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Daily Archives: June 5, 2013

Federal Reserve Board – Beige Book – June 5, 2013

Beige Book – June 5, 2013 – Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District: “Overall economic activity increased at a modest to moderate pace since the previous report across all Federal Reserve Districts except the Dallas District, which reported strong economic growth. The manufacturing sector expanded in most Districts since the previous Beige Book. Most Districts noted slight to moderate gains in consumer spending and a moderate increase in vehicle sales. Tourism showed signs of strength in several Districts. A wide variety of business services expanded, and transportation traffic increased for producer, consumer, and trade goods. Residential real estate and construction activity increased at a moderate to strong pace in all Districts. Commercial real estate and construction activity grew at a modest to moderate pace in most Districts. Overall bank lending increased since the previous report. Credit quality and deposits increased, while credit standards were largely unchanged. Agricultural conditions remained mixed across Districts, as weather patterns varied. Overall activity in the energy sector was flat, and mining was down.”

Tax Analyst News Analysis: Substantial Minority of Scrutinized Exempt Organizations Were Not Conservative

“In news analysis, Martin A. Sullivan reviews some IRS data on tax exemption applications that were subjected to extra review and finds that a substantial minority were from nonconservative groups…In a separate May 15 release, the IRS said the total number of advocacy cases it has handled since the selection began in May 2010 is… Continue Reading

IRS Oversight Board – FY2014 IRS Budget Recommendation Special Report

IRS Oversight Board Report – FY14 IRS Budget: “In June 2012, the IRS Oversight Board recommended to Treasury a Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 budget of $13.074 billion for the Internal Revenue Service. This is $213.6 million more than what the President put forth in his FY2014 budget request. After careful examination and deliberation, the Board… Continue Reading

Pew – Smartphone Ownership 2013

Smartphone Ownership 2013, by Aaron Smith, June 5, 2013 “For the first time since the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project began systematically tracking smartphone adoption, a majority of Americans now own a smartphone of some kind. Our definition of a smartphone owner includes anyone who says “yes” to one—or both—of the following… Continue Reading

Federal Reserve Board of New York: Recession Hits New Jersey’s Abbott Districts Disproportionately Hard

“Funding for New Jersey’s low-income school districts declined sharply during the Great Recession, according to a recent New York Fed study. Moreover, the Abbott districts—a group of poor urban districts that once received special appropriations from the state—were hit especially hard. The recent recession, the passage of the federal stimulus bill, and the decision to… Continue Reading

BLS – Productivity grows 0.5% in 1st quarter 2013 (annual rate); unit labor costs fall 4.3%

News release: “Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 0.5 percent annual rate during the first quarter of 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The increase in productivity reflects increases of 2.1 percent in output and 1.6 percent in hours worked. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual… Continue Reading

Paper – Modeling and Evaluating the Resilience of Peer-to-Peer Botnets

SoK: P2PWNED — Modeling and Evaluating the Resilience of Peer-to-Peer Botnets: Centralized botnets are easy targets for takedown efforts by computer security researchers and law enforcement. Thus, botnet controllers have sought new ways to harden the infrastructures of their botnets. In order to meet this objective, some botnet operators have (re)designed their botnets to use… Continue Reading

FBI – Preliminary 2012 Crime Statistics: Violent Crime Up, Property Crime Dow

Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, January-December, 2012: “Preliminary figures indicate that, as a whole, law enforcement agencies throughout the nation reported an increase of 1.2 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention for 2012 when compared with figures reported for 2011. The violent crime category includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated… Continue Reading

United States Opening Statement Presentation: U.S. v. Apple Inc., et al

Antitrust Case Filings – United States v. Apple, Inc., Hachette Book Group, Inc., HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Verlagsgruppe Georg Von Holtzbrinck GmbH, Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC d/b/a Macmillan, the Penguin Group, a Division of Pearson PLC, Penguin Group (USA), Inc., and Simon & Schuster, Inc. United States Opening Statement Presentation: U.S. v. Apple Inc., et al, June… Continue Reading