“The Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG), a high level group of recognised leaders with broad experience in international financial markets, today published its recommendations related to accounting standard-setting activities, and other changes to the international regulatory environment following the global financial crisis.” Report of the Financial Crisis Advisory Group, July 28, 2009: “In our discussions,… Continue Reading
News release, Employee Benefits in the United States – March 2009: “While about 70 percent of workers in private industry had access to employer provided medical care benefits in March 2009, only 25 percent of the lowest wage earner — those with average hourly wages in the lowest 10 percent of all private industry wages… Continue Reading
Economic Analysis Group (EAG) of the Antitrust Division – Why Prices Rise Faster Than They Fall, Sheldon Kimmel, EAG 09-4, July 2009 Continue Reading
Bank Failures by the Numbers – A Look at Where and Why Institutions Are Failing in 2009, July 28, 2009: In all of 2008, 40 banking institutions failed – 25 banks and 15 credit unions. So far in 2009, 72 institutions have either been closed or taken over by regulators, including 7 banks just this… Continue Reading
News release: “Reporting that broad restructuring is urgently needed, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) today added the financial condition of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to its High-Risk List of federal areas in need of transformation…Mail volume fell by 9.5 billion pieces in fiscal year 2008 to a total of 203 billion pieces and… Continue Reading
Characteristics and Performance of Nonprime Mortgages, GAO-09-848R, July 28, 2009 Electronic Health Records: DOD and VA Efforts to Achieve Full Interoperability Are Ongoing; Program Office Management Needs Improvement, GAO-09-775, July 28, 2009 Home Mortgages: Recent Performance of Nonprime Loans Highlights the Potential for Additional Foreclosures, GAO-09-922T, July 28, 2009 Homeland Defense: Preliminary Observations on Defense… Continue Reading
News release: “Several large-scale, naturalistic driving studies (using sophisticated cameras and instrumentation in participants personal vehicles) conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), provide a clear picture of driver distraction and cell phone use under real‐world driving conditions. Combined, these studies continuously observed drivers for more than 6 million miles of driving. A snapshot… Continue Reading
The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition, July 8, 2009 “The U.S. newspaper industry is suffering through what could be its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Advertising revenues are plummeting due to the severe economic downturn, while readership habits are changing as consumers turn to the Internet for free news and information. Some major… Continue Reading
Council of Economic Advisors: The Economic Effects of Health Care Reform on Small Businesses and Their Employees, July 25, 2009 Continue Reading