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The Greek Debt Crisis: Overview and Implications for the United States

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the Greek dept crisis, including developments through July 2015 when questions about Greece's future in the Eurozone resurfaced and emergency negotiations resulted in a third financial assistance program for Greece. It also discusses potential implications of the crisis for the U.S. economy and U.S.-European cooperation on broader strategic and economic cooperation.
Date: August 19, 2015
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.; Belkin, Paul & Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions

Description: This report discusses two of the four major responsibilities of the Federal Reserve (Fed) as the nation's central bank: execution of monetary policy and ensuring financial stability through the lender of last resort function. This report provides an overview of these mandates and activities, recent developments, and the role of Congressional oversight.
Date: August 22, 2008
Creator: Labonte, Marc & Makinen, Gail E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Expenditures and the Federal Budget

Description: This report discusses tax expenditures, the federal budget and the reform of the federal tax system and provides tax expenditure analysis. The perception that the federal tax system is too complex and unfair could lead to public support for tax reform. Past efforts to reform the federal tax system have included policies to rein in the use and expense of tax expenditures--the special deductions, exclusions, exemptions, and credits resulting in revenue losses.
Date: August 19, 2008
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Puerto Rico's Current Fiscal Challenges: In Brief

Description: This report discusses the current state of Puerto Rico's public finances. Puerto Rico faces several fiscal hurdles in 2015. Concerns regarding the sustainability of Puerto Rico's public finances have intensified over the past year, despite several measures taken by the island's government to reduce spending, increase revenues, and restructure its obligations.
Date: August 18, 2015
Creator: Austin, D. A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

Description: This report discusses the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, P.L. 110-289, which changes many laws affecting both the housing and mortgage markets. It also surveys the most important changes caused by the act.
Date: August 19, 2008
Creator: Weiss, N. E.; Getter, Darryl E.; Jickling, Mark; Keightley, Mark P. & Foote, Bruce E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Reserve: Emergency Lending

Description: This report provides a review of the history of Section 13(3) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act; P.L. 111-203), including its use in 2008. It discusses the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) authority under Section 13(3) before and after the Dodd-Frank Act. It then discusses policy issues and legislation to amend Section 13(3).
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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HUD Proposes Administrative Modifications to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act

Description: This report focuses on borrower disclosure, particularly with respect to making all pertinent information about loan terms and settlement costs transparent, so that consumers can make well-informed financial decisions when choosing mortgage products.
Date: April 10, 2008
Creator: Getter, Darryl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comparing Global Influence: China's and U.S. Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade, and Investment in the Developing World

Description: This report compares the People's Republic of China's (PRC) and U.S. projections of global influence, with an emphasis on non-coercive means or "soft power," and suggests ways to think about U.S. foreign policy options in light of China's emergence.
Date: August 15, 2008
Creator: Lum, Thomas; Blanchard, Christopher M.; Cook, Nicolas & Coipuram, Thomas, Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Ownership of U.S. Financial Assets: Implications of a Withdrawal

Description: This report provides an overview of the role foreign investment plays in the U.S. economy. It also includes an assessment of possible actions a foreign investor or a group of foreign investors might choose to take to liquidate their investments in the United States.
Date: July 4, 2008
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit

Description: This report provides an overview of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of the broader role of capital flows in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances its trade deficit or a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows of capital from abroad.
Date: July 17, 2015
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sovereign Wealth Funds: Background and Policy Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background on sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) -- investment funds owned and managed by national governments -- including countries operating SWFs and the size of the SWF market. It also discusses broad areas of concern to Members of Congress and the international financial community.
Date: January 15, 2009
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pakistan's Capital Crisis: Implications for U.S. Policy

Description: This report discusses Pakistan's capital crisis. In the autumn of 2008, Pakistan was in urgent need of an estimated $4 billion in capital to avoid defaulting on its sovereign debt. The elected government of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani sought short-term financial assistance from a number of sources, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China, and an informal group of nations (including the United States) known as the "Friends of Pakistan."
Date: March 6, 2009
Creator: Martin, Michael F. & Kronstadt, K. A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The EMV Chip Card Transition: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes the financial harm caused by data breaches and the impact of EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) chip cards on fraud. It provides information about the effect of the transition in selected foreign countries and discusses resolved and remaining impediments to completing the EMV transition in the United States. It also identifies areas of potential congressional interest.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Description: This report discusses certain provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that pertain to Social Security. The ARRA as passed by the House of Representatives and Senate provides over $1 billion in supplemental appropriations to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and provides for a onetime $250 payment to all SSI recipients and adult Social Security beneficiaries.
Date: February 13, 2009
Creator: Szymendera, Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Election in Greece

Description: This report discusses issues leading up to Greece's snap legislative election on September 20, only eight months after the country's last election. Greece continues to struggle with the negative repercussions of a sovereign debt and financial crisis that began in 2009.
Date: September 14, 2015
Creator: Belkin, Paul
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraq's Debt Relief: Procedure and Potential Implications for International Debt Relief

Description: This report discusses the Iraqi debt problem in three parts: (1) an overview of the Iraq debt situation following the ouster of the Saddam regime, (2) subsequent debt relief negotiations and their resolution, and (3) possible implications for future international debt relief cases.
Date: January 26, 2009
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China's Currency Devaluation

Description: This report discusses China's recent changes to its method for determining the value of its currency (the renminbi). On Tuesday, August 11, 2015, the People's Bank of China (PBC), China's central bank, surprised global financial markets by lowering the reference rate of the renminbi, effectively depreciating the currency.
Date: August 17, 2015
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns

Description: This report discusses Islamic finance, which is based on principles of shariah, or "Islamic law." Major financial principles of shariah are a ban on interest, a ban on contractual uncertainty, adherence to risk-sharing and profit-sharing, promotion of ethical investments that enhance society, and asset-backing. While the Islamic finance industry represents a fraction of the global finance market, it has grown at double-digit rates in recent years.
Date: February 9, 2009
Creator: Ilias, Shayerah
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Financial Crisis: Impact on and Response by The European Union

Description: This report discusses the global financial crisis and resulting geopoligical situation in detail. It also discusses individual efforts by both the U.S. and European Union (EU) to combat the effects of the crisis by attempting to resolve the financial crisis while stimulating domestic demand to stem the economic downturn.
Date: March 9, 2009
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): Summary of Actions in Support of Housing and Financial Markets

Description: This report discusses recent actions taken by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in support of housing and financial markets, including: a temporary increase in deposit insurance as required by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343), the resolution of bank failures, the development of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP), and efforts to reduce foreclosures.
Date: March 5, 2009
Creator: Gonzales, Oscar R. & Getter, Darryl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of U.S. Financial Supervision

Description: This report provides an overview of current U.S. financial regulation: which agencies are responsible for which institutions and markets, and what kinds of authority they have. Federal financial regulation in the United States has evolved through a series of piecemeal responses to developments and crises in the markets.
Date: February 24, 2009
Creator: Jickling, Mark & Murphy, Edward V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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