News release: “Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported aggregate net income of $36.0 billion in the third quarter of 2013, a $1.5 billion (3.9 percent) decline from the $37.5 billion in profits that the industry reported a year earlier. This is the first time in 17 quarters… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: November 2013
Research – The Economics of the Fed’s Press Conference
A Way With Words: The Economics of the Fed’s Press Conference, by Fernando Duarte and Carlo Rosa “When central bankers speak, traders, journalists, and politicians listen with bated breath. The marked asset price reaction to Chairman Bernanke’s June press conference confirms the importance of his comments in the marketplace. The chart…shows the dynamics of U.S. asset… Continue Reading
Making Nutritional Information Digestible
Making Nutritional Information Digestible: Effects of a Receipt-Based Intervention on Restaurant Purchases, by Kelly Bedard and Peter J. Kuhn. NBER Working Paper No. 19654, November 2013 “We study the effects of receipts that include personalized ordering suggestions designed to reduce fat and calorie consumption on purchasing behavior at a restaurant chain. We find that customers, in the aggregate, made most of… Continue Reading
Pew – The Diagnosis Difference
The Diagnosis Difference by Susannah Fox, Maeve Duggan, Nov 26, 2013 “45% of U.S. adults report that they live with one or more chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, but also less common conditions like lupus and cancer. They are more likely than other adults to be older, to have faced a medical emergency in the… Continue Reading
Moody’s Issues a Negative Outlook for Higher Education
Chronicle of Higher Education: “Moody’s Investors Service on Monday issued a negative outlook for higher education in 2014—which should come as a surprise to no one. The bond-rating agency’s report last week, a survey of net-tuition revenues, was grim, and its outlook for higher education in recent years has been mostly bleak. This year Moody’s cited a weak economy that will “affect… Continue Reading
Data Visualization: HIV/AIDS Impact in Africa
“To mark World AIDS Day 2013 on Dec. 1, the U.S. Census Bureau is releasing today two data visualizations that depict the impact that HIV/AIDS has made on the population of 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Census Bureau estimates and projects population numbers, population growth rate, fertility, life expectancy and infant mortality worldwide. In the… Continue Reading
Speech – Addressing risks to financial stability
Addressing risks to financial stability – Speech by Jaime Caruana, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, to the 49th SEACEN Governors’ Conference and High-level Seminar, Kathmandu, Nepal, 21 November 2013 “Regulatory reforms, in particular more capital and new liquidity buffers for banks, have made the financial system more resilient. Nonetheless, regulation typically cannot keep up with… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Hurricane Sandy Relief, Small Business Contracting, Medicare, Minority AIDS Initiative
HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF – Improved Guidance on Designing Internal Control Plans Could Enhance Oversight of Disaster Funding, GAO-14-58, Nov 26, 2013 NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS – Actions Taken by FEMA to Implement Select Provisions of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, GAO-14-99R, Nov 26, 2013 SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING – Updated Guidance and Reporting Needed for Consolidated Contracts, GAO-14-36, Nov 26, 2013… Continue Reading
EPIC Files Lawsuit to Determine Legal Authority For PRISM Program
“EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel for the secret legal analyses that justifies the use of the NSA PRISM program. PRISM is a program that allows the FBI and NSA to collect information – including the contents of internet users’ communications – directly from internet… Continue Reading
Danbury State’s Attorney Releases Report on Sandy Hook Investigation
“Stephen J. Sedensky III, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Danbury, today released his report on the investigation into the December 14, 2012, shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and a private residence in Newtown. Follow this link to download the State’s Attorney’s Report Follow this link to download the Appendix to the State’s… Continue Reading
A Pictorial History of the Russian Nuclear Program
Via Secrecy News – “Newly published briefing slides from a Los Alamos history of the Russian nuclear weapons program include rare images and photographs of key personalities and facilities in the Russian (formerly Soviet) nuclear program. See History of the Russian Nuclear Weapon Program by Houston T. Hawkins, Los Alamos National Laboratory, November 19, 2013 (large PDF file).” Continue Reading
CRS – U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress
U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress, Shirley A. Kan, Specialist in Asian Security Affairs. November 20, 2013. “U.S. leaders have applied military contacts as one tool and point of leverage in the broader policy toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The first part of this CRS Report discusses policy issues regarding such military-to-military (mil-to-mil) contacts. The second part provides… Continue Reading
