Via Katrina Stierholz, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis – “additions to FRASER since its relaunch in October 2014 – FRASER – the Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research – has added thousands of new items to its free digital library of economics and banking history and offers a wealth of primary and secondary… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2015
Small Rule Change That Could Give the U.S. Government Sweeping New Warrant Power
Posted by Richard Salgado, Legal Director, Law Enforcement and Information Security: “At the request of the Department of Justice, a little-known body — the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure — is proposing a significant change to procedural rules that could have profound implications for the privacy rights and security interests of everyone… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Flood Insurance, Identity and Tax Fraud
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board: Improvements Needed to Strengthen Internal Control and Promote Transparency, GAO-15-181: Published: Jan 20, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 19, 2015. Flood Insurance: Status of FEMA’s Implementation of the Biggert-Waters Act, as Amended, GAO-15-178: Published: Feb 19, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 19, 2015. Identity and Tax Fraud: Enhanced Authentication Could Combat Refund… Continue Reading
Liability of Online Intermediaries – New Study by the Global Network of Internet and Society Centers
“The Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC) and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University are pleased to announce the release of a new report, which examines the rapidly changing landscape of online intermediary liability at the intersection of law, technology, norms, and markets, and is aimed at informing and improving Internet policy-making globally.… Continue Reading
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, January 27-28, 2015
[snipped from the full text] “Staff Review of the Financial Situation – Over the intermeeting period, amid trading that was volatile at times, longer-term sovereign yields in the United States and other advanced economies declined. These moves were attributed in part to a deterioration in market sentiment associated with downward pressure on inflation, increased concern… Continue Reading
Harvard, MIT Sued Over Lack of Captioning for Online Courses
FindLaw Courtside: “The National Association of the Deaf filed two federal class actions complaints today. The suits — against Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — allege that the universities discriminate against the deaf because their online content is not captioned, or is poorly or illegibly captioned. This lack of captioning, according… Continue Reading
The (Questionable) Legality of High-Speed “Pinging” and “Front Running” in the Futures Markets
The (Questionable) Legality of High-Speed “Pinging” and “Front Running” in the Futures Markets, by Gregory Scopino. Connecticut Law Review Volume 47 – Issue. February 2015. “Institutional investors complain that high-frequency trading (HFT) firms engage in high-speed “pinging” and “front running” of their orders for trades. By sending out lightning fast “ping” orders for trades that… Continue Reading
Federal Register Responds – When is this document going to publish?
“A question we get asked pretty often is “When is this document I read/heard about going to publish?” And the answer seems a bit secretive. According to 1 CFR 17.1: “…Upon receipt, each document shall be held for confidential processing until it is filed for public inspection.” So until the document is made available to… Continue Reading
America’s Skills Challenge – Millennials and the Future
Educational Testing Service – “Recent research reveals an apparent paradox for U.S. millennials (born after 1980, ages 16–34): while they may be on track to be our most educated generation ever, they consistently score below many of their international peers in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. Equally troubling is that these findings… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Contingency Contracting, GAO Summary of Performance, TRICARE
Contingency Contracting: Contractor Personnel Tracking System Needs Better Plans and Guidance, GAO-15-250: Published: Feb 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 18, 2015. GAO: Summary of Performance and Financial Information Fiscal Year 2014, GAO-15-2SP: Published: Feb 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 18, 2015. Improper Payments: TRICARE Measurement and Reduction Efforts Could Benefit from Adopting Medical Record Reviews,… Continue Reading
UN – Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rise by 22 per cent in 2014
“Increased ground engagements between parties to the armed conflict in Afghanistan are behind a 22 per cent rise in conflict-related deaths and injuries of Afghan civilians in 2014, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said today on the release of its 2014 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, prepared in… Continue Reading
2013 Toxic Release Inventory National Analysis
“Tens of thousands of chemicals are used by industries and businesses in the United States to make the products on which our society depends, such as pharmaceuticals, clothing, and automobiles. Many of the chemicals needed to create these products are toxic, and while the majority of toxic chemicals are managed so that they are not… Continue Reading
