Dangers of an underreported CPI: changes over the past 40 years to the Consumer Price Index have not only provided a poorer reflection of true consumer costs but have actually harmed our economy.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The government uses the CPI to "calculate inflation." Changes over the past 40 years to the CPI "to better reflect the actual costs" of goods and services in this country have not...

Fitch Rates Wayne County Airport Authority, Michigan's Revenue Refunding Bonds.
TRAVEL AND LEISURE CLOSE-UP-20 April 2008-Fitch Rates Wayne County Airport Authority, Michigan's Revenue Refunding Bonds(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'A' rating to Wayne County Airport Authority (the authority), Michigan's approximately $145 million airport revenue refunding bonds senior lien, series 2008A. ...

Fitch Rates Spokane International Airport (Washington) $27MM Rev & Rfdg Bonds 'A+'; Stable Outlook.
TRAVEL AND LEISURE CLOSE-UP-18 February 2008-Fitch Rates Spokane International Airport (Washington) $27MM Rev & Rfdg Bonds 'A+'; Stable Outlook(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Fitch assigns an 'A+' rating to approximately $27.4 million Spokane County, Washington Airport Revenue and Refunding Bonds, Series 2008. The Rating Outlook is Stable....

Bond raters warn U.S. social programs.
Having failed to foresee the subprime mortgage fiasco, the influential bond rating services, Moody's and S & P, are demanding the United State's plan to privatize Social Security & Medicare. Otherwise, they threaten to reduce the rating of U.S. government bonds, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lower ratings mean...

Fitch Rts Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) Metro Airports Commission's $98MM Revs 'AA-'; Outlook Stable.
TRAVEL AND LEISURE CLOSE-UP-19 February 2008-Fitch Rts Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) Metro Airports Commission's $98MM Revs 'AA-'; Outlook Stable(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Fitch Ratings assigned an 'AA-' rating to the Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minnesota) Metropolitan Airports Commission's (the commission) approximately $98 million senior airport revenue refunding bonds series...

State's solution to budget shortfall may have long-term consequences.
When you've got a $14 billion deficit, everybody's ox is going to get gored. So the question for the planning and development community in California is not really whether something bad is going to happen. The question is whether it matters very much. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has...

In brief.
This could become a year of creative financing, and not merely for the state government. Lawmakers are considering at least three bills that could change the rules for financing local infrastructure. The most recently introduced bill, AB 1836 (Feuer), has the potential to be the most controversial....

Collateral for loans from Norges Bank--consequences of changes in the rules.
Norges Bank requires collateral for all lending to banks. Collateral is provided in the form of securities which are pledged to Norges Bank. The list of eligible securities was changed in 2005. The aim of the changes has been to reduce Norges Bank's risk while ensuring that the borrowing...

Polyandry and Sex Ratio in the Song Sparrow.
Cooperative polyandry, wherein two or more males mate with one female and contribute care to a single brood, is rare in birds (Jenni 1974, Oring 1986). However, in species that compete to defend breeding territories, the frequency of polygamy is often related to the 'Operational Sex Ratio' (OSR, ratio...

Treasurer's report.
Despite some turbulence in the financial markets, most notably the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the Melville Society had a respectable year in 2007. The Murray Endowment has posted a positive YTD return of 3.4%, the Cohen Fund has posted a 7.0% YTD return, and the Society's autumn solicitation of membership...