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Daily Archives: July 16, 2014

Federal Reserve Board Beige Book – July 16, 2014

Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District – Prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and based on information collected before July 7, 2014. This document summarizes comments received from businesses and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials. All twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity continued to expand since the previous report. The pace of economic growth was characterized as moderate in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco, while the remaining Districts reported modest expansion. Compared to the previous reporting period, Boston and Richmond noted a slightly slower pace of growth. Most Districts were optimistic about the outlook for growth. Overall consumer spending increased in every District. Retail sales grew modestly in most Districts, with increases that were generally similar to the previous reporting period. Vehicle sales remained stronger than non-auto retail sales, with Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta, and San Francisco indicating robust to very strong auto sales. Tourism activity expanded in all reporting Districts, with growth ranging from slight in Philadelphia to very strong in Boston. Hotel contacts described robust activity in the Boston, New York, Atlanta, and Minneapolis Districts, while Philadelphia and Richmond noted activity levels that were in line with seasonal norms. Activity in the nonfinancial services sector continued to grow across all Districts at a modest to moderate pace. Many Districts reported positive growth for professional and business services, including healthcare consulting, advertising, engineering, accounting, and technology. Overall, transportation activity rose at a moderate pace since the previous survey period. Broad-based demand for trucking and rail services across the Districts increased, and the Richmond District reported strong growth in port container traffic, with increases in both imports and exports. Manufacturing activity expanded in all twelve Districts. Contacts in the metal and auto industries generally reported positive growth, while manufacturers in the Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, and Chicago Districts reported increased demand for their products from the energy sector.”

Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting

“Written by Lorcan Dempsey, Constance Malpas, and Brian Lavoie, “Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting” takes a broad view of the evolution of collecting behaviors in a network environment and suggests some future directions based on various simple models. A preprint of the article is available online. In this article, the authors look at the changing dynamics… Continue Reading

Global Survey: Widespread Opposition to US Communications Surveillance, Drones

“A new survey from Pew Research finds overwhelming opposition to the US monitoring of emails and phone calls. There appears to be little variation by region or culture, with high levels of opposition found in countries in Europe, South America, Asia, and the Middle East. According to the survey “Global Opinions of U.S. Surveillance,” the four countries… Continue Reading

Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information – CRS

Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information – M. Maureen Murphy, Legislative Attorney. July 14, 2014 “One of the functions transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under P.L. 111-203, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), is authority to issue regulations and take enforcement actions under the two major federal statutes that specify conditions under which customer… Continue Reading

Bipartisan Policy Center Recommends Improvements to Key Features of the Dodd-Frank Act

“The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative today released three top ten lists highlighting key areas of progress made since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act four years ago, along with 20 proposed action items for regulators and Congress to address the significant challenges that remain. These include: Top Ten Areas Where Dodd-Frank Made Progress Top Ten… Continue Reading

NHTSA Study – Motor Vehicle Crashes Have $871 Billion Economic, Societal Impact on U.S. Citizens

“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today released a new study that underscores the high economic toll and societal impact of motor vehicle crashes in the United States. The price tag for crashes comes at a heavy burden for Americans at $871 billion in economic loss and societal harm. This… Continue Reading

Impact of Final Basel III Capital Ratios on U.S. Banking Organizations

Simpler and Less Volatile Capital Calculations — Will Impact Capital Planning, M&A and Investment Strategy. Thomas W. Killian, Principal – Sandler ONeill “After receiving more than 2,500 comment letters from U.S. banks and other interested parties, raising over  400 different concerns, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the… Continue Reading

Nearly 1 Million Community College Students Denied Access to Federal Student Loans

“With Americans increasingly having to borrow to pay for college, a new report from the Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) finds that nearly one million community college students cannot get federal student loans because their school chooses not to offer them. Without access to federal student loans, students may not be able to… Continue Reading

The Good Society newest issues now open access : Democratic Theory and Mass Incarceration

Joshua A. Miller – “The new issue (vol. 23, no. 1) is devoted to a single symposium on the intersection of mass incarceration and democracy. It’s available on Project MUSE for institutional subscribers, and on JSTOR, where all the articles will be open access for the next two months Albert Dzur introduces the issue in “Penal Democracy.” Many of the… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Coastal Zone Management, High Containment Labs, Medicaid, Special Education, U.S. Launch Enterprise

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT: Opportunities Exist for NOAA to Enhance Its Use of Performance Information, GAO-14-592: Published: Jul 16, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 2014. HIGH-CONTAINMENT LABORATORIES: Recent Incidents of Biosafety Lapses, GAO-14-785T: Published: Jul 16, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 2014. MEDICAID: Assessment of Variation among States in Per-Enrollee Spending, GAO-14-456: Published: Jun 16, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 2014. SPECIAL EDUCATION: Additional Federal… Continue Reading