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Daily Archives: September 18, 2013

TIME profiles Google’s new venture that focuses on health and aging

Google vs. Death How CEO Larry Page has transformed the search giant into a factory for moonshots. Our exclusive look at his boldest bet yet–to extend human life. By Harry McCracken and Lev Grossman

“At the moment Google is working on an especially uncertain and distant shot. It is launching Calico, a new company that will focus on health and aging in particular. The independent firm will be run by Arthur Levinson, former CEO of biotech pioneer Genentech, who will also be an investor. Levinson, who began his career as a scientist and has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, plans to remain in his current roles as the chairman of the board of directors for both Genentech and Apple, a position he took over after its co-founder Steve Jobs died in 2011. In other words, the company behind YouTube and Google+ is gearing up to seriously attempt to extend the human life span.”

AGA’s Annual Inspector General Survey

AGA’s Annual Inspector General Survey: Effective Oversight in a Changing Environment – September 2013 “The top three challenges for the IG community identified by the survey were: Budget – Funding to meet growing oversight responsibilities in the areas of IT security, healthcare, financial services, and other specialized areas Human Resources – Acquiring and retaining people… Continue Reading

Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement

News release: “Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in July suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Some indicators of labor market conditions have shown further improvement in recent months, but the unemployment rate remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment advanced, and the housing sector has… Continue Reading

Financial Planning Profiles of American Households

Financial Planning Profiles of American Households: The 2013 Household Financial Planning Survey and Index, September 18, 2013 “Close to nine in 10 American households today engage in some type of formal or informal financial planning. These behaviors range from following a household budget that is not even written down, to setting up a retirement account, to working… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Text to speech is also AWOL from THIS year’s Paperwhite from Amazon

Via LLRX.com – Ouch! Text to speech is also AWOL from THIS year’s Paperwhite from Amazon David Rothman’s review of the newest Kindle Paperwhite E Ink reader from Amazon highlights that the device is still missing text to speech – among the very features Jeff Bezos touted when he unveiled the second Kindle in 2009.… Continue Reading

IG Audit – Federal Reserve Board Board Controls over Handling of Federal Open Market Committee Meeting Minutes

OIG Report No. 2013-AE-B-012: Board Should Strengthen Controls over the Handling of  the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting Minutes – August 27, 2013. “…Office of Inspector General’s report on the subject audit….objectives were to evaluate the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’s (Board’s) processes for distributing Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes to Federal… Continue Reading

GDP by Metropolitan Area, Advance 2012, and Revised 2001–2011

BEA news release: “Real GDP increased in 305 of the nation’s 381 metropolitan areas in 2012, led by growth in durable-goods manufacturing, trade, and financial activities, according to new statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real GDP in metropolitan areas increased 2.5 percent in 2012 after increasing 1.7 percent in 2011. Today’s… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – Federal Data Transparency, National Flood Insurance, DHS Recruiting, Global Food Security

FEDERAL DATA TRANSPARENCY – Opportunities Remain to Incorporate Recovery Act Lessons Learned, GAO-13-871T, Sep 18, 2013 NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM – Continued Attention Needed to Address Challenges, GAO-13-858T, Sep 18, 2013 RACE TO THE TOP – States Implementing Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems despite Challenges, GAO-13-777, Sep 18, 2013 DHS RECRUITING AND HIRING – DHS Is Generally Filling Mission-Critical Positions, but Could… Continue Reading

Rebuilding Household Wealth: Implications for Economic Recovery

CRS – Rebuilding Household Wealth: Implications for Economic Recovery – Craig K. Elwell, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy, September 13, 2013 “The pace of economic recovery from the 2007-2009 recession has been historically slow. Over four years of recovery, the annual rate of growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) has averaged 2%, well below the… Continue Reading

Unpaid Eldercare in the United States: 2011-2012 Summary

News release: “Sixteen percent of the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population age 15 and over (39.6 million people) provide unpaid eldercare, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Nearly one-fourth of eldercare providers engage in unpaid eldercare on a given day, spending an average of 3.2 hours providing this care. These estimates are averages for… Continue Reading