Report to Congress Under Section 319 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
Sixth and final report in a series of investigations into the accuracy of credit reports. From the Federal Trade Commission
SEC Announces Charges Against Standard & Poor’s for Fraudulent Ratings Misconduct
http://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-10.html#.VMEEUmOa-JY
Agency press release which summarizes the charges against S&P for federal securities law violations involving misconduct in ratings of mortgage-backed securities. Includes links to the specific SEC orders related to the case. From the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2012 Census of Governments: Finance—State and Local Government Summary Report
http://www2.census.gov/govs/local/summary_report.pdf
Presents data on state and local government finances including revenue by source, expenditures by character and function, indebtedness by term, and cash and security holdings by purpose. Leading causes for revenue declines were falling interest income and declines in value of employee retirement investments. From the Census Bureau
Taxing Capital Income: Effective Marginal Tax Rates Under 2014 Law and Selected Policy Options
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/49817-Taxing_Capital_Income_0.pdf
Examines the relationship between “tax rates on capital income” and “before-tax rates of return on investments” and how differences can reduce economic efficiency. Also looks at the implications of proposed policy options for the taxation of capital income. From the Congressional Budget Office
Transitioning to Alternative Structures for Housing Finance
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/49765-Housing_Finance.pdf
Examines various mechanisms that policymakers could use to attract more private capital to the secondary mortgage market and extricate the federal government from its current position of insuring 70% of all new residential mortgages. Analyzes transition paths to four alternative structures. From the Congressional Budget Office
Consumer Credit Reports: A Study of Medical and Non-Medical Collections
Reports that roughly half of all items on credit reports involve debt collectors seeking to collect on medical bills owed to hospitals and other medical providers. This paper describes characteristics of medical and nonmedical debts on consumers’ credit reports and the processes by which they appear and disappear. From the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/2013report.pdf
Reports that one in thirteen U.S. households did not have money in a bank in 2013 and one in five was “underbanked.” Also reports on characteristics of those households that were unbanked or underbanked and the alternative financial methods they used. From the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Wall Street Bank Involvement with Physical Commodities
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/download/?id=B8786D9A-2AE0-4D3B-82F7-3FBEF96E1A85
Results of a two year investigation into how Wall Street involvement with physical commodities has resulted in increasing risks to financial stability and manipulation of markets. From the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations