“The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have published the Guidance on cyber resilience for financial market infrastructures (“Cyber Guidance”). This builds on an earlier version of the report that underwent a three-month public consultation. The safe and efficient operation of financial market infrastructures (FMIs) is… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: July 2016
FCC – New limits on telemarketers
“Scammers want your money, but they don’t want to get caught taking it. That’s why fraudulent telemarketers ask people to pay with systems that deliver a quick, anonymous cash payout like cash-to-cash transfers or cash reload card PINs. However, it’s now illegal for telemarketers to ask for payment by: cash-to-cash money transfers — like those… Continue Reading
Paper – Statistical software used in brain imaging MRI studies subject to “bad data”
Ever had a brain MRI – if so, you may want to read this new study: Cluster failure: Why fMRI inferences for spatial extent have inflated false-positive rates Published online before print June 28, 2016, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1602413113. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PNAS June 28, 2016. “Functional MRI (fMRI) is 25 years old,… Continue Reading
State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2016
July 05, 2016- FISCAL FACT No. 515: State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2016 (PDF) “Key Findings Forty-five states and the District of Columbia collect statewide sales taxes. Local sales taxes are collected in 38 states. The five states with the highest average combined state and local sales tax rates are Louisiana (9.99 percent),… Continue Reading
CRS – Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer
Via FAS – Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer, John F. Sargent Jr., Specialist in Science and Technology Policy. June 28, 2016: “Nanoscale science, engineering, and technology—commonly referred to collectively as nanotechnology—is believed by many to offer extraordinary economic and societal benefits. Congress has demonstrated continuing support for nanotechnology and has directed its attention particularly to three… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – TARP, U.S.-China Cooperation
Troubled Asset Relief Program: Most Community Development Capital Initiative Investments Remain Outstanding, GAO-16-626: Published: Jul 5, 2016. Publicly Released: Jul 5, 2016: “As of March 31, 2016, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) had approximately 76 percent of the original Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) investment outstanding and 57 institutions remained. Treasury’s total investment was… Continue Reading
GAO Report – Gun Control: Analyzing Available Data Could Help Improve Background Checks Involving Domestic Violence Records
Gun Control: Analyzing Available Data Could Help Improve Background Checks Involving Domestic Violence Records, GAO-16-483: Published: Jul 5, 2016. Publicly Released: Jul 5, 2016. “Most of the 50 states submit domestic violence records—misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (MCDV) convictions and domestic violence protection orders—to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for… Continue Reading
CRS – Slow Growth in the Current U.S. Economic Expansion
Via FAS – Slow Growth in the Current U.S. Economic Expansion – Mark P. Keightley, Specialist in Economics; Marc Labonte, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy; Jeffrey M. Stupak, Analyst in Macroeconomic Policy. June 24, 2016. “Between 2008 and 2015, economic growth has been, depending on the indicator, one-quarter to one-half the long-term average since World War… Continue Reading
No U.S. History? How College History Departments Leave the United States out of the Major
Via American Council of Trustees and Alumni – “…ACTA’s new report, No U.S. History? How College History Departments Leave the United States out of the Major, reveals that less than 1/3 of the nations leading colleges and universities require students pursuing a degree in history to take a single course in American history. Only 23 undergraduate… Continue Reading
National Security Archive – President Obama Signs Freedom of Information Act Improvements Into Law
National Security Archive posting June 30, 2016: “At 4:00 PM today President Barack Obama signed the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 (S. 337) into law. The bipartisan, bicameral bill – introduced by Senators John Cornyn, Chuck Grassley, and Patrick Leahy, and supported by Representatives Jason Chaffetz and Elijah Cummings in the House – will improve… Continue Reading
Can Catastrophic Insurance Improve Financing for Long-Term Services and Supports?
Urban Institute – Brief – Can Catastrophic Insurance Improve Financing for Long-Term Services and Supports? Melissa M. Favreault; Howard Gleckman; Richard W. Johnson. June 9, 2016 – “A catastrophic insurance program could improve the way long-term services and supports are financed. The program would require enrollees who need care to wait a few years before… Continue Reading
Paper – The Political Agenda Effect and State Centralization
Acemoglu, Daron and Robinson, James A. and Torvik, Ragnar, The Political Agenda Effect and State Centralization (May 5, 2016). MIT Department of Economics Working Paper No. 16-04. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2783571 “We provide a potential explanation for the absence of, and unwillingness to create, centralized power in the hands of a national state… Continue Reading
