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December 2019 – March 2020 Dec 2019 – Mar 2020
Online seminar – Liquidity Stress Testing for Investment Funds @ FBF Online Platform
Download the ESMA report
Over the last decade, the asset management industry has experienced strong growth driven by rising asset valuation and steady investors' inflows. The net asset value of EU alternative investment funds (AIFs) amounted to EUR 4.9tn in 2017, and total net assets managed by EU-domiciled undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) amounted to EUR 9.3tn in 2018 against EUR 6.2tn in 2007.
The development of the fund industry contributes to the diversification of the EU financial system and provides retail and institutional investors with a range of investment vehicles that can be used to gain exposures to specific asset classes (equities, bonds etc.) and investment policies. Therefore, it is crucial to make sure that the fund industry is resilient and is able to absorb economic shocks.
In that context, the Financial Stability Board has issued recommendations to address structural vulnerabilities from asset management activities, which include provisions related to stress tests. This online seminar provides an overview of the framework used by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for fund stress simulations. The different building blocks of a stress simulation framework are outlined, along with a menu of options that can be selected by stress testers. Beyond the methodological aspects of the framework, the presentation will outline a case study showcasing how the framework can be applied, based on a sample of more than 6,000 UCITS bond funds. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with the public.
Christian Winkler
Christian Winkler heads the Markets and Investors Team in ESMA – European Securities and Markets Authority's Risk Analysis and Economics Unit. The Risk Analysis and Economics Unit is responsible for ESMA's work on identification and assessment of risks to investors, markets and financial stability in the EU in the area of securities markets. Prior to joining ESMA in September 2013, Christian has worked in managing roles in the Chief Economist Department of the UK FCA and FSA and in the capital markets department of MAN AG, a large German corporate. He holds a doctoral degree in Economics from the university of Erlangen-Nuremberg and is a CFA charterholder.
Technical disclaimer
The online seminar will take place on the Adobe Connect platform. You can access the seminars from personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. You are strongly encouraged to read the technical requirements before registering for the online seminar. To ensure an optimal experience in terms of connection speed and video quality, we suggest to attend the seminar via a device connected to a stable network connection, avoiding if possible shared wi-fi or mobile connections.
Low interest rates: a licence to accumulate (public) debt? @ FBF Online Platform
Download the presentation by Daniel Gros
Conventional wisdom has is that low rates favour higher deficits. Yet, the argument is much weaker than appears at first sight. Risk free interest rates are now negative or ultra-low even for long maturities. However, the effective cost of public debt remains higher than these rates would suggest.
In this online seminar which will explore the interplay between fiscal and monetary policy, Daniel Gros (CEPS) will argue that the marginal cost of additional debt is today much higher than the interest rate for highly indebted countries. The European Central Banks' sovereign bond purchase program (PSPP) might have increased the risk for private investors thus making additional debt more expensive. Furthermore, Dr. Gros will discuss how fiscal policy cannot save the ECB from its low inflation conundrum. Higher deficits would have little impact on inflation (flat Phillips curves). On the contrary, as Daniel Gros will argue, running a fiscal surplus is equivalent to central bank bond buying.
The online seminar will be closed by a Q&A session with the public.
Daniel Gros
Daniel Gros is the Director of the think tank Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), which he joined first in 1986-1988 and then again in 1990. He has worked at the International Monetary Fund from 1983 to 1986, and served as economic advisor to the Directorate General II of the European Commission from 1988–1990, co-authoring the study targeted to design the Euro. He has also advised the European Parliament from 1998-2005, and 2010- present, as well as several government , including the Prime Minister and Finance Minister of France. He has taught at the College of Europe in Natolin and numerous other universities throughout Europe. In 2020 he is visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley. His current research primarily focuses on EU economic policy, including in particular monetary and trade policy as well as the design of the institutional architecture of the euro.
Online seminar – Three turning points in the growth of the AML architecture @ FBF Online Platform
Download the presentation by Peter Alldridge
Download the presentation by Nikita Divissenko
In this online seminar, Peter Alldridge (Drapers' Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London) will draw attention to three steps which in hindsight were decisive in the growth of the AML industry. At the time, those seemed to be small incremental steps, but were radical conceptual changes in the structure of laundering crimes, and whose consequences remain. They are:
(i) the move beyond treating drugs offences as the only foundation of money laundering, to a far wider category;
(ii) the move towards regarding laundering as an independent wrong rather than a form of complicity in the predicate and
(iii) the move to include tax offences among the grounds for laundering.
In his talk, Professor Alldridge will reflect upon their significance, engaging with questions from the audience in the Q&A session that will follow.
Peter Alldridge
Peter Alldridge has been Drapers' Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London since 2003 and was Head of the Department of Law (from 2008-2012). He was Specialist Adviser to the Joint Parliamentary Committees on the draft Corruption Bill (2003) and the draft Bribery Bill (2009) and was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social sciences in 2014. He has published widely in the areas of criminal law, evidence, legal education, law and information technology, medical law and law and disability. He is the author of Relocating Criminal Law (2000), Money Laundering Law (2003), What went Wrong with Money Laundering Law? (2016), and Taxation and Criminal Justice (2017). He acted as an expert on corporate criminal liability for the UN in Indonesia in 2017. He was President of the Society of Legal Scholars In 2017-18.
Nikita Divissenko
