GDP and the Economy: Third Estimates for the Second Quarter of 2013 (PDF) – Real GDP rose 2.5 percent after rising 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2013. Business investment and exports turned up. Inventory investment and consumer spending slowed. Real Inventories, Sales, and Inventory-Sales Ratios for Manufacturing and Trade for the Fourth Quarter of 2009… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
A Report by Americans for Financial Reform and the Roosevelt Institute
“More than five years after the financial crisis, there is still an open debate about what it would mean to have a financial sector that works for the benefit of the real economy, and how close we are to achieving that. In An Unfinished Mission: Making Wall Street Work For Us, Americans for Financial Reform and the Roosevelt Institute… Continue Reading
PWC – Stress testing: Failures on the horizon?
“On November 1, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (“Fed”), along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, released documents pertaining to the capital stress testing requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act. One set of documents contained the stress test macroeconomic scenarios (i.e., baseline, severe, and severely adverse) and instructions that outline the… Continue Reading
New Mexico Immigration Prosecutions Jumped 46% in FY 2013
TRAC: “The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first eleven months of FY 2013 New Mexico had the fastest growth in criminal immigration prosecutions — a 45.7 percent jump — among the nation’s 94 judicial districts. Second highest was the Western District of Texas with a 32.0 percent increase, followed… Continue Reading
Lawyering in the Shadow of Data
Lawyering in the Shadow of Data, Drury D. Stevenson – South Texas College of Law; Nicholas J. Wagoner – South Texas College of Law Alumni. September 12, 2013 “Attorney bargaining has traditionally taken place in the shadow of trial, as litigants alter their pretrial behavior — including their willingness to negotiate a settlement — based on perceptions of likely outcomes… Continue Reading
CFPB Launches Tool to Help Consumers Find Housing Counselors
“Housing counselors throughout the country can provide advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, and credit issues. Using the search box below, you can find one near you. The counseling agencies on this list are approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and they can offer independent advice about whether… Continue Reading
The Rising Gap between Primary and Secondary Mortgage Rates
The Rising Gap between Primary and Secondary Mortgage Rates – Andreas Fuster, Laurie Goodman, David Lucca, Laurel Madar, Linsey Molloy, and Paul Willen. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. “While mortgage rates reached historic lows during 2012, the spread between primary and secondary rates rose to very high levels. This trend reflected a number of factors that potentially affected mortgage originator costs and… Continue Reading
CRS – Sovereign Debt in Advanced Economies
Sovereign Debt in Advanced Economies: Overview and Issues for Congress – Rebecca M. Nelson, Analyst in International Trade and Finance. October 28, 2013 “Sovereign debt, also called public debt or government debt, refers to debt incurred by governments. Since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, public debt in advanced economies has increased substantially. A number of factors related… Continue Reading
FSB publishes its annual update of the group of global systemically important banks
“The Financial Stability Board is publis[ed] today its annual update of the list of G-SIBs, using end-2012 data and an updated assessment methodology published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in July 2013. One bank – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited – has been added to the list of banking groups identified as G-SIBs in… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve Bank of New York – Primary Dealer Surveys
“Primary dealers are surveyed on their expectations for the economy, monetary policy and financial market developments prior to Federal Open Market Committee meetings. In advance of each FOMC meeting, a survey prepared by the New York Fed’s Markets Group is sent to the Bank’s primary dealers. The survey questions are based only on topics widely discussed… Continue Reading
Interim Crediting Report – A Report from the Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement
Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight – John A. Smith Jr. – “This report to the public summarizes the official reports I have filed with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. It discusses consumer relief and refinancing assistance the servicers extended to distressed borrowers under the National Mortgage Settlement through December 31, 2012,… Continue Reading
The Effects of Policy Guidance on Perceptions of the Fed’s Reaction Function
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports. The Effects of Policy Guidance on Perceptions of the Fed’s Reaction Function. Katherine Femia, Steven Friedman, Brian Sack. Staff Report No. 652, November 2013. “This paper explores the market reaction to the forward guidance that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), has provided about the federal funds rate, with particular focus on the… Continue Reading
