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Daily Archives: November 29, 2013

BIS – Property price statistics

“The property price statistics bring together data from different countries. The BIS, with the assistance of its member central banks, 1 has obtained approval of various national data providers to disseminate the statistics as long as the original national sources are clearly indicated. The sources and any relevant disclaimers are listed separately (sources of data). Copyright in these data must be honoured. The property price statistics currently include data from 52 countries, and are available at different frequencies. The data differ significantly from country to country, for instance in terms of type of property, area covered, property vintage, priced unit, detailed compilation methods and seasonal adjustment. This reflects two facts. Firstly, that the processes associated with buying and selling a property and hence data available, vary between countries and secondly, that there are currently no specific international standards for property price statistics. However, Eurostat has is taking the lead in drafting a Handbook on Residential Property Price Indices under the aegis of the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Price Statistics. This handbook will give recommendations on best practice for compiling residential property price indices and will present these in the context of the different user needs for such indices. A draft of the Handbook is available for public comment. The Handbook builds on work undertaken at a number of international meetings over recent years to identify the requirements for improved data on property prices from an economic, monetary and financial stability perspective. In disseminating these statistics, the BIS and its member central banks are following up on Recommendation 19 in the Report on “The Financial Crisis and Information Gaps” submitted by the Financial Stability Board and IMF to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (initial report October 2009progress report May 2010progress report June 2011progress report September 2012 and progress report September 2013). This webpage and the related property price database contain links to other websites for the convenience of users. Neither the BIS nor its member central banks endorse these websites or assume any responsibility for their content. The Property price dataset is updated on a monthly basis at the end of each month.”

WordPress – Striking Back Against Censorship

“The mission of WordPress.com is to democratize publishing. We’re inspired every day by the ways creators use our platform to bring their voices to the world. Unfortunately, we also see many cases of censorship aimed at WordPress.com authors and users. One area where we’ve seen a number of problems is the censoring of criticism through abuse… Continue Reading

BLS – Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2012

“In 2012, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $691. On average in 2012, women made about 81 percent of the median earnings of male full-time wage and salary workers ($854). In 1979, the first year for which comparable earnings data are available, women earned 62 percent of  what men earned. This report presents data highlights and statistical… Continue Reading

The Boston Bombing Digital Archive

“The Boston Marathon is woven into the fabric of our community: it brings together runners from around the world, spectators, family members, and neighbors, forging a river of people stretching from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. The April 15, 2013 bombing at the marathon finish line aimed to destroy that fabric. We invite you to help mend… Continue Reading

Mass Surveillance of Personal Data by EU Member States and Its Compatibility with EU Law

Bigo, Didier and Carrera, Sergio and Hernanz, Nicholas and Jeandesboz, Julien and Parkin, Joanna and Ragazzi, Francesco Rossi and Scherrer, Amandine, Mass Surveillance of Personal Data by EU Member States and Its Compatibility with EU Law (November 6, 2013). Liberty and Security in Europe Papers No. 61. Available at SSRN. “In the wake of the… Continue Reading

Politico – Surprisingly large’ numbers of young people enrolling in health coverage

POLITICIO’s Natalie Villacorta [behind a paywall: “Initial numbers from several corners of the country show that nearly a quarter of new enrollees have been between 18 and 35 years of age, the demographic bubble whose general vigor and well-being is crucial to the financial stability of Obamacare’s new health exchanges. They’re waiting through website error… Continue Reading

Reframing Commodity Pools in the Wake of Dodd-Frank and the Volcker Rule

Reframing Commodity Pools in the Wake of Dodd-Frank and the Volcker Rule by Jenny Liu, Cornell Law Review, Volume 99 Issue 1. 2013. “The massive financial disaster of 2008 and the international credit catastrophe that subsequently developed was a “historic economic crisis” that led to a near collapse of the U.S. and global economic systems. In its aftermath, widespread demands for regulatory reform… Continue Reading

Broad Agency Announcement Cyber Grand Challenge: Automated Cyber Reasoning

Broad Agency Announcement – Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC): Automated Cyber Reasoning. DARPA-BAA-14-05, Amendment 2, November 27, 2013. “The Department of Defense (DoD) maintains information systems using a software technology base comprised of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) operating systems and applications. This COTS technology base is common to the DoD, industry, and the Defense Industrial Base,… Continue Reading

Law Review article – Becoming the Fifth Branch

Becoming the Fifth Branch, William A. Birdthistle; Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago-Kent College of Law, M. Todd Henderson, University of Chicago – Law School. Cornell Law Review, Vol. 99, 2013 and University of Chicago Institute for Law & Economics Olin Research Paper No. 618. “Observers of our federal republic have long acknowledged that a fourth branch of government comprising administrative… Continue Reading

Reaching Zero: Actions to Eliminate Alcohol-Impaired Driving

DOT NTSB Gov Doc: Reaching Zero: Actions to Eliminate Alcohol-Impaired Driving. NTSB/SR-13/01, PB2013-106566, Notation 8482. Adopted May 14, 2013 “On average, every hour, one person dies in a crash involving a drunk driver and 20 more people are injured, including three with debilitating injuries. That adds up quickly to yearly totals of nearly 10,000 deaths, 27,000 lives forever altered… Continue Reading