Nikita Divissenko is a Ph.D. researcher at the Law Department of the European University Institute (EUI). He is also a coordinator of the Finance, Innovation and Regulation Working Group. He holds LL.M degrees in European, International and Comparative Law from the EUI and from Leiden University (cum laude). Nikita is a qualified lawyer admitted to the Estonian Bar (since 2014) and has been a practicing lawyer in Tallinn (Estonia) specialising in banking and financial law prior to joining the institute. His Ph.D. project deals with the legal challenges arising from regulating technological innovation, and his research interests include economic regulation (incl. financial regulation), innovation and regulatory theory, AML and payments law.
Models for Financial Stability and Prudential Policy @ EUI Premises, Florence
Course dates: 3-5 February 2020
Place: EUI Premises, Florence
Course Instructors: Jean-Charles Rochet (University of Geneva), Bruno Maria Parigi (University of Padova)
Area: Financial Stability and Macroprudential policy
Target: Financial stability and research department of Central Banks, Ph.D. and Post-doctoral researchers, Assistant Professors, Research departments of private banks, EU officials.
More information and registrations
Online debate – A European Perspective on Securitisation @ FBF Online Platform
Slides by Bart Joosen
Slides by Richard Hopkin
Slides by Simon Broxham
Securitisation is a technique that financial actors can use to create liquid instruments from a range of real economy-related illiquid products, allowing them, amongst others, to liberate regulatory capital on their balance sheets or to generate an alternative source of funding. Knowing the rules underpinning securitisation is crucial to understand the roles played by market participants and regulatory institutions, and how they can act to maximise their benefits and minimise their risks.
This online debate will engage with both the practical and regulatory dimensions of securitisation. In particular, the debate will review the key characteristics of the current regulatory frameworks for securitization in Europe. Speakers will highlight the historical evolution – the 2008 financial crisis and the revision of the rules undertaken in 2015-2019. They will also discuss the need for transparent and simple rules to ensure financial stability on the one hand and the need to keep the regulatory burden sufficiently proportionate in order not to undermine market development on the other.
Lastly, the debate will also review the current securitisation trends – both in the US and in Europe – on the basis of recent data and in the context of the European Capital Markets Union reboot.
Bart Joosen
Prof. dr. Bart P.M. Joosen is a professor of Financial Supervision Law at the VU University Amsterdam and founder of Regulatory Counsel Financial Services. He is also President of the Academic Board of the European Banking Institute. He has expertise on financial services supervision with a focus on micro-prudential supervision of banks, insurance companies and investment firms and payment services. Previously to working as a lawyer in private practice, he worked as in-house legal counsel at Philips Electronics in Eindhoven. Bart Joosen holds a position as non-executive board member of Santander Consumer Finance Benelux and is furthermore active in a number of other positions. He graduated from Tilburg University in 1987 and was promoted to doctor in law science (PhD) at the same university in 1998. He completed the post-academic education Finance and Securities Interest at the Grotius Academy and the Harvard Business School 'Leadership Skills Programme'.
Simon Broxham
Simon Broxham has over 25 years' experience in financial markets as a trader, structurer and managing director specialising in credit, securitisation and interest rate markets. For well over a decade he led the European credit business for Bank of Montreal in London, managing a multi-billion dollar complex credit derivative and structured credit portfolio during and after the Global Financial Crisis. After successfully winding down this large portfolio Simon established and managed for a number of years a client-focussed credit trading business consisting mainly of European financials and corporate bonds. built a client focussed credit business. Simon is the Director of Duver Consulting advising banks, asset managers and fintech companies on regulatory and market change projects and offering training in aspects of wholesale markets. Simon holds MA and MEng degrees in Engineering from the University of Cambridge.
Richard Hopkin
Richard Hopkin is Head of Fixed Income and a managing director in the Securitisation Division at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). Richard joined AFME in June 2010 after a 25-year career in the law and finance during which he held leadership positions at J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale. He has originated, structured and distributed securitisations funding the real economy through a wide variety of asset classes including mortgages, credit cards, auto, consumer and SME loans, from across Europe, Australia and the US. Richard has led and negotiated industry positions on many critical regulatory initiatives in recent years, including most recently the new standard for "simple transparent and standardised securitisation" in Europe. A frequent visitor to Brussels, he has helped rehabilitate the securitisation industry in the eyes of key European policymakers and continues to be a strong advocate for the benefits of securitisation for the European economy. Born and brought up in Wales, Richard read law at Cambridge University and before his investment banking career qualified as a solicitor with leading international law firm Clifford Chance.
From Bank Recovery to Bank Resolution @ EUI Premises, Florence
Course dates: 12-14 February 2020
Course Instructors: Jens-Hinrich Binder (Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen); Ralf Bock (European Central Bank); Svetlana Dimova (BaFin); Katerina Theodossiou (Bank of Greece); Jean-Jacques Van Helten (Robert Schuman Centre, EUI)
Area: Regulation, Supervision and Resolution
Level: Introductory/Intermediate
Target: EU Officials (ECB, SSM, SRB, ESRB, EBA, ESM), National Supervisory Authorities, financial stability and research department of Central Banks, Ph.D. students, financial institutions in the private sector, law firms.
Online seminar – Emergency Liquidity Assistance in the Eurosystem @ Online
Download the presentation by Christos Gortsos
Last-resort lending is usually understood as the provision of liquidity by central banks to individual solvent banks in exceptional circumstances, on a temporary basis and against adequate collateral. Since it constitutes a liquidity crisis management instrument, it is distinguished from monetary policy measures implemented by central banks. As part of a traditional approach often referred to as 'constructive ambiguity', the conditions under which central banks may exercise their power to act as lenders of last resort are not set out explicitly in legislative or regulatory provisions. This applies also in the context of the Eurozone, since the provision of central bank credit in the form of Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) to solvent credit institutions established in the euro area is not provided for in the EU Treaties. The relevant procedural arrangements are indeed laid down in the 2017 ECB "Agreement on emergency liquidity assistance" which Prof. Gortsos has comprehensively analysed as part of his upcoming book European Central Banking Law – The Role of the European Central Bank and National Central Banks under European Law (Palgrave Macmillan). Against this background, Prof. Gortsos will engage with the following questions in this online seminar:
