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Daily Archives: August 21, 2014

Quarterly Gross Domestic Product by State, 2005–2013 (Prototype Statistics)

August 20, 2014: “…the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released prototype statistics of quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) by state for 2005–2013. These new statistics provide a more complete picture of economic growth across states that can be used with other regional data to gain a better understanding of regional economies as they evolve from quarter to quarter. The new data provide a fuller description of the accelerations, decelerations, and turning points in economic growth at the state level, including key information about changes in the distribution of industrial infrastructure across states. These prototype statistics are released for evaluation and comment by data users.”

The transmission of unconventional monetary policy to the emerging markets

The transmission of unconventional monetary policy to the emerging markets, BIS Papers No 78 August 2014. 367 pages, PDF. “Highly accommodative monetary policies in the major advanced economies and the questions about the exit from such policies have created major challenges for policymakers in emerging market economies (EMEs). Quite a few of EMEs that experienced rapid capital… Continue Reading

Economic Characteristics of Households in the US: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Quarters 2012

US Census: “This collection of seven tables for each quarter comes from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. The tables that examine the role of government-sponsored benefit programs and the labor market among the nation’s people and households within the economic climate of each quarter of 2012. Specifically, the tables present statistics on average… Continue Reading

BLS Statistics by Occupation

“This Spotlight on Statistics provides an overview of occupational employment and wages in May 2013, with an emphasis on STEM jobs and occupational data by required entry-level education.” Published August 2014. “United States workers held over 130 million jobs in May 2013—but what kind of jobs were they? Over 21 million were office and administrative… Continue Reading

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, July 29-30, 2014

A meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee was held in the offices of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. and continued on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, at 9:00 a.m.  [snipped from the release] Staff Review of the Economic Situation” The information… Continue Reading

Bank Of America To Pay $16.65 Billion In Historic Justice Department Settlement

 “Attorney General Eric Holder and Associate Attorney General Tony West announced today that the Department of Justice has reached a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America Corporation – the largest civil settlement with a single entity in American history ¬— to resolve federal and state claims against Bank of America and its former and… Continue Reading

The Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policies on Bank Soundness

IMF Working Paper – Monetary and Capital Markets Department – The Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policies on Bank Soundness. Prepared by Frederic Lambert and Kenichi Ueda. Authorized for distribution by Gaston Gelos. August 2014. “Unconventional monetary policy is often assumed to benefit banks. However, we find little supporting evidence. Rather, we find some evidence for heightened medium-term risks. First, in… Continue Reading

China reveals it has more than 2 million registered drug users

Adam Minter – Bloomberg: “As of March, China had more than 2.14 million registered drug users, according to China’s Ministry of Public Security. That’s a remarkable admission from the usually secretive government. It’s also a pragmatic acknowledgment of how ubiquitous and easy-to-obtain drugs have become in China. Dealers sell from street corners, from behind kebab stands, even — I’ve… Continue Reading

Treasury expert identifies ransom payments as key source of terrorist revenue

“ISIS broadcast its killing of captured American journalist James Foley [note: there is no link to the video – only to a more in depth article about Jim Foley] to show the U.S. what awaits anyone who challenges the Islamic State’s march across Iraq and Syria. Foley’s killing was a blunt and stomach-churning bit of messaging that… Continue Reading

Charity says military use of food pantries has been rising for years

Stars and Stripes: “The number of military families who struggle to put food on the table has been growing in the years since the Great Recession, the nation’s largest network of soup kitchens and food pantries said [August 19, 2014] that increase convinced the Feeding America charity to study servicemembers who use the food assistance… Continue Reading

Record decline of ice sheets: scientists map elevation changes of Greenlandic and Antarctic glaciers

News release: “Bremerhaven, 20th August 2014. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), have for the first time extensively mapped Greenland’s and Antarctica’s ice sheets with the help of the ESA satellite CryoSat-2 and have thus been able to prove that the ice crusts of both regions momentarily decline… Continue Reading