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Daily Archives: December 26, 2014

New CPI Estimation System To Be Introduced

“Effective with the release of the January 2015 CPI on February 26, 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will utilize a new estimation system for the Consumer Price Index. The new estimation system, the first major improvement to the existing system in over 25 years, is a redesigned, state-of-the-art system with improved flexibility and review capabilities. In addition, this change eliminates paper in all steps of producing the CPI. The use of the Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) formula for initial and interim estimates of the C-CPI-U, and the new quarterly revision schedule for C-CPI-U indexes, are possible because of this new system. Also, as part of the redesign process, a small number of minor methodology changes, primarily affecting the imputation of price changes, were introduced.”

2014 Bot Traffic Report

“As Incapsula’s prior annual reports have shown, bots are the Internet’s silent majority. Behind the scenes, billions of these software agents shape our web experience by influencing the way we learn, trade, work, let loose, and interact with each other online. Bots are also often designed for mischief, however. In fact, many of them are used… Continue Reading

International Debt Statistics 2015

World Bank – “The 2015 edition of International Debt Statistics (IDS) has just been released. IDS 2015 draws from comprehensive databases of debt statistics collected from 124 low- and middle-income countries, as well as quarterly external and public sector debt from high-income countries. These databases continue to be a vital input for debt managers and researchers… Continue Reading

Centrality-based Capital Allocations

IMF Working Paper Working Paper No. 14/237. Adrian Alter, Ben Craig ; Peter Raupach. December 24, 2014. “We look at the effect of capital rules on a banking system that is connected through correlated credit exposures and interbank lending. The rules, which combine individual bank characteristics and interconnectivity measures of interbank lending, are to minimize a measure of system-wide… Continue Reading

NSA Reports to the President’s Intelligence Oversight Board

Bloomberg – U.S. Spy Agency Reports Improper Surveillance of Americans “Following a classification review, the National Security Agency (NSA) is releasing in redacted form NSA reports to the President’s Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB). The release includes quarterly reports submitted from the fourth quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of 2013. The materials also include… Continue Reading