Science: Financial Crisis Reshaping the Life Sciences Industry, By Clifford S. Mintz, April 10, 2009 “The financial crisis now gripping the world has caused many companies in the financial services, retail, and manufacturing sectors to lay off millions of employees. Every month, thousands more lose their jobs, many of them professionals and knowledge workers. Although… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2009
President Obama's Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Request
“President Obama today submitted to the Congress a Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 supplemental appropriations request totaling $83.4 billion to fund ongoing military, diplomatic, and intelligence operations. An overwhelming amount of this money — nearly 95 percent — is to move forward with the Presidents agenda of ending the war in Iraq responsibly and his new… Continue Reading
Interior & FERC Sign Agreement to Spur Renewable Energy on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
News release: “Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff today signed an agreement that clarifies their agencies jurisdictional responsibilities for leasing and licensing renewable energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The Memorandum of Understanding clears the way for developing wind, solar, wave, tidal and ocean current… Continue Reading
CEA Notes on Refinancing Activity and Mortgage Rates
Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) Notes on Refinancing Activity and Mortgage Rates: “The Administrations homeownership plan, along with actions taken by the Federal Reserve, has had a notable impact on mortgage rates and refinancing activity. This fact sheet summarizes mortgage rate and refinancing activity since the plan was announced on February 18.” Related postings on… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Military Buildup on Guam, NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service
High-Level Leadership Needed to Help Guam Address Challenges Caused by DOD-Related Growth, GAO-09-500R, April 09, 2009: “In an effort to improve the U.S. militarys flexibility to address conventional and terrorist threats worldwide, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to relocate more than 8,000 Marines and an estimated 9,000 dependents from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam as… Continue Reading
Airline On-Time Performance Improves In February 2009
News release: “The nations largest airlines had a higher rate of on-time flights this past February than in either February of last year or in January 2009, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a… Continue Reading
Homicide in New York City is indeed down 23 percent so far in 2009, and crime overall is down 13 percent
Peter R. Orszag, Director, OMB: “The economic downturn imposes significant costs on families. But does it also increase crime? Mayor Bloomberg recently mentioned to me that crime in New York City has declined despite the ongoing recession which seemed surprising to me, so I looked into it a bit more. Homicide in New York… Continue Reading
DOD OIG Audit – Use of Global War on Terror Supplemental Funding
D-2009-073 DoD Components’ Use of Global War on Terror Supplemental Funding Provided for Procurement and Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, April 8, 2009 (Project No. D2006-D000AE-0241.001) “What We Did: We reviewed 130 sample dollar points associated with Global War on Terror supplemental and bridge funds provided to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Defense-wide agencies, National… Continue Reading
Fact Sheet: DOJ Efforts to Combat Mexican Drug Cartels
Fact Sheet: “The increased efforts and reallocation of personnel recently announced by the Department of Justice builds on the foundation of expertise and experience gained from ongoing efforts to combat Mexican drug cartels in the United States and to help Mexican law enforcement battle cartels in its own country.” Continue Reading
New Report Recommends Nuclear Policy on the Path Toward Nuclear Disarmament
“The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report calling for fundamental changes to U.S. nuclear war planning, a vital prerequisite if smaller nuclear arsenals are to be achieved. From Counterforce to Minimal Deterrence — A New Nuclear Policy on the Path Toward Eliminating Nuclear Weapons calls to… Continue Reading
Hildebrandt RHildebrandt Reports Law Firm Mergers Rising at Accelerated Rate in 2009
“According to Hildebrandt … law firm merger activity significantly increased during the first quarter of 2009, with a total of 33 completed law firm mergers and acquisitions involving US law firms. This compares with 22 completed US mergers in the first quarter of 2008, and 23 in the first quarter of 2007. Six additional mergers… Continue Reading
CQ Announces New Map Showing 2008 Presidential Election Results By Congressional District
“In winning the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama built his 7 percentage-point popular vote margin over Republican John McCain on widespread appeal across the nation’s regional lines. This is evident in the map, based on CQ Politics’ analysis of the presidential vote, which shows Obama finished ahead of McCain in 242 of the nation’s… Continue Reading
