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Change He/She Can Believe in: Obama Appoints Transgender Woman to Commerce

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:04:12 -0600

Ummm, yay? Sometimes friend of the gays President Barack Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department. Weird thing is Amanda over here used to be a test pilot named Mitchell Simpson. “I’

Obama appoints first Transgender to a post within the Commerce Dept

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:48:51 -0600

Barack Obama has chosen Amanda Simpson as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, marking the first transgender appointment in an American presidential administration. Simpson has more than 30 years of experience in the aerospace an

Amanda Simpson: President Obama appoints transgender woman as Advisor

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:19:15 -0600

Amanda Simpson starts work this week as the first presidentially appointed transgender person to the executive branch of any administration.The Obama administration in November appointed Simpson, a member of the National Center for Transgender Eq

Stocks creep up even as new-home sales fall

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:25:00 -0600

DispatchNEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks ended an erratic session with a slender gain yesterday as rising commodities prices offset disappointment over an unexpected drop in home sales.Gains in commodities drove the shares of energy- and materials-producing c

Government may get banks audited to check if they passed on the Interest subvention benefit to exporters

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:43:38 -0600

The government may soon ask for an audit of banks to check if they are passing on to exporters the interest rate discounts on loans, given as a part of the stimulus packages, following complaints from exporters that some banks were not crediting to..

Smart Grid Privacy Standards Proposed

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:36:15 -0600

By Rebecca Herold (The Privacy Professor) CIPP, CISSP, CISM, CISA, FLMI Sorry to be so tardy in getting a blog post out. As many of you know I’ve been working with the NIST Smart Grid Privacy Subgroup since late June. The work done for this g

US New Home Sales Climbed in October

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:07:44 -0600

(Source: AFP) US new home sales rebounded more than expected in October to their strongest pace in more than a year, government data showed Wednesday, suggesting stabilization in the ailing sector. The Commerce Department reported sales of new one

Heating Oil Price Trend for November 25: -3¢

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:07:29 -0600

(image: BenjaminJoel via flickr.com and life.com) Discouraging economic data from the US pushed down crude and heating oil prices on Tuesday. GDP growth in the third quarter was revised downward—the Commerce Department said the US economy grew by

Imports restrain US growth in Q3

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:08:11 -0600

ReutersWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew more slowly than initially thought in the third quarter, held back by strong imports and weak investment in nonresidential structures, hinting at a lackluster recovery.Corporate profits surged, howe

Upgrade Trumps Macro-Economics for Homebuilders

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:53:34 -0600

This morning the Commerce Department released figures that homebuilding activity in the U.S. had unexpectedly fallen in October. The reasoning was that increased joblessness in addition to doubts that the homebuyer tax credit would be renewed w

US retail sales up 1.4% in October

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:06:22 -0600

Retail sales in the USA rose 1.4% in October, much better than a gain of 1.0% economists expected, the Commerce Department reported on Monday. Last month, auto sales jumped 7.4%, while excluding autos, the retail sales in October would rise just 0.2

October’s retail sales see an unexpected jump

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:21:58 -0600

Miami, Florida (CaymanMama.com) — Thanks to a large auto sales rebound, retail sales saw a surprise increase in October. However, larger consumer spending is still in the boiler leaving analysts to wonder if the good trend will stick. October&

Fifteen More Smart Grid Privacy Concerns

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:54:06 -0600

By Rebecca Herold (The Privacy Professor) CIPP, CISSP, CISM, CISA, FLMI I’ve had about half a dozen folks ask me how things are going with the work I’m doing with the NIST Smart Grid privacy group, and if I could provide an update since

US out of recession as economy grows by 3.5 percent

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:52:31 -0500

After four successive quarters of contraction, the US economy grew by 3.5 percent in the third quarter from July to September this year, signaling the end of the recession. The growth is mainly attributed to the initiatives taken by the government t

U.S. Economy Grows for First Time in Over a Year

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:31:00 -0500

The recession might not be over, but at least the contraction is. In the 3rd quarter our nation’s economy expanded for the first time in over a year. The nation’s gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 3.5 percent for the qu

US durable goods orders rise 1% in September

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:30:02 -0500

Orders for US durable goods rebounded in September, a positive sign for the manufacturing sector, according to government data released Wednesday. The Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured durable goods expected to last at least three

End Of Recession?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:57:03 -0500

In case you haven’t heard the news yet, the headlines are proclaiming the U.S. recession over. From the Associated Press’ Jeannine Aversa this morning: The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two y

New home sales in the USA drop 3.6% in September

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:38:29 -0500

US new home sales dropped in September as the government’s tax credit for 1st time home buyers is about to expire, according to official data released on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said sales decreased 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annu

Weak Home Sales Suggest a Slog of a Recovery

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:08:00 -0500

The Commerce Department reports that September new-home sales fell 4 percent from August.

Roadmap for the Smart Grid Interoperability announced

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:20:17 -0500

News from United States. The Commerce Department has released a roadmap for about 80 initial standards needed for the Smart Grid Interoperability. The publication identifies 14 gaps in the existing system and has made a priority action plan for filli

Obama, Like Bill Clinton, Wants China to Get U.S. Missile Technology

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:00:42 -0500

Obama imitates Clinton-era policy of selling missile technology to the Chinese. Related posts:Bill Clinton and the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” (Again)China Supplies, We DemandMore than all the Tea in ChinaThank Reagan and Bush, not Oba

Retail Sales Fall, but Not as Bad as Expected

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:44:34 -0500

Today the Commerce Department released their figures on retail sales for the month of September. The numbers showed a 1.5 percent decline for the month. At first glance that might seem like a bad thing, but when you delve further into the statistics

UK businesses sweating at the thought of a postal strike.

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:16:00 -0500

The announcement made before the weekend that that 121,000 Royal Mail staff had voted overwhelmingly for national strikes over jobs, pay and working conditions had UK business owners and managers in a sweat. Companies fear that national action, on to

Federal Government is Holding a Public Meeting on Taser Guns

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Drumbeats from Narmer brought us information about this upcoming hearing entitled, "Electroshock Weapons Measurement Methods and Issues".AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce.ACTION: Noti

The Bailout Program And The Dead Mule

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:48:34 -0500

Should politicians be limited to two terms, one in office & one in prison? Two hillbillies named Curtis & Leroy saw an ad in the Oxford Eagle newspaper in Oxford, MS. and bought a mule for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the m

Top Ten Smart Grid Privacy Concerns

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:56:15 -0500

By Rebecca Herold (The Privacy Professor) CIPP, CISSP, CISM, CISA, FLMI I have had the great opportunity to participate in the NIST Smart Grid privacy standards group since July… During this time I’ve learned so much about the plans fo

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke Says Recession Over

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:12:29 -0500

The recession has hit everyone in this country like a ton of bricks. People’s property values have plummeted, many have lost their jobs, and their once prosperous portfolios are now not enough to carry them through. Everyday people are searchin

Retail Sales Increase in August

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:26:41 -0500

It is starting to seem like almost every day we get a sign that maybe our country is getting out of the recession, only to be followed by another sign that we continue to linger in the recession. That being said, positive signs are always welcome and

US$ continues falling against major currencies

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:19:16 -0500

The USD continued falling against major currencies on Thursday amid better-than-expected employment data and rising US stocks. US Initial Jobless claims fell to 550,000 last week from 576,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department reported on Thu

June trade deficit rises to $ 27B, increased imports

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:00:25 -0500

U.S. The trade deficit rose slightly in June as imports grew for the first time in 11 months, another sign that the worst recession since World War II is beginning to loosen its control over the economy. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that th