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Daily Archives: July 21, 2011

Philadephia Federal Reserve: Firms Continue to See Weak Manufacturing Activity

News release: “Regional manufacturing activity remained weak in July, according to the respondents to the Business Outlook Survey. The survey’s indicators for activity and new orders, which had turned negative in June, recovered somewhat but are at very low positive readings. The diffusion index of current activity increased to 3.2 in July from -7.7 in June. The broadest indicator of future activity rebounded to 23.7 this month from 2.5 in June. Firms indicated that, in July, employment grew modestly while the average workweek lessened. Indexes for prices show a continuing trend of moderating price pressures.”

  • Related postings on financial system
  • Labor Department Reports Increased Number of Unemployment Claims

    News release: “In the week ending July 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 418,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 408,000. The 4-week moving average was 421,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 424,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate… Continue Reading

    New GAO Reports: Federal Reserve System, Financial Markets and Institutions, Afghanistan, Space and Missile Defense

    Federal Reserve System – Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Policies and Processes for Managing Emergency Assistance, GAO-11-696, July 21, 2011 – “On numerous occasions in 2008 and 2009, the Federal Reserve Board invoked emergency authority under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to authorize new broad-based programs and financial assistance to individual institutions to stabilize financial… Continue Reading

    Federal Reserve seeks comment on notice outlining regulations previously issued by OTS

    News release: “The Federal Reserve Board is seeking comment on a notice that outlines the regulations previously issued by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) that the Federal Reserve will continue to enforce after assuming supervisory responsibility for savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs). Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, supervisory… Continue Reading

    Chicago Fed Letter: How much has house lock affected labor mobility and the unemployment rate?

    How much has house lock affected labor mobility and the unemployment rate? by Daniel Aaronson, vice president and economic advisor, and Jonathan Davis, associate economist. “This article explores new evidence from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) on the extent to which “house lock”—the reluctance of households to sell their… Continue Reading

    Flying Blind: How Working Americans View Healthcare Costs in Retirement

    Flying Blind: How Working Americans View Healthcare Costs in Retirement A Sun Life Financial Unretirement Survey – May 4, 2011 “92% of American workers either have no idea what their healthcare costs will be in retirement, or vastly underestimate those costs. 40% of Americans have “no idea” how much they will spend on healthcare costs… Continue Reading

    SF Fed: New Evidence on Cyclical and Structural Sources of Unemployment

    New Evidence on Cyclical and Structural Sources of Unemployment – Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, May 2011 – Working Paper 2011-17 “We provide cross-country evidence on the relative importance of cyclical and structural factors in explaining unemployment, including the sharp rise in U.S. long-term unemployment during the Great Recession of 2007-09. About 75% of… Continue Reading

    A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

    “Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to meeting many of humanity’s most pressing challenges, both present and future. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that… Continue Reading

    ASCI Survey: Low Customer Satisfaction for Facebook Opens Door for Google+

    News release: “The social media market is primed for a new player that allows users to connect with friends, according to the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Business Report, produced in partnership with customer experience analytics firm ForeSee Results. Despite a small improvement this year, Facebook (+3% to 66) is the lowest-scoring site, not… Continue Reading