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Daily Archives: September 9, 2014

Paper- Changes to Equity Markets Require Structural Reforms

“Regulatory policy has not kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in our stock market within the last few decades, according to a CFA white paper on market structure. The white paper analyzes those market changes and proposes reforms that are designed to foster transparency, ensure high market quality, minimize conflicts of interest, guarantee a level playing field for all market participants, and promote stability within the marketplace. “Our current equity market structure reflects in many ways the achievement of the Exchange Act’s goal of having multiple competing venues linked through technology,” said CFA Financial Services Counsel and report author Micah Hauptman. “While competition and technology have brought great progress to our equity markets, the pendulum has swung too far. Excessive competition has resulted in a market that is unnecessarily complex, fragmented, lacking basic transparency mechanisms, and ridden with conflicts of interest. The technological arms race has led to trading activities that disadvantage long-term investors, expose the financial system to excessive risks, and shake investor  confidence.” In the white paper, CFA advocates for policies to be designed to promote healthy competition that serves the interests of investors and capital formation. The goal should be to ensure that market participants are using technology in productive rather than destructive ways. While the paper details significant ways in which our markets are not delivering on the objectives that Congress intended when it created the National Market System, it also reminds stakeholders to keep perspective in how our markets are actually functioning.”

New on LLRX – Tech goals for solo and small-firm lawyers

Via LLRX.com – Tech goals for solo and small-firm lawyers – Nicole Black review the highlights of results of two legal technology surveys about lawyers’ plans to use legal technology in their law practices. They offer a glimpse into the businesses of solo and small firm lawyers and provide indications of their assessments of the value that different types… Continue Reading

Violence Policy Center – When Men Murder Women

When Men Murder Women, An Analysis of 2012 Homicide Data. September 2014. “Intimate partner violence against women is all too common and takes many forms. The most serious is homicide by an intimate partner. Guns can easily turn domestic violence into domestic homicide. One federal study on homicide among intimate partners found that female intimate partners are… Continue Reading

The Crypto-democracy and the Trustworthy

Sebastien Gambs, Samuel Ranellucci, and Alain Tapp (Submitted on 8 Sep 2014).  Cite as: arXiv:1409.2432 “In the current architecture of the Internet, there is a strong asymmetry in terms of power between the entities that gather and process personal data (e.g., major Internet companies, telecom operators, cloud providers, …) and the individuals from which this personal data is issued. In… Continue Reading

FindTheBest Launches Agency Spending Topic

Nina Quattrocchi – FindTheBest – A Research Engine: “The government awards trillions of taxpayer dollars every year in contracts, grants, and loans, and it’s nearly impossible to keep track of where that money is going. Thousands of new businesses are created in the US each year, and it’s hard for those young companies to know where to… Continue Reading

Contribution of Exports to Economic Growth and Important Role of the Export-Import Bank

Joint Economic Committee, Vice Chair – The Contribution of Exports to Economic Growth and the Important Role of the Export-Import Bank, September 9, 2014. “Exports make a critical contribution to U.S. economic growth and job creation. Ninety-five percent of the world’s potential customers live outside of the United States, and exports offer an opportunity for American… Continue Reading

Consumer Expenditures – 2013

“Average expenditures per consumer unit (1) in 2013 were $51,100, little changed from 2012 levels, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In 2013 spending decreased 0.7 percent during the same period that the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) increased 1.5 percent. In 2012 spending had increased 3.5 percent, outpacing the increase in prices. In 2013 average income per… Continue Reading

World health report 2013: Research for universal health coverage

“Everyone should have access to the health services they need without being forced into poverty when paying for them. The World health report 2013 “Research for universal health coverage” argues that universal health coverage – with full access to high-quality services for prevention, treatment and financial risk protection – cannot be achieved without the evidence… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Land Reclamation, Clinical Trails, Contract Management, DHS, Export-Import Bank, Military Training

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION: Availability of Information on Repayment of Water Project Construction Costs Could Be Better Promoted, GAO-14-764: Published: Sep 8, 2014. Publicly Released: Sep 9, 2014. CLINICAL TRIALS: Little is Known about Participation by Supplemental Security Income Recipients, GAO-14-734R: Published: Sep 9, 2014. Publicly Released: Sep 9, 2014. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT: DOD’s Implementation of Justifications for 8(a) Sole-Source Contracts, GAO-14-721R: Published: Sep 9, 2014.… Continue Reading