American Geophysical Union: “People with lower incomes are exposed to heat waves for longer periods of time compared to their higher income counterparts due to a combination of location and access to heat adaptations like air conditioning. This inequality is expected to rise as temperatures increase, according to new research. Lower income populations currently face… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Economy
State of US Public Libraries – More popular and digital than ever
WordsRated: “This is a comprehensive analysis on the current state of public libraries in the US and the mapping of trends from 1992-2019. This report analyzes more than 12.5 million data points, from all 50 states, and the nearly 17,500 libraries across the country… Libraries are more popular than ever thanks to the strong shift… Continue Reading
NY Fed – Car Prices Drive Up Borrowing
Liberty Street Economics, February 8, 2022: “Total household debt increased substantially during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a $1.02 trillion increase in aggregate debt balances, according to the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the fourth quarter of 2021 from the New York Fed’s Center for Microeconomic Data. The yearly… Continue Reading
Public Blockchains Are the New National Economies of the Metaverse
Wired: “When we speak of an economy, we usually refer to a country or a region where interrelated activities of production, consumption, and trade happen. When we speak of blockchains, we speak of decentralized computer networks. On the surface, these two seem unrelated. But with on-chain activities growing at warp speed, the ecosystems of layer… Continue Reading
GIJN’s Guide to Investigating Methane – A Key to Fighting Climate Change
Global Investigative Journalism Network: “Journalism about methane sources is increasingly urgent. Reducing methane emissions is the single fastest way to fight climate change, according to climate scientists. Emissions of methane, the second most abundant greenhouse gas (behind carbon dioxide), are rising rapidly and reaching new highs. The full guide to investigating methane emissions can be found… Continue Reading
CRS – Central Bank Digital Currencies: Policy Issues
Central Bank Digital Currencies: Policy Issues, Updated February 7, 2022: “The recent proliferation of private digital currencies or cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, has led to questions of whether the Federal Reserve (Fed) should create a central bank digital currency (CBDC)—a digital dollar that would share some of the features of these private digital currencies. In… Continue Reading
Web3 is the future, or a scam, or both
Vox: “The fact that Web3 is hard to define — I’ll try to do that in a bit — isn’t necessarily a bug. It’s a nascent idea floated by a mix of buzz, optimism, confusion, theological battles, and pure unadulterated speculation, which means it’s incredibly malleable. You can explain why Web3 is a fundamental remaking… Continue Reading
Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2022
“The Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor evaluates the transparency and integrity of companies’ climate pledges.Companies around the world are increasing alert to the climate emergency. They face calls from a growing range of stakeholders to take responsibility for the impact of their activities. Most large companies now have public climate strategies and targets, many of which… Continue Reading
Top 10 Global Consumer Trends 2022
“Every year, Euromonitor International identifies emerging and fast-moving trends that are expected to gain traction in the year ahead. These trends provide insight into changing consumer values, exploring how consumer behaviour is shifting and causing disruption for businesses globally. Each of the 10 trends in this report follows the same format: Overview and defining characteristics;… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and MIT release technological research on a central bank digital currency
“The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Digital Currency Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today released the findings of their initial technological research into a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. The published research describes a theoretical high-performance and resilient transaction processor for a CBDC by developing open-source research software, OpenCBDC. This collaborative… Continue Reading
Despite Decades of Hacking Attacks, Companies Leave Vast Amounts of Sensitive Data Unprotected
ProPublica: “A surge in identity theft during the pandemic underscores how easy it has become to obtain people’s private data. As hackers are all too happy to explain, many of them are cashing in on it.Consider some of the episodes last year in which large quantities of personal data were stolen: 300 million customer and… Continue Reading
For the Federal Response to COVID-19, Significant Improvements Are Needed in Leadership and Oversight
GAO Blog: “As of November, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) spent nearly $38 billion of the almost $47 billion appropriated for Emergency Rental Assistance programs. This funding was provided to help renter households whose income was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic with rent, utilities, and other housing expenses.The funds were disbursed as grants… Continue Reading
