U.S.A.'s interesting latest news

The Government's First Trust & Safety Team

During a recent Facebook Live conversation, we talked about the Census Bureau’s Trust & Safety Team and what we can all do to help combat misinformation and disinformation and protect the 2020 Census. Watch the video to hear more and learn how our partnerships with tech companies are advancing our efforts.
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Are You Up to the Challenge?

The Census Bureau is challenging you to help ensure a complete and accurate 2020 Census count in your community. Our new Response Rate Challenge toolkit encourages leaders in every town, city, and state to challenge their communities to improve upon their 2010 Census response rates in 2020. Explore the toolkit to find ideas and resources for launching a challenge in your community and get started today.
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Take the 2020 Census Pledge

You can inspire others to help shape the future. Tell everyone—your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers—why you’ll complete the 2020 Census and why it’s important that they respond too. Download one of our pledges, or customize your pledge, to share with your friends and followers on social media.
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Looking for 2020 Census resources?

Check out our new 2020 Census Community Benefits Toolkit.





2020 Census Language Support

To help you answer the census, translated web pages and guides will be available in 59 languages other than English, including American Sign Language, as well as guides in Braille and large print. Download language materials on our Language Support page.

National Partners and Supporters

Hundreds of thousands of organizations and individuals are supporting the 2020 Census. Now on our website, see some of the national organizations that have committed to encouraging their networks to respond to the census.

Recent Releases & Events

Data and Technology Making an Impact in Communities

Economic Census Data for Island Areas

2020 Census Starts in Alaska

Census Bureau Unveils 2020 Census Ads

New Content on 2020census.gov in 59 Languages

Census Statistics Used to Plan Healthy Food Programs for Low-Income Households

In Student Housing, Off Campus or with Parents, College Students Count

Street Addresses are Simple, Right? Not in Puerto Rico

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Application for Civil Surgeon Designation

02/03/2020 12:00 AM EST

Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently Approved Collection: Application for Civil Surgeon Designation

For more information, please visit our USCIS Federal Register Announcements page.

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Making mobile payments? Protect yourself from scams. by Lisa Lake Consumer Education Specialist, FTC Using mobile payment apps like CashApp, Venmo, or Zelle can be a convenient way to get quick cash to your family and friends. But remember the first rule of sending money, whether you’re using an app or money wiring service: Be sure you know who’s on the receiving end. Otherwise, you might lose the money you sent — and then some. Read more > Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week starts today by Seena Gressin Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC Ready for tax season? If you’re not ready for tax identity thieves and IRS imposters, you might not be. But breathe easy. Today is the start of Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, and we’ve got lots of easy ways to learn how to recognize scams and help protect yourself from fraud. Read more >

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Export Opportunities "Expand Your Market in Two Untapped Yet Growing Economies in Eurasia - Azerbaijan and Georgia!" Webinar

UNITED STATES-AZERBAIJAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE   AMERICA GEORGIA BUSINESS COUNCIL "Expand Your Market in Two Untapped Yet Growing Economies - Azerbaijan and Georgia"   February 4, 2020, 9 - 10 a.m. ET $50 per participant     The U.S. Department of Commerce invites American exporters to learn about the Certified Trade Mission to Azerbaijan and Georgia in April 2020. This webinar will discuss market opportunities and challenges as well as logistics of the Certified Trade Mission. Companies interested in joining the Certified Trade Mission will receive additional information on registration and costs. ======================= The SBA is now on Instagram - @SBAgov Did you know the U.S. government is the largest single purchaser of goods and services in the world? Every year, it awards more than $500 billion in contracts. Of those prime contracts, the federal government must set aside 23% for small businesses. SBA provides several programs to help small businesses win federal contracts. Get started with our contracting guide.  Learn more Government Contracting Networking Opportunity The U.S. General Services Administration is hosting its first ever Federal Acquisition Service Training Conference in Atlanta on April 14 - 16. You will have the opportunity, as an attendee and/or exhibitor, to engage with more than 3,000 federal contracting professionals and officials. There's also a training event that will help you navigate the federal procurement marketplace.  Learn more 2020 Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Vision: Japan Insight David Glaccum, Associate Administrator for SBA's Office of International Trade The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement and U.S.-Japan Digital Trade Agreement went into force in January. Businesses can work with SBA and Resource Partners to take advantage of reduced costs and new market access. Learn more Get Inspired: Small Business Success Story Reynolds Welding & Fabrication has grown steadily, building a loyal customer base since Jerado Reynolds founded the company in 2005. The Connecticut-based business, owned by Jerado and his wife Joyce, now has more than 15 workers. Reynolds Welding & Fabrication builds stairs, rails, structural beams, and columns throughout the region.  Read Reynolds Welding & Fabrication's story SBA and FDIC Updates Money Smart Modules The SBA and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have released two updates to the popular Money Smart for Small Business curriculum. The updated modules focus on banking and credit. They are available for SBA Resource Partners, financial institutions and economic development organizations.  Learn more How to Choose Productivity Software That Empowers Employees Only 34 percent of workers in the U.S. say that they’re fully engaged at work, an increase from past years. This still leaves a lot of room for employers to improve. The software your small business uses to collaborate with employees can make a major impact on their engagement and productivity.  Learn more

