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Daily Archives: May 22, 2011

FBI 2010 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report

News release: “Preliminary FBI figures reveal that the levels of both violent crime and property crime in the U.S. declined in 2010 from the previous year’s data. The 2010 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, just released today, shows a 5.5 percent decrease in the number of reported violent crimes when compared with data from 2009. It also shows a 2.8 percent decline in reported property crimes. This latest report is based on information submitted to the FBI from 13,007 law enforcement agencies around the country. The crimes covered are murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson…There were some specific increases noted:

  • The Northeast saw increases in some violent crime categories from 2009 figures—murder was up 8.3 percent, forcible rape up 1.4 percent, and aggravated assault up 0.7 percent.
  • Cities with populations of 250,000 to 499,999 saw a 3.0 percent rise in murder, while cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999 saw a 1.9 percent increase in forcible rape, and cities between 25,000 and 49,999 saw an increase of 1.3 percent in burglary.
  • The Northeast also saw an increase in burglary—up 3.5 percent.
  • Non-metropolitan counties reported slight increases in burglary (1.2 percent) and larceny-theft (3.2 percent).”

Google Advisor: find financial offers from multiple providers, compare them side by side, and apply online

Official Google Blog: “To help solve these problems, we began testing a mortgage comparison tool in 2009 and have added other financial products such as credit cards, CDs, checking, and savings accounts. Today, we’re rolling these tools into one place: Google Advisor, a site designed to help you quickly find relevant financial products from many… Continue Reading

Impact of the Global Crisis on Banking Sector Soundness in Asian Low-Income Countries

Impact of the Global Crisis on Banking Sector Soundness in Asian Low-Income Countries, Jack Joo K. Ree. May 2011 “The paper takes stock of the impact of the global financial crisis that began in late 2007 on banking sectors of Asian low-income countries, by exploring bank-level data provided by Bankscope. The paper examines three key… Continue Reading

BEA Survey of Current Business, May 2011

Bureau of Economic Analysis Survey of Current Business, May 2011 “A Research Spotlight presents RPP estimates for the 50 states and the District of Columbia and for metropolitan areas for 2005–2009. The article also presents per capita personal income estimates adjusted with RPPs and describes the updated methodology used to derive the RPPs. In another… Continue Reading

Book Reviews: The Economics of Unhappiness

The Chronicle of Higher Education: “The American tradition is to enshrine economic activity as a central element of “the pursuit of happiness.” In reality, however, economic activity is largely concerned with the relief of unhappiness. At the subsistence level of economic activity that has prevailed through most of human history, people must work to eat… Continue Reading

SEC Proposes Rules to Increase Transparency and Improve Integrity of Credit Ratings

Fact Sheet: “The Securities and Exchange Commission [May 18, 2011] voted unanimously to propose new rules and amendments intended to increase transparency and improve the integrity of credit ratings. The proposed rules would implement certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and enhance the SEC’s existing rules governing credit ratings… Continue Reading