Who provides Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) in the Eurosystem and under which conditions?
When and where was ELA provided during the euro crisis and what have we learned from these episodes?
When and how can ELA provision interfere with the objectives and tasks for the Eurosystem?
As always, the presentation will be followed by a Question and Answers session with seminar participants.
Christos Gortsos
Christos Gortsos is Professor of Public Economic Law at the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, as well as member of the Academic Board of the European Banking Institute (EBI). He studied law, economics and finance at the Universities of Athens, Zürich, Pennsylvania (Wharton Business School) and Geneva (Graduate Institute of International Studies). The main fields of his research, teaching and publications include central banking law, financial regulation and institutional economics. He is a main instructor in the Florence School of Banking and Finance's upcoming (23-25 March) course on Liquidity: Regulation, Practice and Stress Testing.
Vítor Constâncio
Vítor Constâncio was Vice-President of the European Central Bank from 1 June 2010 to May 2018. In the Portuguese Government, he was Secretary of State for the Budget and Planning in 1974 -76 and Finance Minister in 1977-78. At the central bank of Portugal, he was Director of the Economics Department, Deputy Governor and then from 2000 to 2010, Governor of the Banco de Portugal and consequently, member of the European Central Bank Governing Council. He was Assistant Professor at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG), University of Lisbon, from 1968 to 1973 and later, coordinator Professor of the Master´s degree on Monetary Policy from 1989 to June 2010. He is now President of the School Board at ISEG and Professor at the Master's Degree in Banking and Financial Regulation at the School of Economics, University of Navarra, Madrid, and member of the respective Advisory Board.
POSTPONED: Lecture by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi: 'Creating a True Capital Market Union' @ Palazzo Incontri
The event is postponed to a date to be communicated, in accordance with the disposition by the Italian government to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus
(Decreto Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri del 4 marzo 2020, Art 1.1.a)
The Florence School of Banking and Finance, Fondazione CESIFIN Alberto Predieri and Fondazione CR Firenze are organising a high-level lecture by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, President of Société Générale.
There is a broad consensus among policy makers, academics and market practitioners that the Eurozone requires a deep and liquid capital market to foster economic integration, to absorb shocks and to support growth. However, there is little understanding of what needs to be done to achieve such a goal.
A comparison with the US experience shows that there are some necessary conditions that need to be met for a true capital market to be created. Dr. Bini Smaghi will mention the following five:
the complementarity with full banking union;
the creation of a safe asset;
the support of public schemes for lending, in particular to SMEs;
a regulatory environment that allows for market-making;
a unified supervisory framework.
Unless the member states are willing to adopt concrete steps in these areas, the CMU will not be created. This is the reason why the European Commission has to be clear and outspoken in presenting policy makers with clear and bold proposals.
(italian version)
Verso la creazione di una vera Unione dei mercati dei capitali
Esiste un largo consenso tra decisori politici, accademici e operatori nel mercato, in merito alla necessità di un mercato dei capitali nell'Eurozona, integrato e liquido, che possa promuovere l'integrazione economica, assorbire gli shock e favorire la crescita. Ciò nonostante, non esiste una visione condivisa in merito alla modalità in cui questo obbiettivo può essere raggiunto. Un'analisi della situazione negli Stati Uniti dimostra quali sono le condizioni necessarie per la creazione di un vero mercato dei capitali. Nel corso della lezione, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi ne menzionerà cinque: i) la complementarietà con una piena unione bancaria; ii) la creazione di un 'safe asset'; iii) il supporto a schemi pubblici di prestito, in particolare alle PMI; iv) un ecosistema regolamentario che renda possibile la costruzione di mercati; v) una struttura unificata di supervisione. A meno che gli Stati membri non vogliano agire concretamente in queste aree, l'Unione dei mercati dei capitali non potrà essere creata. Questa è la ragione per la quale la Commissione Europea dev'essere diretta nel presentare trasparenti e audaci proposte ai decisori politici.
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
Chairman of Société Générale
He started his career in 1983 as an Economist in the Research Department of the Banca d'Italia. He moved in 1994 to the European Monetary Institute, to head the Policy Division, preparing for the creation of the ECB. In 1998 he was appointed Director General for International Affairs in the Italian Treasury. From June 2005 to December 2011 he was a Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank.
Over the last 20 years he held the positions of Chairman of Italgas, SNAM and SACE, and member of the Board of Finmeccanica, MTS, the European Investment Bank and Morgan Stanley International. He has been Visiting Scholar at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the first Chairman of Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, a cultural institution in Florence.
He has been appointed CEPR Distinguished Fellow, Senior Fellow at LUISS School of European Political Economy in Rome, and President of the Italian Alumni of the University of Chicago. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's Community of Chairmen, and independent member of the Board of Tages Holding. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), a Master's degree from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Chicago.
He is author of several articles and books on international and European monetary and financial issues (available at www.lorenzobinismaghi.com), in particular "Austerity: European Democracies against the Wall" (CEPS, July 2013), "33 false verità sull'Europa" (Il Mulino, April 2014) and "La tentazione di andarsene: fuori dall'Europa c'è un futuro per l'Italia?" (Il Mulino, May 2017).
16:00 Registration and welcome coffee
Ginevra Cerrina Feroni (Professor, Law Department, University of Florence; Vice-President, Fondazione CESIFIN Alberto Predieri)
Pierre Schlosser (Scientific Coordinator, Florence School of Banking and Finance)
