“The federal bank regulatory agencies today released an estimation tool to help community banks understand the potential effects of the recently revised regulatory capital framework on their capital ratios. The revised framework implements the Basel III regulatory capital reforms and certain changes required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. In July… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: November 2013
DOJ, Federal and State Partners Secure Record $13 Billion Global Settlement with JPMorgan
DOJ news release: “The Justice Department, along with federal and state partners, today announced a $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan – the largest settlement with a single entity in American history – to resolve federal and state civil claims arising out of the packaging, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) by JPMorgan,… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Maritime Security, Navy Shipbuilding
MARITIME SECURITY – DHS Could Benefit from Tracking Progress in Implementing the Small Vessel Security Strategy, GAO-14-32, Oct 31, 2013 MARITIME SECURITY – Progress and Challenges in Key DHS Programs to Secure the Maritime Borders, GAO-14-196T, Nov 19, 2013 NAVY SHIPBUILDING – Opportunities Exist to Improve Practices Affecting Quality, GAO-14-122, Nov 19, 2013 Continue Reading
Cryptographer and Harvard Scholar – NSA broke Internet’s security for everyone
Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica: “To say that there are a lot of people who are angry with the National Security Agency (NSA) right now would be an understatement. But the things that are getting the most political attention right now—such as the invasion of the privacy of American citizens and spying on the leaders of American… Continue Reading
IG – EPA Does Not Adequately Follow National Security Information Classification Standards
EPA Does Not Adequately Follow National Security Information Classification Standards, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General, November 15, 2013. “Our review of both originally and derivatively EPA’s national security information could be classified documents generated by three offices improperly classified found that the EPA does not sufficiently follow without improved national security information classification standards. procedures. Of the… Continue Reading
Report – A Scarcity of Rare Metals Is Hindering Green Technologies
Nicola Jones: A shortage of “rare earth” metals, used in everything from electric car batteries to solar panels to wind turbines, is hampering the growth of renewable energy technologies. Researchers are now working to find alternatives to these critical elements or better ways to recycle them. “The move toward new and better technologies — from… Continue Reading
Open Data Barometer: 2013 Global Report
“The Open Data Barometer takes a multidimensional look at the spread of Open Government Data (OGD) policy and practice across the world. Combining peer-reviewed expert survey data and secondary data sources, the Barometer explores countries readiness to secure benefits from open data, the publication of key datasets, and evidence of emerging impacts from OGD. The Open… Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve’s Framework for Monetary Policy – Recent Changes and New Questions
William B. English, J. David Lopez-Salido, and Robert J. Tetlow – 2013-76: “In recent years, the Federal Reserve has made substantial changes to its framework for monetary policymaking by providing greater clarity regarding its objectives, its intentions regarding the use of monetary policy–including nontraditional policy tools such as forward guidance and asset purchases–in the pursuit of those… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Critical Infrastructure, Federal Real Property
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE – Assessment of the Department of Homeland Security’s Report on the Results of Its Critical Infrastructure Partnership Streamlining Efforts, GAO-14-100R, Nov 18, 2013 FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY – Selected Agencies Plan to Use Workforce Mobility to Reduce Space, but Most Efforts Are Too New to Have Realized Savings, GAO-14-41, Oct 17, 2013 Continue Reading
CFPB Finds Financial Education Programs are Significantly Outspent by Financial Marketing
“Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a report analyzing the amount of money spent on providing financial education to consumers and the amount spent trying to influence consumers’ decisions about financial products. The report found that for every dollar put towards financial education, $25 is spent on financial marketing, which can make it difficult… Continue Reading
Political Finance Oversight Handbook
“Money plays a crucial role in modern politics. Weak enforcement in political and campaign finance can lead to extreme disparities in campaign resources among parties and candidates; political outcomes driven by those with the most financial resources; and an erosion of democratic politics. IFES’ Training in Detection and Enforcement (TIDE) program responds to the increasing need of… Continue Reading
HathiTrust US Federal Government Documents Initiative
“Call for US Federal Government Documents Records: A crucial component and initial step in the initiative is working to get an idea of the total corpus of US federal government documents held by US institutions. HathiTrust will soon be issuing a broad call for cataloging records of US federal government publications to be used to compare… Continue Reading
