Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response. Christopher M. Blanchard, Coordinator Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs; Carla E. Humud, Analyst in Middle Eastern and African Affairs; Mary Beth D. Nikitin, Specialist in Nonproliferation. October 9, 2015. “The rise of the insurgent terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: January 2016
Federal Reserve Board announces Reserve Bank income, expense data and transfers to Treasury for 2015
“The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced preliminary results indicating that the Reserve Banks provided for payments of approximately $97.7 billion of their estimated 2015 net income to the U.S. Treasury. In addition, the Federal Reserve transferred to the Treasury $19.3 billion from Reserve Bank capital surplus on December 28, 2015, which was the amount… Continue Reading
SEC Issues Annual Staff Reports on Credit Rating Agencies
“The Securities and Exchange Commission issued its two annual staff reports [December 28, 2015] on credit rating agencies registered as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs). The reports show that NRSROs have made operational improvements and have enhanced process accountability, controls and governance, and that smaller NRSROs have made competitive inroads in certain rating categories…The… Continue Reading
Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work
Sarsons H. Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work. Harvard University. Working Paper. December 3, 2015. “Within academia, men are tenured at higher rates than women are in most quantitative fields, including economics. Researchers have attempted to identify the source of this disparity but find that nearly 30% of the gap remains unexplained even after… Continue Reading
FTC Report Provides Recommendations to Business on Growing Use of Big Data
“A new report from the Federal Trade Commission outlines a number of questions for businesses to consider to help ensure that their use of big data analytics, while producing many benefits for consumers, avoids outcomes that may be exclusionary or discriminatory. “Big data’s role is growing in nearly every area of business, affecting millions of… Continue Reading
Trends in College Pricing
“Trends in College Pricing 2015 provides information on changes over time in undergraduate tuition and fees, room and board, and other estimated expenses related to attending colleges and universities. The report, which includes data through 2015-16 from the College Board’s Annual Survey of Colleges, reveals the wide variation in prices charged by institutions of different… Continue Reading
The rise and proliferation of political science blogging in America
How the Monkey Cage Went Ape by Alexander C. Kafka January 10, 2016 – The Chronicle of Higher Education “”The rise of political-science public engagement has been so massive and rapid that it is paradoxically easy to miss,” writes Marc Lynch, a Middle East specialist at George Washington University and a regular blogger for the… Continue Reading
Consumers Expect Lower Household Income, Earnings and Spending Growth
NY Fed – “The December 2015 Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) results indicate that median expected growth in household income, earnings and especially household spending all declined. Labor market expectations are mixed compared to last month: Perceived layoff risk declined, but the perceived likelihood of finding a new job (if one were to lose their… Continue Reading
Census Bureau Releases New Tool for Regional Business and Demographic Research
‘A new Web application, Census Business Builder: Regional Analyst Edition now available in beta, allows users to easily explore data from Census Bureau economic programs and the American Community Survey for a user-defined economic region built from one or more counties. This second edition of Census Business Builder follows the successful launch of Census Business… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Firearms Trafficking, Health Care Workforce, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, U.S. Coins
Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Combat Firearms Trafficking to Mexico Have Improved, but Some Collaboration Challenges Remain, GAO-16-223: Published: Jan 11, 2016. Publicly Released: Jan 11, 2016. Health Care Workforce: Comprehensive Planning by HHS Needed to Meet National Needs, GAO-16-17: Published: Dec 11, 2015. Publicly Released: Jan 11, 2016. Overseas Private Investment Corporation: Additional Actions… Continue Reading
New on LLRX – Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide
Via LLRX.com – Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Sabrina I. Pacifici’s comprehensive current awareness guide focuses on leveraging a selected but wide range of reliable, topical, predominantly free websites and resources. The goal is to support an effective research process to search, discover, access, monitor, analyze and review current and historical data,… Continue Reading
Impact of food waste on humans, world wildlife, environment
Food wastage: Key facts and figures via FAO “The global volume of food wastage is estimated at 1.6 billion tonnes of “primary product equivalents.” Total food wastage for the edible part of this amounts to 1.3 billion tonnes. Food wastage’s carbon footprint is estimated at 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent of GHG released into… Continue Reading