16:55 Lecture Lorenzo Bini Smaghi (President, Société Générale)
17:35 Discussion, followed by questions and answers
Moderated by Ferdinando Giugliano (Bloomberg)
Lorenzo Stanghellini (Professor of Business Law, University of Florence)
Giacomo Calzolari (Professor, Economics Department, European University Institute)
18:50 Closing remarks
Renaud Dehousse (President, European University Institute)
Luigi Salvadori (President, Fondazione CR Firenze)
19:10 Cocktail for all participants
The event will be in italian, with simultaneous translation in English. / L'evento si terrà in italiano, con traduzione simultanea in inglese.
EVENT CO-ORGANISED WITH
Fondazione CESIFIN Alberto Predieri
Online Seminar – Valuation in Resolution @ Online
Presentation by the SRB
Presentation by the EBA
In this online seminar Boštjan Jazbec and Jose Carlos Molina Franquelo (Single Resolution Board) will provide an update on valuation in resolution, including a description about how Europe's Single Resolution Board plans to embed valuation preparedness into resolution planning activities and the proposed approach regarding improvement of the Management Information System (MIS) for valuation. The seminar will also feature comments by Anna Gardella (European Banking Authority).
The presentation will comprise two blocks:
The first block will focus on the Single Resolution Board's (SRB) framework for valuation. The SRB has worked to provide clear expectations regarding the principles and methodologies for valuation in resolution and it expectations regarding the results of the valuation. The Framework for Valuation aims at reducing uncertainty for both the independent valuers and the SRB, providing indications that are necessary for achieving the valuation's goals, subsequently enhancing comparability and consistency of valuations across future resolution cases.
A second block will focus on topics related improvement of MIS for valuation. Within the context of resolution, the capacity of banks' management information systems to provide accurate and timely information is crucial for the reliability and robustness of valuations. Therefore, the data availability is a fundamental prerequisite for the work in valuation. The purpose is to provide a general description on how the SRB plans to embed the preparation for valuation in resolution planning and crisis preparedness. It should be highlighted that the SRB and the EBA have been collaborating closely in their respective works on a standardised data set for valuation in resolution. Main differences between the SRB Data Sets and the EBA Data Dictionaries will be explained.
Boštjan Jazbec , Member of the Board and Director of Resolution Planning and Decisions, Single Resolution Board
Boštjan Jazbec became Board Member of the SRB in March 2018 and is responsible for the banks under the direct remit of the SRB in 6 EU Member States, for 2 GSIBs, and for several resolution teams involved in resolution planning. He is also Chairman of the Cross-border Crisis Management Group for banks at the Financial Stability Board. From 2003 to 2008 he was Board Member of the Bank of Slovenia. After 2008, he worked as a Senior Advisor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the Central Bank of Kosovo and the Central Bank of Suriname. In July 2013 he was appointed Governor of the Bank of Slovenia and the Member of the Governing Council of the ECB. From 2016 to 2018 he was a Member of the Bank for International Settlements' (BIS) Central Bank Governance Group. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna and the University of Ljubljana.
Jose Carlos Molina Franquelo, Head of Unit Resolution Planning, Single Resolution Board
Jose Carlos Molina joined the SRB in January 2016. He is responsible for the coordination of a unit in charge of the resolution planning activities for a set of institutions including one of the largest European G-SIBs.
He also leads an expert group on valuation and co-chairs another one on Solvent Wind Down (SWD) topics at the SRB. Previously he worked at the Task force for the establishment of the Single Resolution Board (since 2014) and DGCOMP at the European Commission.
He has previous experience as supervisor at Bank of Spain, where he worked as on-site inspector since 2005. He holds a law degree, a business administration degree and an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa..
Anna Gardella, Senior Expert at the European Banking Authority
Anna Gardella is a Senior Expert at the European Banking Authority. She is project manager on a wide range of regulatory issues, with special expertise in resolution matters and market access, and is responsible for the drafting of RTS, ITS and Guidelines. One of her last projects is the EBA Valuation Handbook for purposes of resolution. She has been a member of the FSB Work Streams on cross-border resolution, on bail-in execution and on IBOR reform. She represents the EBA in a wide range of matters, including in resolution colleges and Crisis Management Groups of G-SIBs, in mediation cases settling disagreements between resolution authorities, as well as between supervisory authorities. She was a member of the EBA Crisis management team during the 2015 Greek crisis where capital controls were imposed.
Online lecture – Financial Stability in Times of Epidemics @ FBF Online platform
The coronavirus epidemic will not wipe us out, but it can be anticipated that it will have a major impact on our habits, world trade and the virtual economy. In the end it might make us all wiser, but probably also poorer for a while.
Key questions are whether financial panic will strike, and through which channels systematic risk may impact our economies. Any answer must be placed within an informed view of current circumstances, as the shock is hitting us in a phase of economic stagnation, accompanied by excess savings and inflated asset prices.
Against this background, this online lecture will first introduce a view of our current phase financial stagnation and its potential vulnerabilities, with special attention to bank and shadow bank related risks. Next we will introduce a speculative view on the likely effects of the virus crisis on asset prices, inflation and financial stability.
This lecture will be the first of a series of FBF online events that will discuss the economic and financial impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and will review Europe's economic policy response to the virus.
Enrico Perotti, Professor of International Finance at the University of Amsterdam
Enrico Perotti (PhD Finance, MIT 1990) is Professor of International Finance at the University of Amsterdam. His research in banking and corporate finance, organization theory, political economy, legal and financial history has appeared in the top economics and finance journals. He was the 2011 Houblon Normal Fellow in financial stability at the Bank of England and 2015 Wim Duisenberg Fellow at the ECB. He is Fellow of the European Economic Association and Research Fellow at CEPR and Tinbergen Institute. He has held visiting appointments at MIT, Harvard, Oxford, Columbia Business School, London Business School, LSE and the IMF. He acted as consultant to the EC, IMF, FSB, World Bank and DNB.


