement of the driving quality can be observed with speech instead of manual input. The subjective safety feeling is stronger with speech than with manual input. With speech input the number of glances at the mirrors and aside is clearly higher than with manual input. The most frequent user errors can be explained by problems when spelling and by the selection of wrong speech commands. The rate of speech recognition errors amounts on the average to 20.6 % what makes it necessary to increase the recognition performance of the examined speech system. This improvement of system performance is the task of the development for the system demonstrator in the 2nd half of the SENECA project