Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program: Factors Affecting the Decisions of General Motors and Chrysler to Reduce Their Dealership Networks, July 19, 2010 “At a time when the country was experiencing the worst economic downturn in generations and the government was asking its taxpayers to support a $787 billion… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: July 2010
CRS Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Selected Issues for Congress
Follow up to postings on the Gulf Coast oil spill, via CRS – Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Selected Issues for Congress, June 18, 2010: “Several issues for Congress have emerged as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident. What lessons should be drawn from the incident? What technological and regulatory changes may be needed to… Continue Reading
Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies
Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies, U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of International Affairs, July 8, 2010 “The United States is now in its fifth quarter of economic growth. Growth has averaged 3.5 percent per quarter on an annualized basis during the recovery, which is well above the 2.4 percent… Continue Reading
Goldman Sachs to Pay Record $550 Million to Settle SEC Charges Related to Subprime Mortgage CDO
News release: “The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Goldman, Sachs & Co. will pay $550 million and reform its business practices to settle SEC charges that Goldman misled investors in a subprime mortgage product just as the U.S. housing market was starting to collapse. In agreeing to the SEC’s largest-ever penalty paid by a… Continue Reading
WSJ: Historic Finance Bill Includes Major New Rules Affecting Nearly Every Corner of Investing World
Follow up to Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – HR 11-517 and Senate passage of the bill by a 60-39 vote on July 15, 2010, via WSJ: “Buried in the bill’s 800-odd pages are the most sweeping regulatory changes for ordinary investors in decades, affecting everything from mutual funds and retirement plans… Continue Reading
CRS – The Budget Reconciliation Process: The Senate's "Byrd Rule"
The Budget Reconciliation Process: The Senate’s “Byrd Rule”, July 02, 2010 “During the first five years that the Byrd rule was in effect, from late 1985 until late 1990, it consisted of two separate components(1) a provision in statute applying to initial Senate consideration of reconciliation measures, and (2) a Senate resolution extending application of… Continue Reading
CRS: World Trade Organization (WTO): Issues in the Debate on Continued U.S. Participation
World Trade Organization (WTO): Issues in the Debate on Continued U.S. Participation, June 16, 2010 “Following World War II, the United States led efforts to establish an open and nondiscriminatory trading system with the expressed goal of raising the economic well-being of all countries and bolstering world peace. These efforts culminated in the creation of… Continue Reading
Hearing: Planning for the Future of Cyber Attack Attribution
“EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg testified [July 15, 2010]before the House Committee on Science and Technology regarding Planning for the Future of Cyber Attack Attribution. In his prepared statement, Mr. Rotenberg discussed “the risks and limitations of a mandatory Internet ID that may be favored by some as a way to address the risk of… Continue Reading
Report: Only 14 percent of U.S. radio stations have gone digital
An Analysis by The Investigative Reporting Workshop: “Only 14 percent of U.S. radio stations have gone digital, despite the fact it has been nearly eight years since the government approved the technology, according to an Investigative Reporting Workshop analysis. Whats more, the number of stations making the switch is actually decreasing, according to one report.… Continue Reading
Google Purchases Metaweb, an open database of things in the world
Official Google Blog: “Over time weve improved search by deepening our understanding of queries and web pages. The web isnt merely wordsits information about things in the real world, and understanding the relationships between real-world entities can help us deliver relevant information more quickly. Today, weve acquired Metaweb, a company that maintains an open database… Continue Reading
Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index June 2010
Consumer Price Index – June 2010: “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the index increased 1.1 percent before seasonal adjustment. Similarly to April and May, a decline in the… Continue Reading
New Report: "A Slice of Research Life: Information Support for Research in the United States"
A Slice of Research Life: Information Support for Research in the United States, July 2010 “Relationships between researchers and traditional library and university support for research have shifted radically; many of the services most valued by researchers are found not in the library but on the network. The majority of researchers interviewed for this study… Continue Reading
