“A dramatic rise in the surface temperature of Indonesian waters has resulted in a large-scale bleaching event that has devastated local coral populations. Following a report of a bleaching incident in May, WCS-Indonesia dispatched a Rapid Response Unit of marine biologists to investigate. Their initial survey revealed that over 60 percent of corals have bleached.… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2010
Whooping Cough in California Reaches Highest Rate in 50 Years
Pertussis Report 8/17/2010: “To date (8/17/2010), there have been 3,076 confirmed, probable and suspect cases of pertussis reported in 2010 for a state rate of 7.9 cases/100,000. This is a 7-fold increase from the number of reported cases during the same time period in 2009 when 434 cases were reported If current trends continue, it… Continue Reading
OECD: The EU Stress Test and Sovereign Debt Exposures
Blundell-Wignall, A. and P. Slovik (2010), The EU Stress Test and Sovereign Debt Exposures, OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions, No. 4, OECD Financial Affairs Division, 13-Aug-2010 “This working papers quantifications show that most sovereign debt is held on the banking books of banks, whereas the EU stress test considered only their… Continue Reading
Report of the Task Force on A Unified Security Budget for the United States
Report of the Task Force on A Unified Security Budget for the United States. Foreign Policy In Focus of the Institute for Policy Studies, August 2010 Since 2004, this Task Force has been reporting on the balance of our security budget. There is improvement to report this year. The Obama administration deserves credit for submitting… Continue Reading
BLS: Health Care Spending: 1998, 2003, and 2008
Health Care Spending: 1998, 2003, and 2008: “How have rising health care costs affected household budgets? That question was raised many times before the passage of the Affordable Care Act, whose goalas the acts name impliesis to make health care more affordable for American families. This analysis of Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data from the… Continue Reading
New York Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Survey
“The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions improved modestly in August for New York manufacturers. The general business conditions index rose 2 points from its July level, to 7.1. The new orders and shipments indexes both dipped below zero for the first time in more than a year, indicating that orders and shipments declined… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve final rules to protect mortgage borrowers from unfair, abusive, or deceptive lending practices
News release: “The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced final rules to protect mortgage borrowers from unfair, abusive, or deceptive lending practices that can arise from loan originator compensation practices. The new rules apply to mortgage brokers and the companies that employ them, as well as mortgage loan officers employed by depository institutions and other… Continue Reading
New York City Pedestrian Safety Study & Action Plan
“The first, unprecedented, Pedestrian Safety Report and Action Plan examines over 7,000 records of crashes that have caused serious injuries or fatalities to pedestrians, and identifies underlying causes. DOT will use this data to inform the work the agency does to reduce traffic fatalities and make New York City streets safe for everyone. The Action… Continue Reading
NIH: New breast cancer committee to establish federal research agenda
News release: “A newly formed advisory committee will develop and coordinate a strategic federal research agenda on environmental and genetic factors related to breast cancer. The 19-member Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (IBCERCC) was established by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI),… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Consumer-Directed Health Plans, Critical Infrastructure Protection
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Federally Funded Programs Have Helped to Address the Needs of Gulf Coast Small Businesses, but Agency Data on Subcontracting Are Incomplete, GAO-10-723, July 29, 2010 Consumer-Directed Health Plans: Health Status, Spending, and Utilization of Enrollees in Plans Based on Health Reimbursement Arrangements, GAO-10-616, July 16, 2010 Critical Infrastructure Protection: Key Private… Continue Reading
FTC Proposes Changes to Update and Improve Credit Reporting Notices
News release: “The Federal Trade Commission is proposing revisions to the notices that consumer reporting agencies provide to consumers, and to users and furnishers of credit report information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA requires the FTC to publish model notices for several forms that must be provided by consumer reporting agencies.… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve: What You Need to Know: New Rules for Mortgage Transfers
News release: “The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced final rules to implement a statutory amendment to the Truth in Lending Act requiring that consumers receive notice when their mortgage loan has been sold or transferred. The new disclosure requirement became effective in May 2009, upon enactment of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act.… Continue Reading
