DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS: Military Services Consistently Held Required Configuration Steering Boards That Actively Reviewed Requirements Changes, GAO-14-466R: Published: May 5, 2014. Publicly Released: May 5, 2014. DEFENSE CONTRACTING: Early Attention in the Acquisition Process Needed to Enhance Competition, GAO-14-395: Published: May 5, 2014. Publicly Released: May 5, 2014. URANIUM CONTAMINATION: Overall Scope, Time Frame, and Cost Information Is Needed for Contamination Cleanup on… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Housing
CFPB – Mortgage closings today
A preliminary look at the role of technology in improving the closing process for consumers, April 2014 “The mortgage closing process is complex and often onerous for all involved. For most consumers, closing a mortgage signifies the most substantial financial transaction they will complete in their lifetimes. However, the process can be time-consuming and confusing. Consumers face a daunting… Continue Reading
Existing-Home Sales Remain Soft in March
News release: “Existing-home sales were essentially flat in March, while the growth in home prices moderated, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest were offset by declines in the West and South. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, slipped 0.2 percent to a… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – 2020 Census, Defense Infrastructure, International Financial Reforms
2020 CENSUS: Prioritized Information Technology Research and Testing Is Needed for Census Design Decisions, GAO-14-389: Published: Apr 3, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 3, 2014: “The Census Bureau (Bureau) has made progress in researching and testing information technology (IT) options for the 2020 Decennial Census, but several of the supporting projects lack schedules and plans, and it is uncertain… Continue Reading
Taken by Storm: Business Survival in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Basker, Emek and Miranda, Javier, Taken by Storm: Business Survival in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (March 30, 2014). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2417911 “We use Hurricane Katrina’s damage to the Mississippi coast in 2005 as a natural experiment to study business survival in the aftermath of a cost shock. We find that damaged establishments that… Continue Reading
Quality of life in Europe: Families in the economic crisis
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) is a tripartite European Union Agency, whose role is to provide knowledge in the area of social and work-related policies. “The economic crisis has reshaped the lives of millions of European citizens. But how has it affected families with children? Children are more… Continue Reading
Urban China: Toward Efficient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Urbanization
The joint report by the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council, Urban China: Toward Efficient, Inclusive and Sustainable Urbanization, includes six priority areas for a new model of urbanization: Reforming land management and institutions Reforming the hukou household-registration system to provide equal access to quality services for all citizens and create a more mobile… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Major Defense Acquisition Programs, DoD corrosion of facilities and infrastructure, DOD MAIS Programs, Native American Housing
CANCELED DOD PROGRAMS: DOD Needs to Better Use Available Guidance and Manage Reusable Assets, GAO-14-77: Published: Mar 27, 2014. Publicly Released: Mar 27, 2014. DEFENSE INFRASTRUCTURE: DOD’s 2013 Facilities Corrosion Study Addressed Reporting Elements, GAO-14-337R: Published: Mar 27, 2014. Publicly Released: Mar 27, 2014. MAJOR AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS: Selected Defense Programs Need to Implement Key Acquisition Practices, GAO-14-309: Published: Mar 27, 2014. Publicly… Continue Reading
FHFA Oversight of Enterprise Controls Over Pre-Foreclosure Property Inspections
Audit Report, AUD-2014-012, March 25, 2014: “The pre-foreclosure property inspection process needs improvement to ensure that pre-foreclosure inspection objectives are achieved in the most effective manner. There is limited assurance that the Enterprises have effective controls in place to ensure the quality of inspections conducted and that inspectors issue reports consistent with contractual requirements. Overall, several servicers reviewed… Continue Reading
New Field Guide Explores Open Data Innovations in Disaster Risk and Resilience
World Bank: “From Indonesia to Bangladesh to Nepal, community members armed with smartphones and GPS systems are contributing to some of the most extensive and versatile maps ever created, helping inform policy and better prepare their communities for disaster risk. In Jakarta, more than 500 community members have been trained to collect data on thousands of… Continue Reading
2013 Housing Vacancy Survey Annual Statistics
“These statistics provide vacancy rates, homeownership rates and characteristics of units available for occupancy for the U.S., regions, states and the 75 largest metropolitan statistical areas. Data for all geographies are available both quarterly and annually. Homeownership rates are also tabulated by age of householder for the U.S. and regions and by race/ethnicity of householder… Continue Reading
House GPO Report Critical of War on Poverty
The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later – A House Budget Committee Majority Staff Report, March 3, 2014. “Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty. Since then, Washington has created dozens of programs and spent trillions of dollars. But few people have stopped to ask, “Are they working?” In “The War on Poverty: 50… Continue Reading
