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Monthly Archives: January 2012

2012 US GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy Now Available

“The 2012 Taxonomy contains updates for accounting standards and other improvements since the 2011 Taxonomy as used by issuers filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued proposed improvements to the taxonomy in the fall of 2011, allowing users of the taxonomy to provide feedback on the updates… Continue Reading

European Association of CCP Clearing Houses Paper on Best Practices for CCP Stress Testing

EACH Paper on best Practices for CCP Stress Testing, November 1, 2011 “The main aim of this paper is to make the appropriate distinction between stress testing performed by CCPs [European central counterparty clearing houses] and those by banking institutions. In addition to this, the paper attempts to provide a compilation of existing best practices… Continue Reading

Proposed EU Commission Financial Transaction Tax Impact Analysis on Foreign Exchange Markets

Proposed EU Commission Financial Transaction Tax Impact Analysis on Foreign Exchange Markets. Oliver Wyman, January 2012: “The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the proposed EU Financial Transaction Tax on European FX markets. We aim to quantify the impacts of the FTT on FX cash and derivative markets, both in terms… Continue Reading

2012 Progress Report: States Are Implementing Health Reform

2012 Progress Report: “In the nearly two years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, all States have taken some action to implement health reform. For example, forty-four States are participating in the new premium rate review system where insurers must justify the rationale for any double-digit insurance premium increase. And 28… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: Credit Rating Agencies, Dodd-Frank Act, Real Estate Appraisals,

Credit Rating Agencies – Alternative Compensation Models for Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations, GAO-12-240, Jan 18, 2012 Dodd-Frank Act – Hybrid Capital Instruments and Small Institution Access to Capital, GAO-12-237, Jan 18, 2012 Real Estate Appraisals – Appraisal Subcommittee Needs to Improve Monitoring Procedures, GAO-12-147, Jan 18, 2012 Real Estate Appraisals – Survey of State… Continue Reading

CRS – Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections

Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections, January 9, 2012 “This report considers contemporary developments in presidential elections. It emphasizes three topics chosen for their recurring importance and notable recent developments: (1) nominating procedures; (2) campaign finance; and (3) the electoral college. The report highlights significant developments in these areas, particularly for the 2008 and 2012 elections.… Continue Reading

An International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities

An International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities: Strengthening Long-Term Sustainability, Stability, Safety, and Security in Space, January 17, 2012 “Today there are approximately 60 nations and government consortia that operate satellites, as well as numerous commercial and academic satellite operators, creating an environment that is increasingly congested. The Department of Defense tracks roughly… Continue Reading

EPA: 2010 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Large Facilities Now Available

News release: “For the first time, comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) data reported directly from large facilities and suppliers across the country are now easily accessible to the public through EPA’s GHG Reporting Program. The 2010 GHG data released today includes public information from facilities in nine industry groups that directly emit large quantities of GHGs,… Continue Reading

OE/ISER Releases Inaugural Issue of Energy Emergency Preparedness Quarterly

“The Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration (ISER) Division of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is publishing a new newsletter, the Energy Emergency Preparedness Quarterly, designed to briefly highlight a few of the OE/ISER energy preparedness activities that occur each quarter. The first issue of the newsletter includes news items on the… Continue Reading

House of Representatives House Launches Transparency Portal

Sunlight Foundation: “Making good on part of the House of Representative’s commitment to increase congressional transparency, today the House Clerk’s office launched http://docs.house.gov/, a one stop website where the public can access all House bills, amendments, resolutions for floor consideration, and conference reports in XML, as well as information on floor proceedings and more. Information… Continue Reading