Summary of the latest report for the Social Security and Medicare programs: “Each year the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. This message summarizes our 2009 Annual Reports. The financial condition of the Social Security and Medicare programs remains challenging.… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2009
Report and Class Action Suit: Weed Killer in Local Drinking Water
Debating How Much Weed Killer Is Safe in Your Water Glass: “For decades, farmers, lawn care workers and professional green thumbs have relied on the popular weed killer atrazine to protect their crops, golf courses and manicured lawns. But atrazine often washes into water supplies and has become among the most common contaminants in American… Continue Reading
Foreign Broadcast Information Service History, Part 1: 1941-1947
“In response to the burgeoning intelligence requirements dictated by the World War II (WWII), the Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service (FBMS) evolved into the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) on 26 July 1942. The first 44 years of FBIS is chronicled dutifully and expertly in this 1969 study. Foreign Broadcast Information Service History, Part 1: 1941-1947.” Continue Reading
Delinquencies Continue to Climb, Foreclosures Flat in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey
News release: “The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.24 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the second quarter of 2009, up 12 basis points from the first quarter of 2009, and up 283 basis points from one year ago, according… Continue Reading
American Time Use Survey
New York Times “Sunday Business analyzed new data from the American Time Use Survey to compare the 2008 weekday activities of the employed and unemployed. The comparison may seem obvious, but differences in time spent by these two groups can be striking.” Graphic: How Different Groups Spend Their Day – “The American Time Use Survey… Continue Reading
European Central Bank: Monetary policy strategy in a global environment
Monetary policy strategy in a global environment, by by Philippe Moutot and Giovanni Vitale. European Central Bank, ECB, Occasional Paper Series No 106. August 2009. “This paper discusses the structural implications of real and financial globalisation, with the aim of drawing lessons for the conduct of monetary policy and, in particular, for the assessment of… Continue Reading
Consumer Reports: Patient satisfaction with PPOs driven down by administrative hassles
American Medical News staff. Posted Aug. 17, 2009: “The latest health plan ratings by Consumer Reports shows PPO members less satisfied than those who belong to HMOs, primarily because of poor scores for PPOs’ customer service and billing practices. Overall, 64% of the 37,481 readers surveyed said they were “very” or “completely” satisfied with their… Continue Reading
Speech by Federal Reserve Chairman on reflections on a year of crisis
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke At the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Annual Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming – August 21, 2009 Reflections on a Year of Crisis: “By the standards of recent decades, the economic environment at the time of this symposium one year ago was quite challenging. A year after the onset of… Continue Reading
New GAO Report: State High-Risk Health Insurance Pools
Health Insurance: Enrollment, Benefits, Funding, and Other Characteristics of State High-Risk Health Insurance Pools, GAO-09-730R, July 22, 2009 “A growing number of states–35 as of June 2009–have created high-risk health insurance pools (HRPs) primarily to provide coverage to individuals whose health status limits their access to coverage in the private individual health insurance market. HRPs–typically… Continue Reading
Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo Form United Front Against Google Books
Follow up to previous postings on Google Book settlement, BBB News reports – Tech giants unite against Google – “Three technology heavyweights are joining a coalition to fight Google’s attempt to create what could be the world’s largest virtual library. Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo will sign up to the Open Book Alliance being spearheaded by… Continue Reading
State/Local Employment Up Slightly Since Start of Recession, But Cuts Are Now Underway
State/Local Employment Up Slightly Since Start of Recession, But Cuts Are Now Underway by Donald J. Boyd, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, August 20, 2009. “Government employment accounts for more than 22 million jobs 17 percent of total U.S. employment with state and local governments accounting for the vast majority of this.… Continue Reading
PC Pros top 10 hard disk destruction methods
Follow up to previous postings on recovering data from discarded or resold computers and their hard drives, additional data and PC security ideas via PC Pros top 10 hard disk destruction methods. Continue Reading