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To annotate, index and ready for publication a 250-page illustrated edition of the 1835 Journal of William C. Holgate, which records his trip from Utica, New York to Huntington, Indiana, via the Erie Canal and Lake Erie, along the Maumee River and the Wabash and Erie Canal. Attention will be focused on the Maumee River settlement period. The influence of the Erie Canal, U.S. Indian policy, the movement westward and the presence of Eastern land speculators will be illuminated.


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Q: PHP regex pattern to return N slugs/chunks (separated or split on the "/" char.) as matches from a "friendly" URL? I'm looking for a regex pattern that will return N slugs/chunks (all pieces of the URL, separated or split on the "/" char.) as matches from a "friendly" URL.
The pattern should not include the domain or a leading slash.
Also, the pattern should work with an unknown number of slugs and/or slashes.
For example, some example URLs and desired returned slugs/chunks:

*

*"" = array()

*"foo/bar/" = array('foo', 'bar')

*"foo/bar/baz" = array('foo', 'bar', 'baz')

*"foo-bar/baz" = array('foo-bar', 'baz')

Finally, I need to pass this regex pattern preg_match (or similar) and have it return the results via the function's $matches parameter.
For example:
<?php preg_match($your_pattern, $friendly_url, $your_pattern_matches); ?>

... similar results can be prduced using explode().
This pattern is being used in a much more complex scenario than my little old example; requiring the use/forcing me to use regex patterns via preg_match for the solution. Basically, I'm passing preg_match a pattern of choice, which is why I need a regex pattern as opposed to simply using explode.
Your help is GREATLY appreciated!
Cheers!

A: First of all, check the manual of preg_split
$segments = preg_split('[/]', $uri, 0, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);

If you insist on preg_match take a look on this:
$uri = '/foo-bar/baz';

preg_match_all('%[^/]+%', $uri, $matches);

print_r($matches);

A: Sounds like explode() would do the job without having to bother with regexes:
$matches = explode('/', $url);

