Employment Situation Summary, August 2008: “The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.1 percent in August, and non-farm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In August, employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and health care continued to add… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: September 2008
Takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Forthcoming
AP: “The historic takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which could come as soon as Sunday, moved to the forefront of the presidential campaign Saturday as candidates and congressional leaders seized on the enormous implications for taxpayers and the economy. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together hold or back half of the nation’s mortgage… Continue Reading
U.S. Transportation Secretary Announces Steps to Delay Highway Trust Fund Shortfall
News release: “U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters today directed the Federal Highway Administration to take immediate steps to protect the solvency of the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund and called on Congress to act quickly to finally address this long-predicted problem…The Secretary said the legislation was needed now because Congress had… Continue Reading
WSJ Interactive Feature Compares Acceptance Speeches by Presidential Candidates
What the Candidates Said: Compare speeches: “Speeches used in this project were, in as many cases as possible, those given by the candidates in acceptance of their party’s nomination. James M. Cox, the Democratic candidate in 1920, accepted his nomination in a telegram of about 125 words; for his portion, this analysis relies on a… Continue Reading
Delinquencies and Foreclosures Increase in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey
News release: “The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 6.41 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the second quarter of 2008, up six basis points from the first quarter of 2008, and up 129 basis points from one year ago on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to… Continue Reading
Treasury OIG: Unauthorized and Insecure Internal Web Servers Are Connected to the Internal Revenue Service Network
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration: Unauthorized and Insecure Internal Web Servers Are Connected to the Internal Revenue Service Network, August 26, 2008. Reference Number: 2008-20-159 “We recommended that the Chief Information Officer establish official ownership and assign responsibilities for the web registration program, enforce IRS procedures to block unauthorized web servers from providing data… Continue Reading
Ecologists Document the Decline of the American Oak
The Case of the Vanishing Oaks, By Virginia Morell, ScienceNOW Daily News “When Lewis and Clark crossed America’s heartland, they tramped through wide swaths of oak forests. But today, the oaks are in decline, and as they vanish so too does a whole coterie of native herbaceous plants critical to forest ecosystems, according to a… Continue Reading
Federal Court Affirms $1 Billion Breach of Contract Award in Oil and Gas Lease Cases
National Law Journal (subscription req’d): “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a $1 billion damages award by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for the government’s breach of oil and gas leases held by 11 companies — what court watchers say may be the largest single award by the claims court… Continue Reading
FDIC Report: Expanding Mortgage Loans to Low- and Moderate-Income Households
News release: “The FDIC issued a report on ways mortgage lenders can responsibly and profitably expand the availability of home loans to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers and still make a profit. The report — a summary of best practices discussed by participants at an FDIC forum in July on problems in the mortgage market… Continue Reading
CBO Monthly Budget Review, September 2008
Monthly Budget Review, September 2008 – Based on the Monthly Treasury Statement for July and the Daily Treasury Statements for August. “The federal budget deficit was $486 billion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2008, CBO estimates, $212 billion more than the shortfall recorded over the same period last year. CBO anticipates that… Continue Reading
History of Federal Judgeships Can Be Viewed State by State
“Two newly updated features let you trace the growth of the federal court system over more than 200 years, state by state for the district courts and by each judicial circuit for the courts of appeals.” Index: Chronological History of Authorized Judgeships in U.S. District Courts Index: Chronological History of Authorized Judgeships in the U.S.… Continue Reading
GAO Report: Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy
Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: Assets and Income Are Both Important in Subsidy Denials, and Access to State and Manufacturer Drug Programs Is Uneven, GAO-08-824, September 5, 2008 Continue Reading
