News release: “Data loss through cyber attacks decreased sharply in 2010, but the total number of breaches was higher than ever, according to the “Verizon 2011 Data Breach Investigations Report.” These findings continue to demonstrate that businesses and consumers must remain vigilant in implementing and maintaining security practices. The number of compromised records involved in… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2011
EPIC – Solicitor General to Supreme Court: Review GPS Tracking Cases
“The Solicitor General filed a petition with the Supreme Court about the growing dispute in the federal courts over warrantless locational tracking. There is a split among the appellate court about GPS tracking by police agencies. The petition appeals a decision from the DC Circuit which held that the warrantless tracking of a motor vehicle… Continue Reading
BLS: Consumer Price Index increases 2.7 percent in 12 months
News release: “Over the last 12 months, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) all items index increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment, the largest increase since December 2009. The food index has risen 2.9 percent over the past 12 months. The index for food at home has risen 3.6 percent with the… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, TARP
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Update on Federal Financial Risks and Claims Processing, GAO-11-397R, April 18, 2011 Management Report: Improvements Are Needed in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, GAO-11-434R, April 18, 2011 Continue Reading
Proposed rule to implement amendments to the Truth in Lending Act
News release: “The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday requested public comment on a proposed rule under Regulation Z that would require creditors to determine a consumer’s ability to repay a mortgage before making the loan and would establish minimum mortgage underwriting standards. The revisions to the regulation, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA),… Continue Reading
White House – Epidemic: Responding to America's Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis
Report – Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis, April 2011: “Prescription drug abuse is the Nations fastest-growing drug problem. While there has been a marked decrease in the use of some illegal drugs like cocaine, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that nearly one-third of people aged 12… Continue Reading
CMS Announces Medicare Hospital Rules to Improve Care Quality
News release: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for hospitals in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. Proposals included in the rule would help support the Obama Administrations efforts to reform our health care delivery system by improving care quality and patient… Continue Reading
Market structures and systemic risks of exchange-traded funds
Market structures and systemic risks of exchange-traded funds, by Srichander Ramaswamy, Working Papers No 343, Bank for International Settlements, April 2011 “Crisis experience has shown that as the financial intermediation chain lengthens, it becomes complicated to assess the risks of financial products due to a lack of transparency as to how risks are managed at… Continue Reading
D&B: 2011 Impact Report of Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Preliminary Business Impact Analysis for High Impact Areas of Japan, april 5, 2011: “The earthquake and tsunami has the potential to impact 86,418 businesses with the majority located in the prefectures most impacted by the disasterMiyagi, Fukushima, and Iwate. Conservative estimates suggest potential impact to 311,934 employees and $209 billion in sales volume. These businesses… Continue Reading
Treasurys Process for Contracting for Professional Services under TARP
Treasurys Process for Contracting for Professional Services under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP-11-003), April 14, 2011 “Specifically, SIGTARP found weaknesses in the OFS [Office of Financial Stability] contract for legal services with Venable, as well as the OFS policies for review of Venables fee bills. The OFS contract for legal services did not contain… Continue Reading
Proposed Transfer of Control of T-Mobile to AT&T
Proposed Transfer of Control of T-Mobile to AT&T. Numbering Resource Utilization and Forecast Reports and Local Number Portability Reports to be Placed Into the Record: “On March 21, 2011, AT&T Inc. (AT&T) and Deutsche Telekom AG (Deutsche Telekom) announced an agreement under which AT&T would acquire T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile USA) from Deutsche Telekom in… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve redesigns the frequently asked questions section of its website
“The Federal Reserve Board has redesigned and expanded the Current FAQs (frequently asked questions) section of its website. New questions and answers address the Federal Reserve’s roles and actions, currency and coin, consumer issues, the banking and financial system, and the economy. Many answers link to related information and resources, and videos accompany some answers.… Continue Reading