A: Sorry but I don't think you can do what you want with preg_match.
After reading the documentation
You can see that preg_match will stop at the first match. You want an array of the matches in a friendly url however this can only be achieved by multiple matches , in order to store the values in an array OR by a single match which would capture the whole thing. Both of these cases do not fit you so I am afraid that you would have to use something else than preg_match.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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11 Jan The Magician's Game
Posted at 00:00h in Artifacts and Objects by Creepypasta.com 2 Comments
📅 Published on January 11, 2017
"The Magician's Game"
Estimated reading time — 10 minutes
The audience laughed as the young man in the top hat smiled. The trick he had just completed had apparently been more than enough to please the crowd. As the man slowly walked away from the almost blindly bright spotlight, he kept his face focused on the crowd, continuing to smile.
He attempted to focus on specific members, one being a teenager who appeared to be recording the whole thing on his phone, another being a pretty blond girl with particularly lovely blue eyes. Tom realized that this wasn't helping when he almost tripped on his own feet, and he went back to just smiling and focusing his effort on leaving the stage.
After a few moments, the magician was out of the audience's sight.
Immediately, he stopped grinning and went to his nearby dressing room.
Once the magician had opened the door, he ducked under the doorway and walked inside the cramped room. Closing the door, he finally let out a sigh. After years of doing the same acts, it was finally starting to tire him out. At this point, he collapsed against the door and sat down for several minutes, thinking.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at the door.
"Mr. Olzvick, do you mind if I speak with you for a sec? I promise it won't take very long." It was clearly the voice of a young man. He seemed to be rather impatient, for he said his words very quickly.
Mr. Olzvick, being a bit startled by this person, quickly retorted, "What do ya want, autographs? Interviews?"
"Not quite, Mr. Olzvick. I have a letter for you, and it is kind of important. I'm supposed to deliver it to you face to face, so can you open up the door, Mr. Olzvick?"
He had received letters before, but something about the way the man worded the sentence gave Mr. Olzvick an uncomfortable feeling. Why would a letter need to be delivered "face to face"? Shrugging it off as just odd phrasing, Mr. Olzvick sighed and opened the door.
In front of him was a young man in a clean suit and with a slicked back haircut. With that hair, he looked a bit like an even skinnier version of Elvis in the fifties.
"I'm busy, kid, so just hand me the letter so I can get back to work," the magician grumbled.
"Mr. Olz-"
"Just call me Tom."
"Well then, Tom, you were just sitting against the door, staring off in deep thought. I wouldn't really classify that as 'work'."
"Just give me the damn letter," Tom said, getting impatient.
"Alright, fine. I wish you good luck and goodbye, Mr. Tom Olzvick," the man stated, and with that, he strolled off.
As the man walked off, Tom suddenly realized how peculiar that conversation was. How did the man know that he was leaning against the door? Why did he wish him "good luck"?
"Maybe this letter can explain something…" Tom muttered to himself, eyeing the letter.
The writing on the front of it was very neat, and there was no stamp or address. The writing stated, "Stop examining and open the letter."
Finding it odd that the letter would know of his actions as he was doing them, Tom started to feel uneasy. He flipped to the back of the letter to find more neat writing, stating, "You are a bit slow. Care to be a bit faster?"
Tom was now incredibly skeptical as to what was going on. Being unable to put aside his curiosity, Tom ripped open the letter.
Inside was a very neatly folded piece of paper. Unfolding it quickly, Tom began to read the handwritten note.
"Hello, Mr. Tom Olzvick.
I can understand that you are confused, but please put that aside for now. There are more important matters at hand.
Since you have opened this letter, you have just began a bit of a… game. I certainly view it as a game. After all, games are fun, aren't they?
The ultimate objective of the game is very simple: Winning, by any means possible. Losing the game will result in… well, you'll see if you lose. Trust when I say that this is a grand chess game. This letter was the first move.
Time for you to make the next one.
E4."
Tom stood in complete shock.
"Game? What the hell is this?" Tom said aloud, kind of hoping for some sort of hint at what was happening to him.
Looking down at the letter, Tom realized that there was some writing on the back. Tom was unsure if he wanted to flip it over, but he was also rather… exhilarated. Finally, he was doing something different and new, rather than performing the same tricks day after day, show after show. Tom liked the feeling, and he didn't want to see it go to waste.
He flipped over the letter. On the back was two sentences:
"I knew you couldn't resist. Make your chess move and let's begin."
At this point, Tom was starting to get over the shock of the paper knowing what he was saying before he even started saying it. Tom flipped to the front and took out a pen. "E4" had to be chess notation.
Tom carefully wrote, "D5".
Tom sat down and waited impatiently. Something would happen in time. Within a minute, there was a knock at the door. Tom went to the door with excitement and opened the door. However, the setting was completely different.
On the other side of the door was a completely white tiled room. In the center were polished black chairs and a table. On the table was a chessboard, with the pieces already set up. Sitting in one of the chairs was a person that he couldn't quite make out.
Tom couldn't even believe what he was seeing. The cramped backstage had been replaced with this odd, bright room. Tom shut the door and opened it again, thinking that his eyes might have just been fooling him. Opening the door again, the room was still there in the exact same condition.
Tom walked in slowly, closing the door behind him, getting closer to the man and the table. As he got closer, he noticed the man had a very thin beard, a very smooth face, and green, piercing eyes.
"Funny, he looks a bit like…" Tom started to say before he realized something. The man was him.
Tom's eyes widened as he stared in shock.
The man had all the same physical features as Tom, as well as the exact same outfit.
"So… shall we play?" The duplicate said, grinning as he stood up and pulled out a chair for Tom.
"Go ahead and call me whatever you like. Is Daburu okay? I've always liked that one."
Tom still was still dumbfounded by this replica of himself. Tom looked behind him and noticed that there was no longer a door. Sitting down, he decided that he had to know what was going on.
"W-What are you?" Tom asked.
"What do you think? I'm you."
"But h-how is that possible?"
"Have you ever considered that you always had a double that knew all your thoughts? One that knew every single thing you were going to do, and every single thing that you have done? We can keep talking, but first I'll make my move. Pawn to F3."
The pawn moved forward by itself. Tom began to speak again.
"Alright then. But if you know every move that I am going to make, then how can I win?"
"That is for you to figure out. Go ahead and try."
Tom said nothing.
"Hello, Tom? Daburu speaking, you have been taking a bit too long to make your move. Go on."
Tom sighed and began to play once more.
"Knight to C6."
Tom watched as his knight moved to the correct spot.
"Excellent! Knight to C3."
