NOAA news release: “In 2013, the vast majority of worldwide climate indicators—greenhouse gases, sea levels, global temperatures, etc.—continued to reflect trends of a warmer planet, according to the indicators assessed in the State of the Climate in 2013 report, released online today by the American Meteorological Society. Scientists from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., served as… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: July 2014
UN – The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age
“Advances in information communication technology are dramatically improving real-time communication and information-sharing. By improving access to information and facilitating global debate, they foster democratic participation. By amplifying the voices of human rights defenders and helping to expose abuses, these powerful technologies offer the promise of improved enjoyment of human rights. But at the same time it… Continue Reading
Mapping and Sizing the U.S. Repo Market
Mapping and Sizing the U.S. Repo Market – Adam Copeland, Isaac Davis, Eric LeSueur, and Antoine Martin “The U.S. repurchase agreement (repo) market is a large financial market where participants effectively provide collateralized loans to one another. This market played a central role in the recent financial crisis; for example, both Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers experienced problems borrowing… Continue Reading
Agencies Finalize Technical Correction of Risk-Based Capital Rules
“The Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Wednesday announced the finalization of a technical correction to the definition of “eligible guarantee” in the agencies’ risk-based capital rules. In April, the agencies proposed a rule to correct the definition of eligible guarantee by… Continue Reading
Report – Elite Russian hackers breached Nasdq and inserted a digital bomb
BloombergBusinessWeek – Mike Riley: “In October 2010, a Federal Bureau of Investigation system monitoring U.S. Internet traffic picked up an alert. The signal was coming from Nasdaq. It looked like malware had snuck into the company’s central servers. There were indications that the intruder was not a kid somewhere, but the intelligence agency of another country.… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – FDIC Information Security, Missile Defense, National Nuclear Security Administration
INFORMATION SECURITY: FDIC Made Progress in Securing Key Financial Systems, but Weaknesses Remain, GAO-14-674: Published: Jul 17, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 17, 2014. MISSILE DEFENSE: DOD’s Report Provides Limited Insight on Improvements to Homeland Missile Defense and Acquisition Plans, GAO-14-626R: Published: Jul 17, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 17, 2014. NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: Agency Expanded Use of Some Federal Oversight Reforms, but… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve Board Beige Book – July 16, 2014
“Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District – Prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and based on information collected before July 7, 2014. This document summarizes comments received from businesses and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials. All… Continue Reading
Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting
“Written by Lorcan Dempsey, Constance Malpas, and Brian Lavoie, “Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting” takes a broad view of the evolution of collecting behaviors in a network environment and suggests some future directions based on various simple models. A preprint of the article is available online. In this article, the authors look at the changing dynamics… Continue Reading
Global Survey: Widespread Opposition to US Communications Surveillance, Drones
“A new survey from Pew Research finds overwhelming opposition to the US monitoring of emails and phone calls. There appears to be little variation by region or culture, with high levels of opposition found in countries in Europe, South America, Asia, and the Middle East. According to the survey “Global Opinions of U.S. Surveillance,” the four countries… Continue Reading
Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information – CRS
Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information – M. Maureen Murphy, Legislative Attorney. July 14, 2014 “One of the functions transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under P.L. 111-203, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), is authority to issue regulations and take enforcement actions under the two major federal statutes that specify conditions under which customer… Continue Reading
Bipartisan Policy Center Recommends Improvements to Key Features of the Dodd-Frank Act
“The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative today released three top ten lists highlighting key areas of progress made since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act four years ago, along with 20 proposed action items for regulators and Congress to address the significant challenges that remain. These include: Top Ten Areas Where Dodd-Frank Made Progress Top Ten… Continue Reading
NHTSA Study – Motor Vehicle Crashes Have $871 Billion Economic, Societal Impact on U.S. Citizens
“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today released a new study that underscores the high economic toll and societal impact of motor vehicle crashes in the United States. The price tag for crashes comes at a heavy burden for Americans at $871 billion in economic loss and societal harm. This… Continue Reading
