IMF, Bertand Gruss, August 14, 2014. Working Paper No. 14/154. “After skyrocketing over the past decade, commodity prices have remained stable or eased somewhat since mid-2011—and most projections suggest they are not likely to resume the upward trend observed in the last decade. This paper analyzes what this turn in the commodity price cycle may imply for… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2014
Flood Vulnerability Assessment
“Flood hazard information from FEMA has been combined with EIA’s energy infrastructure layers as a tool to help state, county, city, and private sector planners assess which key energy infrastructure assets are vulnerable to rising sea levels, storm surges, and flash flooding. Note that flood hazard layers must be zoomed-in to street level before they… Continue Reading
First Steps for Managing Born-Digital Content Received on Physical Media
You’ve Got to Walk Before You Can Run: First Steps for Managing Born-Digital Content Received on Physical Media, by Ricky Erway, OCLC Research “This report is intended for anyone who doesn’t know where to begin in managing born-digital materials. It errs on the side of simplicity and describes what is truly necessary to start managing born-digital content… Continue Reading
Looking under the Hood of the Subprime Auto Lending Market
“Today, the New York Fed released the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the second quarter of 2014. Aggregate debt was relatively flat in the second quarter as housing-related debt shrank, held down by sluggish mortgage originations. But non-housing debt balances increased across the board, with especially strong gains in auto loans. Auto loan balances,… Continue Reading
Senator Schumer Calls On Regulators to Make Fitness Data Private
EPIC – Senator Charles Schumer has denounced the data collection practices of “activity trackers” such as FitBit. “Activity trackers” are mobile devices that record highly personal information about the wearer and constantly analyze the wearer’s activities, including their diet, exercise, sleep, and even sexual habits. However, it is not clear whether federal privacy law protects this personal data from… Continue Reading
Where We Came From, State by State – Graphics
New York Times: “The movement of people among the states can have a bigger influence than immigration on society. We charted how Americans have moved since 1900.” See also via Scout: New Upshot Tool Provides Historical Look at Migration Migration Study Shows Illinois Residents Bolt State For Warm Climates American Migration [Interactive Map] A State-by-State… Continue Reading
Extensive interview of Edward Snowden – Wired
James Bamford, via Wired: “..Snowden will continue to haunt the US, the unpredictable impact of his actions resonating at home and around the world. The documents themselves, however, are out of his control. Snowden no longer has access to them; he says he didn’t bring them with him to Russia. Copies are now in the hands… Continue Reading
Broker-Dealer Finance and Financial Stability – Speech
“In a speech in New York, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren called for a comprehensive re-evaluation of the regulation of broker-dealers (intermediaries that effect transactions in securities), given the lessons of the financial crisis. “Broker-dealers played a dramatic role during the crisis,” said Rosengren. Given their dependence on unstable, short-term funding, “broker-dealers can… Continue Reading
Macroprudential frameworks: (too) great expectations?
Macroprudential frameworks: (too) great expectations? Contribution by Mr Claudio Borio, Head of the Monetary and Economic Department of the Bank for International Settlements, to the 25th anniversary edition of Central Banking Journal, originally published on 5 August 2014. “Macroprudential frameworks are a welcome response to the Great Financial Crisis. As long argued by the BIS, a stronger… Continue Reading
Highlights from Folger Shakespeare Library’s Release of almost 80,000 Images
“Folger Shakespeare Library announced yesterday (12th August 2014), that they have released the contents of their Digital Image Collection under a Creative Commons Share-Alike (CC-BY-SA) license – basically meaning that the images are free to re-use for any purpose as long as you credit the Folger Shakespeare Library as the source and share under a similar license.… Continue Reading
Project Gutenberg offers 46,483 free ebooks to download
“Project Gutenberg offers over 45,000 free ebooks: choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online. We carry high quality ebooks: All our ebooks were previously published by bona fide publishers. We digitized and diligently proofread them with the help of thousands of volunteers. No fee or registration is required, but if you find Project… Continue Reading
Research Finally Revealed – Chemical Ingredient in Colgate Total Linked to Cancer
Bloomberg – “The chemical triclosan has been linked to cancer-cell growth and disrupted development in animals. Regulators are reviewing whether it’s safe to put in soap, cutting boards and toys. Consumer companies are phasing it out. Minnesota voted in May to ban it in many products. At the same time, millions of Americans are putting it in their mouths every… Continue Reading