Tom started processing his possible options as Daburu sat there.
"You're going to say F1, Tom."
"As a matter of fact, I'm going to say-"
"Pawn to F5."
Tom realized just how difficult this challenge would be.
"P-Pawn to F5," Tom stuttered quietly.
"Pawn to G4."
Tom thought about distracting him with conversation.
"So, how were you forme-"
"I'm not listening."
"But you know my thought-"
"I'm ignoring any thoughts that have nothing to do with the chess game. Go on, please."
"What if I don't?"
"Well, you can't exactly leave, as you noticed that there really isn't a door anymore."
Sighing, Tom opened his mouth and said, "Pawn to E4."
"I say Pawn to E4 as well."
"B-" Tom's next move was interrupted by a scream of frustration from Daburu.
"This is just so… boring!"
"What? I'm playing the game."
"Well, this game sucks. It always took so long and there was nothing to occupy the player as they did it. So, let's spice it up, shall we?" Daburu said. He snapped his fingers and the chess board fell through the floor. The room collapsed around him as the ceiling flew away above Tom.
Tom still thought this was very strange, but he was starting to get used to the oddness.
The rest of the room continued to be deconstructed as the chairs simply disintegrated. Tom stood up as Daburu stood up as well, laughing hysterically.
"God, you're going to love this. Now, make your move."
"How am I supposed to do this without the board?"
"Memory, obviously. My memory is only as good as yours is, so this should be fun."
The room had finally disappeared to reveal where they actually were. They were on the top of a moving train, chugging along a mountainside. Daburu laughed even harder as he saw Tom's expression. "Come on, then! Make your move!"
"Uh… Pawn to G4?"
"Lovely. Knight to D5."
The train was accelerating as they spoke. Tom knew that if he stayed on this train much longer, he would surely die.
Tom started to run to the sides of the train when he collapsed, head sticking off the right side of the train. Below was an incredibly huge drop that he knew he would not be able to survive.
"How many times do we have to keep doing this, Tom? Make. Your. Move."
"Pawn to A… 5."
Daburu pulled Tom back up to his feet, smiling.
"Pawn to D3."
Tom was finally starting to get fed up.
"Just leave me alone. I'm just a magician that wants to live his life, not deal with this bullshit."
"Oh, but I thought you were tired of being a magician? Doing the same tricks, over and over? Doing all those rabbit things as the audience laughs at how pathetic your act is?"
Tom got incredibly angry, very quickly.
"People love my acts."
"Love for how hilariously terrible they are. Have you ever noticed all that laughter the audience has? Have you ever done a quick internet search of your name? Look it up, and you see video such as, 'Magic Fails', 'Worst Magic Trick Ever', and, my personal favorite, 'Tom Olzvick: The Magical Fuck-Up.'"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Tom was absolutely teeming with rage and anger. One more comment, and that would push him over the line.
"'Hey, guess what, Tom? I think you've made another fuck-up. This one might be quite magical as well."
That one set Tom off.
Tom charged straight ahead for Daburu, yelling and swearing the whole time. Daburu waved his attack off, laughing.
"You've been so caught up in this that you haven't even realized that this train is about to drive off a cliff. See you later, fuck-up!"
As Daburu jumped off the train, Tom felt as the train went off of the ground and started diving into the abyss below. Tom fell over and started falling down into the area, dropping faster and faster with every second.
Tom watched as his body impacted the ground. He heard his bones shattering, before finally hearing nothing.
Tom woke up in his bed to a knock on his bedroom door.
Yawning, Tom ignored the nightmare he had just had and asked, "Who is it?"
"Lisa, dear."
Tom smiled as he opened the door and let his wife through the door. She looked lovely with her luscious blonde hair. She had already prepared breakfast for him.
"So, how was the show last night?"
"I-It went well. The audience seemed to enjoy it quite a bit."
Suddenly, Tom realized something.
He didn't have a wife.
Lisa grinned.
"They probably loved all of the mistakes you made. I expect the next part of that epic video saga, 'Tom Olzvick: The Magical Fuck-Up', to continue quite soon."
Tom watched in horror as Lisa's face started to fall apart, her blue eyes falling out, and her skin tearing off to reveal her organs, completely changing and mutating into different shapes and sizes. Blood leaked out from everywhere, and Tom couldn't bare to watch it.
Finally, Tom looked back and saw the skin reforming into the old familiar face it was. His face.
"So, she was one of your audience members. I noticed how you thought she was pretty, so I figured she would have been the best choice."
Daburu grinned immediately after stating that. Tom, still horrified at what he had just witnessed, stared in disgust and awe.
"Oh, don't keep doing that. We have a game to finish, after all. This time, I'll even give you the board back."
Tom's bedroom quickly fell apart to change back into the white tiled room with the black table and chairs. However, this time, something was different. There was a noose hanging off to the side of the table.
"W-What is with that?"
"Oh, it is very simple. You considered this a dream previously, but it is rather obvious that this is just the breakdown of your mental psyche."
"W-What?"
"Come on, the stress and the boredom of your magic routines was getting to you, and you know it. I knew you were this great big waste of a magician because you already knew that yourself. You just kept avoiding it and suppressed the memory, trying as hard as you could to forget."
"So? Pawn to H5."
"Oh, so you're playing again, are you? Alright, let's do this then. Bishop to G5." Daburu sat back down in the chair as the bishop moved across the board. Tom uneasily sat back down as well.
"Answer my question. What are you trying to say? Pawn to E6."
"Well, you reached the breaking point. Your mind, deteriorating faster and faster, is hallucinating left and right. So, when you fell off that train and passed out, feeling incredible pain, you probably just wandered off and fell down a flight of stairs. Bishop to D8."
"N-No, I was there. The train-"
"Tom, look at me. I am you. Exactly you. I know everything you know. How could I possibly exist?"
Tom said nothing and held his head down.
"Your reality is breaking down because you are accepting your inevitable fate. Your own suicide. What do you say to that, Mr. Olzvick?"
Tom slowly lifted up his head, took a look at Daburu, and decided what he needed to do.
"King to D8."
Daburu sat in silence as the king moved.
"Knight to F4."
The noose appeared to be getting closer.
"Bishop to H3."
"Pawn to H3."
"Queen to G4."
The noose was now almost touching the table.
"Pawn to E5."
"Queen to G5. You're in check, Tom."
Tom suddenly stood up on the chair and looked beside him. The noose was right there in front of his face.
"I will win this. I have to. King to D7."
"I'm sorry, but you were fated to lose from the start. You did it to yourself, Tom."
"Knight to D4."
"In four moves, I will win. Queen to E5."
Tom lifted his hands up to the noose.
"Queen to E6. Check." Daburu looked straight at him, not with a grin, but with a grimace.
Tom sighed heavily. He knew that this was his last move. Nothing he did would get him to win. Putting the hole around his neck, Tom closed his eyes.
"Rook to D4. Checkmate."
Tom stepped off of his chair.
As he breathed his final breath, he heard Daburu say one final sentence.
"This was the grand chess game of your life, and that game… is over."
Between Ice and Stars
The Sinister Painting
The Beast with Five Fingers
The Monkey's Paw

