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Daily Archives: February 23, 2011

EIA – Energy and Financial Markets Overview: Crude Oil Price Formation

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Energy and Financial Markets Overview: Crude Oil Price Formation, presentation by Richard Newell, Administrator, to the Society of Petroleum Engineers, National Capital Section, Washington, DC on February 23, 2011

  • “Some researchers are finding evidence that factors including unexpectedly strong economic growth in China and stagnant supply were at least associated with, and may have contributed to, the sharp oil price run-up and subsequent decline during the 2007-2008 period
  • The researchers are also finding some evidence suggesting that the price run-up and decline may have been exacerbated by the formation and collapse of an oil price bubble, perhaps triggered by fundamental factors in both the oil market and the broader global economy
  • As discussed later in the presentation, both internal EIA and academic research is also addressing the major increase in oil derivatives trading, significant change in the composition of derivatives traders (such as the growth of swap dealers, hedge funds, and commodity index funds), and increased correlation of oil and other markets over the past several years.”
  • WSJ: Rising Oil Prices Raise the Specter of a Double Dip

FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile – 4th Quarter 2010

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FDIC’s Quarterly Banking Profile, Fourth Quarter 2010, released February 23, 2010 “Banks Earned $21.7 Billion in Fourth Quarter as Recovery Continues: Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported an aggregate profit of $21.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, a $23.5 billion improvement from the $1.8 billion… Continue Reading

Projections of Federal Receipts and Expenditures in the Framework of the National Income and Product Accounts

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CBO’s Projections of Federal Receipts and Expenditures in the Framework of the National Income and Product Accounts, February 2011 “The fiscal transactions of the federal government are recorded in two major sets of accounts. One is The Budget of the United States Government, prepared by the Office of Management and Budget, which is the framework… Continue Reading

Financial Reform: Post Crisis? – Speech by Kansas Federal Reserve President

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Financial Reform: Post Crisis? Thomas M. Hoenig, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – Women in Housing and Finance, Washington, D.C., Feb. 23, 2011 “Today, I am convinced that the existence of too big to fail financial institutions poses the greatest risk to the U.S. economy. The incentives for risk-taking have not changed post-crisis… Continue Reading

New Legislation for Tougher Penalties For States That Don't Comply With Background Checks For Gun Purchases

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News release: “Senator Charles E. Schumer, joined by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, announced today the introduction of legislation that would provide greater reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for individuals with mental illness, domestic violence records, and drug abusers, by increasing the penalties for states… Continue Reading

GAO Report: Defined Contribution Plans

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Defined Contribution Plans: Key Information on Target Date Funds as Default Investments Should Be Provided to Plan Sponsors and Participants, GAO-11-118, January 31, 2011: “The Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration to, in its final regulation on target date disclosure, expand the requirement that plan sponsors provide… Continue Reading

2010 Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual – in Spanish

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“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday issued a Spanish version of the 2010 Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual. The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, developed the Spanish version to make the regulatory expectations regarding Bank Secrecy… Continue Reading

Deloitte – Privacy and Security in Health Care: A Fresh Look

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Privacy and Security in Health Care: A Fresh Look “Privacy and security is a significant challenge for every health care organization and a concern for every U.S. citizen. The move toward an entirely automated health care system featuring electronic and personal health records, clinical data warehousing, and increased transparency means more data is at risk… Continue Reading

Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from October 2010 – December 2010

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Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from October 2010 Through December 2010, February 23, 2011 “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) contains provisions that are intended to boost economic activity and employment in the United States. Section 1512(e) of the law requires the Congressional… Continue Reading

Effects of Cell Phone Radiofrequency Signal Exposure on Brain Glucose Metabolism

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Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation Exposure and Brain Glucose Metabolism – Henry Lai, Lennart Hardell. JAMA. 2011;305(8):828-829.doi:10.1001/jama.2011.201 “In healthy participants and compared with no exposure, 50-minute cell phone exposure was associated with increased brain glucose metabolism in the region closest to the antenna. This finding is of unknown clinical significance.” Continue Reading

Measuring Bias in "Organic" Web Search

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Measuring Bias in “Organic” Web Search, Benjamin Edelman and Benjamin Lockwood, January 19, 2011 “By comparing results between leading search engines, we identify patterns in their algorithmic search listings. We find that each search engine favors its own services in that each search engine links to its own services more often than other search engines… Continue Reading