EPIC – “In a press release, the Federal Aviation Administration announced the “roadmap” for the integration of drones into domestic airspace. After considering numerous public comments on the privacy impact of aerial drones, the FAA proposed a regulation that requires test site operators to develop privacy policies but does not require any specific baseline privacy protections. The FAA rulemaking came… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: November 2013
Report – Telecoms plan shielded European Internet
Via Deutsche Welle: “Deutsche Telekom says the scandal over US and British eavesdropping has prompted German providers to contemplate an inner-German or inner-European Internet. Data would no longer be routed and stored via other continents. Germany’s state-backed Telekom confirmed on Sunday that German providers were discussing an Internet confined within Europe’s “Schengen” countries. One project code-named… Continue Reading
CBO – The Distribution of Federal Spending and Taxes in 2006
“In previous reports, CBO analyzed how household income (which included some federal benefit payments, or transfers) and federal taxes were distributed among different segments of the U.S. population. This report goes a step farther by analyzing the distribution of most federal spending—including spending on transfers and a host of other government activities—and almost all federal… Continue Reading
CBO – Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023
“The Congress faces an array of policy choices as it confronts the dramatic increase in the federal government’s debt over the past several years and the prospect of large annual budget deficits and further increases in that debt that are projected to occur in coming decades under current law. To help inform lawmakers about the… Continue Reading
BEA – Survey of Current Business, October 2013
GDP and the Economy: Third Estimates for the Second Quarter of 2013 (PDF) – Real GDP rose 2.5 percent after rising 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2013. Business investment and exports turned up. Inventory investment and consumer spending slowed. Real Inventories, Sales, and Inventory-Sales Ratios for Manufacturing and Trade for the Fourth Quarter of 2009… Continue Reading
A Report by Americans for Financial Reform and the Roosevelt Institute
“More than five years after the financial crisis, there is still an open debate about what it would mean to have a financial sector that works for the benefit of the real economy, and how close we are to achieving that. In An Unfinished Mission: Making Wall Street Work For Us, Americans for Financial Reform and the Roosevelt Institute… Continue Reading
PWC – Stress testing: Failures on the horizon?
“On November 1, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (“Fed”), along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, released documents pertaining to the capital stress testing requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act. One set of documents contained the stress test macroeconomic scenarios (i.e., baseline, severe, and severely adverse) and instructions that outline the… Continue Reading
New Mexico Immigration Prosecutions Jumped 46% in FY 2013
TRAC: “The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first eleven months of FY 2013 New Mexico had the fastest growth in criminal immigration prosecutions — a 45.7 percent jump — among the nation’s 94 judicial districts. Second highest was the Western District of Texas with a 32.0 percent increase, followed… Continue Reading
Lawyering in the Shadow of Data
Lawyering in the Shadow of Data, Drury D. Stevenson – South Texas College of Law; Nicholas J. Wagoner – South Texas College of Law Alumni. September 12, 2013 “Attorney bargaining has traditionally taken place in the shadow of trial, as litigants alter their pretrial behavior — including their willingness to negotiate a settlement — based on perceptions of likely outcomes… Continue Reading
CFPB Launches Tool to Help Consumers Find Housing Counselors
“Housing counselors throughout the country can provide advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, and credit issues. Using the search box below, you can find one near you. The counseling agencies on this list are approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and they can offer independent advice about whether… Continue Reading
The Rising Gap between Primary and Secondary Mortgage Rates
The Rising Gap between Primary and Secondary Mortgage Rates – Andreas Fuster, Laurie Goodman, David Lucca, Laurel Madar, Linsey Molloy, and Paul Willen. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. “While mortgage rates reached historic lows during 2012, the spread between primary and secondary rates rose to very high levels. This trend reflected a number of factors that potentially affected mortgage originator costs and… Continue Reading
CRS – Sovereign Debt in Advanced Economies
Sovereign Debt in Advanced Economies: Overview and Issues for Congress – Rebecca M. Nelson, Analyst in International Trade and Finance. October 28, 2013 “Sovereign debt, also called public debt or government debt, refers to debt incurred by governments. Since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, public debt in advanced economies has increased substantially. A number of factors related… Continue Reading
