“This report summarizes 2012 e-commerce statistics from the Service Annual Survey, Annual Wholesale Trade Survey and Annual Retail Trade Survey. 2012 Economic Census statistics for manufacturing are included. The report and associated tables can be found on the U.S. Census Bureau’s website.” Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: May 2014
Systemic Risk and the Asset Management Industry
Douglas J. Elliott, Fellow, The Brookings Institution: “The recent devastating global financial crisis has focused policymakers on sources of risk to the financial system that could have spillover effects on the economy as a whole. This search for “systemic risk” has ranged widely, going well beyond the banks that are at the heart of the… Continue Reading
Dangerous By Design – report by National Complete Streets Coalition
“American communities are poised for a renaissance in walking. We’re walking more often, for fun and to get to places in our neighborhood. We turn to WalkScore.com when figuring out where to live and our most walkable places often are among the most economically vibrant in the country. Hundreds of cities have adopted Complete Streets… Continue Reading
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, April 29-30, 2014
“The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on April 29-30, 2014. The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee ordinarily are made available three weeks after the day of the policy decision and subsequently are published in the Board’s… Continue Reading
NOAA gives mariners new way to see surface and tidal currents
“A new NOAA National Ocean Service website will provide mariners near real-time coastal ocean surface current observations and tidal current predictions in coastal waters using high frequency (HF) radar, making marine navigation safer for mariners and commercial shippers. The web-based observations are now available for the Chesapeake and San Francisco Bays in areas vital for marine navigation, with additional… Continue Reading
House Hearing Considers 11 Bills that Would Weaken CFPB Protections
News release: “Today at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the House Committee on Financial Services, eleven bills will be discussed that will weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and make it harder to protect consumers in the financial marketplace. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proven itself to… Continue Reading
Medical debt and credit scores – CFPB
“Information about unpaid medical bills is reported to the nationwide credit reporting agencies (NCRAs) from two sources. It can be reported directly by the medical service provider (e.g., a doctor) or by a third-party debt collection agency that has purchased the debt or been contracted to collect it. The vast majority of medical debt reported… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Chemical Safety, Federal Contracts and Grants, Federal Protective Service
CHEMICAL SAFETY: Actions Needed to Improve Federal Oversight of Facilities with Ammonium Nitrate, GAO-14-274: Published: May 19, 2014. Publicly Released: May 21, 2014. FEDERAL CONTRACTS AND GRANTS: Agencies Have Taken Steps to Improve Suspension and Debarment Programs, GAO-14-513: Published: May 21, 2014. Publicly Released: May 21, 2014. FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE: Protecting Federal Facilities Remains A Challenge, GAO-14-623T: Published: May 21, 2014. Publicly Released:… Continue Reading
Consumer Reports: 85% of Shoppers Oppose Internet Ad Tracking
EPIC: “According to a recent study by Consumer Reports, consumers overwhelmingly object to having their online activities tracked for advertising purposes. The report found that 85% of consumers would not trade even anonymized personal data for targeted ads. Additionally, 76% of consumers said that targeted advertising adds “little or no value” to their shopping activities. For more… Continue Reading
Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Frequently Asked Questions
CRS – Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Frequently Asked Questions, Lauren Ploch Blanchard, Specialist in African Affairs. May 20, 2014 “The United States has offered support to the government of Nigeria to investigate and facilitate the release of almost 300 female students who were abducted from their school in northern Nigeria in April by Boko Haram, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist… Continue Reading
WaPo – How a backlogged VA determines the true cost of war
Greg Jaffe – “The longest stretch of fighting in American history is producing disability claims at rates that surpass those of any of the country’s previous wars. Nearly half of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are filing for these benefits when they leave the military — a flood of claims that has overwhelmed the VA and generated a… Continue Reading
Asia’s Oil Supply: Risks and Pragmatic Remedies
Research Paper – John Mitchell, May 2014 – “Asia is more at risk from disruption of Middle East oil supplies than is either Europe or the United States, yet as a whole it is less prepared to deal with such an upheaval. This paper analyses the risks that major Asian importers would face if oil supplies through the… Continue Reading
