“Reporters Without Borders today released its 2014 World Press Freedom Index, spotlighting major declines in media freedom in such varied countries as the United States, Central African Republic, and Guatemala while noting marked improvements in Ecuador, Bolivia, and South Africa. The same trio of Finland, Netherlands, and Norway heads the index again, while Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
OECD Forecasts During and After the Financial Crisis
OECD Forecasts During and After the Financial Crisis – A Post Mortem. February 11, 2014. “Main Findings: • GDP growth was overestimated on average across 2007-12, reflecting not only errors at the height of the financial crisis but also errors in the subsequent recovery. • Forecast errors were larger in countries that are more open… Continue Reading
Corporate Criminal Liability: An Overview of Federal Law
Corporate Criminal Liability: An Overview of Federal Law, Charles Doyle, Senior Specialist in American Public Law, October 30, 2013. “A corporation is criminally liable for the federal crimes its employees or agents commit in its interest. Corporate officers, employees, and agents are individually liable for the crimes they commit, for the crimes they conspire to commit, for the… Continue Reading
International Debt Statistics 2014
“International Debt Statistics (IDS) 2014 is a continuation of the World Bank’s publications Global Development Finance, Volume II (1997 through 2009) and the earlier World Debt Tables (1973 through 1996). IDS 2014 provides statistical tables showing the external debt of 128 developing countries that report public and publicly guaranteed external debt to the World Bank’s… Continue Reading
ICE Success in Obtaining Removal Orders Drops to 50%
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has had diminishing success in convincing Immigration Judges to issue removal orders. Such orders are now granted only about 50 percent of the time, the lowest level since systematic tracking began more than 20 years ago. For years, the rate at which removal orders were granted in response to DHS… Continue Reading
Global Pensions Asset Study – 2014
Towers Watson – “This is a study of the 13 largest pension markets in the world and accounts for more than 85% of global pension assets. The countries included are Australia, Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US. The study also analyses seven countries in… Continue Reading
2013 Giving To Higher Education: The Big Gift Revival
“The nonprofit world has been waiting to see tangible signs of true recovery, and 2013 clearly demonstrated that for the leading philanthropists it is time to give back and to give back in a significant way. Across the board, the mega-gifts that came to define campaigns in the early years of this century have now… Continue Reading
EIA – Short Term Energy Outlook
“Temperatures east of the Rocky Mountains have been significantly colder this winter (October – January) compared with the same period both last winter and the previous 10-year average, putting upward pressure on consumption and prices of fuels used for space heating. U.S. average heating degree days were 12% higher than last winter (indicating colder weather)… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Computer Matching Act, DHS, Extreme Weather Events, HUD’s Info Tech, Maritime Administration
COMPUTER MATCHING ACT: OMB and Selected Agencies Need to Ensure Consistent Implementation, GAO-14-44: Published: Jan 13, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 12, 2014. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Ammunition Purchases Have Declined since 2009, GAO-14-119: Published: Jan 13, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 12, 2014. EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS: Limiting Federal Fiscal Exposure and Increasing the Nation’s Resilience, GAO-14-364T: Published: Feb 12, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 12,… Continue Reading
Bank of England – Overview of the Inflation Report February 2014
‘The UK recovery has gained momentum and inflation has returned to the 2% target. Reduced uncertainty, easier credit conditions and the stimulative stance of monetary policy should support continued solid economic growth, with the expansion in demand becoming more entrenched and more broadly based. Robust growth has not so far been accompanied by a material pickup… Continue Reading
Commentary – Floods in UK Caused by Extreme Rains in Indonesia?
Bloomberg: “The U.S. is freezing and the U.K. is flooded. Clearly, Indonesia is at fault. That, in any case, is my layman’s interpretation of a report this week from the U.K.’s meteorological agency, the Met Office. It makes fascinating, if nerdy, reading that can be boiled down to a few basic conclusions: * The extended, extreme weather… Continue Reading
Senior Supervisors Group Issues Progress Report on Counterparty Risk Reporting
“Senior financial supervisors from 10 countries—collectively, the Senior Supervisors Group (SSG)—today issued a report assessing progress on measuring and reporting of counterparty risk by large, complex financial firms. The report—Progress Report on Counterparty Data—concludes that while firms have made improvements in assessing counterparty risk, on the whole current practices fail to meet supervisory expectations or industry… Continue Reading