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
HomeTeslaNews
With Tesla's New Supercharger Fee Program, Here's What Trips Will Cost - Video
Jan 23, 2017 at 2:33pm ET
By: Steven Loveday
YouTube's Ben Sullins took the time to crunch the numbers and put together a realistic calculator so that we can all figure out how much our trips will cost with the implementation of the new Supercharger Fee Program.
First of all, Tesla gives everyone that purchases a new Tesla vehicle 400 kWh for free. This is only about 1,000 miles, but if you think about the primary reason for Supercharging, it makes sense. People should really be charging their vehicles at home on a daily basis. Supercharging should be reserved for traveling. So, if you go on one average family vacation every year, the 400 kWh should do you well. If you buy a pre-owned Tesla, free lifetime Supercharging is built in.
Ben breaks everything down by Supercharger rates per state, type of vehicle, starting charge, credits applied, and Tier 1 and Tier 2 pricing. He takes you through the whole process on the video, but really if you jump on the calculator below, it's not rocket science.
Click here for the calculator.
Video Description via Ben Sullins Data Geek on YouTube:
Tesla finally announced details about the Supercharger costs for new Tesla owners. Any vehicle ordered after January 15th, 2017 will receive 400 kWh of charging per year after which they'll have to pay a fee. In some countries and states, the rates are per minute where there are two tiers. Once you reach 60kWh of charging the 2nd tier pricing kicks in. Since this can be a bit confusing, and the cost would vary by car, I wanted to try and help people figure out how much a trip might cost.
Visit this link below to calculate your trip. You'll want to enter the total distance, starting charge, credits available, and car model. The model adjusts the coefficient used in the calculation of the effective rate. That basically takes into account the added cost of charging beyond 60kWh each time you stop. You could offset this if you only ever charge to 60 kWh but the estimate should still be fairly accurate here.
Building the Supercharger Network for the Future (Via Tesla.com):
The Tesla Team January 12, 2017
Tesla created the Supercharger network to make long-distance travel a seamless experience for drivers. Cars have always represented independence and the freedom to travel wherever and whenever people want to go. To enable this freedom, building a charging network that provides quick, convenient, and long-distance travel is critical to the adoption of electric vehicles. One of our top priorities this year is to significantly increase capacity of our Supercharger network.
In November, we announced a change in the Supercharger program that allows us to reinvest in the network, accelerate its growth, relieve congestion, and bring all Tesla owners, current and Model 3, the best Supercharging experience. Tesla Model S and Model X cars ordered after January 15, 2017 will receive 400 kWh (kilowatt-hour) of free Supercharging credits (roughly 1,000 miles) annually on the anniversary of their delivery. We carefully considered current Supercharger usage and found that 400 kWh covers the annual long-distance driving needs of the majority of our owners. As a result, most owners will continue to enjoy the benefits of Supercharging on road trips at no additional cost.
If customers travel beyond their annual credit, they will be charged a small fee to Supercharge. In North America, pricing is fixed within each state or province; overseas, pricing is fixed within each country. In most regions, Tesla owners will pay per kWh as it's the fairest way to pay for the exact energy used. However, due to local regulations, in several regions we will charge per minute of usage instead, though we are actively working with regulators to update the rules. What's important is that in every region, Supercharging will remain simple, seamless and always significantly cheaper than gasoline. We are only aiming to recover a portion of our costs and set up a fair system for everyone; this will never be a profit center for Tesla. Customers can just plug in, charge up, and access their charging history on our website.
To put the affordability of Supercharging into perspective, customers will pay about $15 for a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, about $120 from Los Angeles to New York, about €60 from Paris to Rome, and about ¥400 from Beijing to Shanghai.
We are excited to continue the expansion of the world's fastest and most sophisticated charging network. Additional program details are available here.
supercharger tesla supercharger featured supercharger fee


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