Noteworthy: Texas trade: exports take a turn for the worse

Exports have gone from a source of strength to a drag on the Texas economy. The state's real exports declined nearly 20 percent from their peak in second quarter 2008 through first quarter 2009, ending a five-year growth spurt.Economic conditions - Texas ; Exports

Noteworthy: demographics, auto industry, Texas jobs

Economic conditions - Texas ; Automobile industry and trade ; Population ; High technology industries

Regulatory and monetary policies meet "too big to fail"

In 2010, the U.S. economy has been showing signs of pulling out of its tailspin. But questions remain about why it took so much monetary policy firepower to deal with the crisis.Global financial crisis ; Monetary policy ; Regulation ; Bank failures ; Financial institutions

Noteworthy: hurricane season, venture capital, exports

Ike deals severe blow to Texas economy. Texas investment funding slips in 2nd quarter. Latin America, China lead Texas surge in overseas sales.Economic conditions - Texas ; Natural disasters ; Venture capital - Texas ; International trade ; Exports

Fed policy in the financial crisis: arresting the adverse feedback loop

An adverse feedback loop takes hold when a weakening financial system and a slowing economy feed off each other. A crisis or shock curtails lending, hobbling the real economy; the more production and employment falter, the more lending contracts. ; Arresting the adverse feedback loop could prove to be the seminal challenge of early 21st century monetary policymaking. Since sounding the alarm in January 2008, the Fed has taken a series of actions--many unprecedented--to prevent additional damage to financial markets and restore lending activity. These policies have had some success in loosening the grip of the adverse feedback loop and may have finally positioned the economy for growth. Still, doubts linger. The risk remains that the actions may prove insufficient to put the economy on a clear path to rising employment and stable prices.Financial markets ; Federal Reserve System ; Monetary policy ; Financial crises - United States

Dental fraud in South Africa

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) (Community Oral Health)Healthcare fraud wastes money that could be spent in the treatment of patients. The exact amount of healthcare fraud is very difficult to determine, especially in a two-tier healthcare system like South Africa. The amount and cost of dental fraud in South Africa has never been researched. If the amount and cost of fraud in a specific area can be determined, resources can be better used to combat healthcare fraud in the future

Le récit au service du vécu ou de l’imaginaire ? Premiers voyageurs en Nouvelle France

À partir des relations de Cartier, de Champlain et des premiers missionnaires en Nouvelle-France, ce texte se propose de retrouver le « fil » du récit qui lie ces voyageurs entre eux. À travers leurs écrits, ces hommes ont chacun fabriqué une image de l’Amérique et du sauvage, mais fondamentalement, ce qui les unit tous, c’est l’effet-choc de la confrontation à une altérité et à un ailleurs. Pouvons-nous réellement connaître, à travers ces récits de voyage, la pulsion première qui anime les voyageurs, ou encore saisir l’instant présent de leurs expériences ? Quel type de savoir nous délivrent ces textes ? Au-delà de toute stratégie narrative, le texte, où s’élaborent l’appropriation et la traduction de l’autre, porte la trace du lien établi entre les deux cultures en confrontation. Même si elle a ensuite fondé scientifiquement ses propres règles pour l’observation et la transcription de l’expérience du voyage, l’anthropologie a hérité de cette histoire. Finalement, l’impossibilité d’atteindre « l’altérité pure », de l’exprimer à travers l’écrit, ou encore l’incontournable expression de soi à travers l’autre, n’est-ce pas ce qui constitue le noyau de la difficulté méthodologique de l’anthropologue de terrain ?Building on the accounts of Cartier, Champlain, and the first missionaries to New France, this paper attempts to rediscover the “thread” of the narrative that connects these explorers. Through their writing, these men each created an image of the Americas and the wilderness, but fundamentally what unites them all is the shock of confronting otherness and the Other. Can one really understand, through their words, the initial drive of the explorers, or ever know the “ethnographic now” of their experiences? What kind of understanding do we gather from these texts? Over and above the narrative strategy, the text, when it elaborates on the appropriation and translation of the Other, bears traces of the established connection between two cultures in confrontation. Even if it later based its formal rules for ethnographic observation and transcription on scientific methods, anthropology has inherited this history. Finally, is it not the impossibility of attaining “pure other,” the expression of self through writing, and the similarly inescapable expression of self in the face of otherness, which constitutes the core methodological difficulty of anthropological fieldwork

Fed intervention: managing moral hazard in financial crises

At the end of September 2008, U.S. policymakers had been working for more than a year to contain the shock waves from plunging home prices and the subsequent financial market turmoil. For the Federal Reserve, the crisis has given new meaning to the adage that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The central bank has dusted off Depression-era powers and rewritten old rules to address serious risks to the global financial system.Monetary policy - United States ; Financial crises ; Financial markets ; Federal Reserve System

Corpus Christi: an economy in transition

Corpus Christi tempts tourists with miles of beaches, sea breezes, an arts and museum district, waterfront restaurants, shopping and more. It is also home to a major seaport, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, a large health care system, military bases, refineries and chemical plants. Port activity and tourism remain important components of the Corpus Christi economy. However, some sectors are declining in importance, such as agriculture, oil and gas, petrochemicals and military, while others are expanding, such as health care, alternative energy and education. ; Jobs in the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area (MSA) have been growing steadily since 1970. The pace has been slightly faster than in the U.S., but less than in Texas and about average for other comparable metros. Recent gains in energy prices, expansion by Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, low housing costs, increased activity at the Port of Corpus Christi and the continued retirement of baby boomers suggest increased opportunity for growth in Corpus Christi in the near future.Texas ; Economic conditions - Texas ; Employment - Texas ; Petroleum industry and trade ; Wages ; Education ; Cost and standard of living