Πρωτοχρονιάτικη Δεξίωση Ελληνο-Αμερικανικού Εμπορικού Επιμελητηρίου

Πρωτοχρονιάτικη Δεξίωση Ελληνο-Αμερικανικού Εμπορικού Επιμελητηρίου στη Θεσσαλονίκη

Θεσσαλονίκη 04.02.2020. Με μεγάλη επιτυχία το Ελληνο-Αμερικανικό Εμπορικό Επιμελητήριο πραγματοποίησε την καθιερωμένη Πρωτοχρονιάτικη Δεξίωση στις 3 Φεβρουαρίου 2020 στο ξενοδοχείο The MET της Θεσσαλονίκης. Στην εκδήλωση παραβρέθηκαν πλήθος εκπροσώπων από τον επιχειρηματικό, πολιτικό, ακαδημαϊκό, διοικητικό και δημοσιογραφικό κόσμο της Βορείου Ελλάδος. Στη δεξίωση απηύθυναν χαιρετισμό, ο Πρόεδρος του Ελληνο-Αµερικανικού Εµπορικού Επιµελητηρίου, κ. Νικόλαος Μπακατσέλος, ο Αντιπρόεδρος του Ελληνο-Αμερικανικού Εμπορικού Επιμελητηρίου και Πρόεδρος της Επιτροπής Βορείου Ελλάδος κ. Βασίλης Καφάτος, ο επιτετραμμένος της αμερικανικής πρεσβείας στην Αθήνα, κ. David Burger ο περιφερειάρχης Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας κ. Απόστολος Τζιτζικώστας και ο υφυπουργός Εσωτερικών (Μακεδονίας-Θράκης) κ. Θεόδωρος Καράογλου.


Ο Πρόεδρος του Ελληνο-Αμερικανικού Εμπορικού Επιμελητηρίου κ. Νικόλαος Μπακατέλος δήλωσε κατά τη διάρκεια της ομιλίας του: «Κυρίες και κύριοι, "Αν επιθυμείς να γίνεις σπουδαίος σε κάτι, υπάρχει μια στιγμή… που πρέπει να το αποφασίσεις". Αυτό δεν είναι δικό μου! Είναι λόγια του Κόμπι Μπράιαντ. Αυτού του παγκόσμιου αθλητή που έφυγε πρόσφατα, τόσο απροσδόκητα, έχοντας εμπνεύσει εκατομμύρια ανθρώπους σε όλο τον κόσμο, να κυνηγήσουν τα όνειρά τους. Διάλεξα αυτή τη φράση, αφενός μεν γιατί είμαστε εδώ στη Θεσσαλονίκη, στην ιστορική μητρόπολη του ελληνικού μπάσκετ, αλλά κυρίως γιατί η φράση του Κόμπι, δεν αφορά μόνο την προσωπική ζωή κάθε ανθρώπου. Τηρουμένων των αναλογιών, ισχύει και για τις πόλεις, ισχύει και τις χώρες. Τη διάλεξα λοιπόν γιατί είναι η στιγμή να αποφασίσουμε για μια σπουδαία Ελλάδα, για μια σπουδαία Βόρεια Ελλάδα και ασφαλώς μια σπουδαία Θεσσαλονίκη. Είναι η στιγμή να κυνηγήσουμε τα όνειρά μας, ως οικονομία και ως κοινωνία, μετά από μια δεκαετία οδυνηρής κρίσης. Τώρα, μπορούμε!» Και συνέχισε λέγοντας: «Εμείς, ως Επιμελητήριο, αξιοποιώντας τη θετική δυναμική που υπάρχει θα συνεχίσουμε να εργαζόμαστε για "περισσότερη Αμερική στη Βόρεια Ελλάδα αλλά και περισσότερη Βόρεια Ελλάδα στην Αμερική". Πάντα με τη θετική συνδρομή του προξενείου εδώ στη Θεσσαλονίκη, του προξένου και φίλου Gregory Pfleger, της αμερικανικής πρεσβείας, της ομάδας του DCM David Burger και προσωπικά του Πρέσβη Geoffrey Pyatt, τον οποίο και ευχαριστούμε θερμά για την ακούραστη στήριξη των προσπαθειών μας».

Ο Αντιπρόεδρος του Ελληνο-Αμερικανικού Εμπορικού Επιμελητηρίου και Πρόεδρος της Επιτροπής Βορείου Ελλάδος κ. Βασίλης Καφάτος ανέφερε ότι: «Το 2020 ξεκινά λοιπόν με αυξημένη αισιοδοξία για την προοπτική της χώρας και της Θεσσαλονίκης αλλά και σημαντικές προκλήσεις. Προκλήσεις για να αντιμετωπίσουμε και αξιοποιήσουμε τις εκθετικές αλλαγές που συντελούνται στην τεχνολογία, στην κοινωνία και στην οικονομία, να επενδύσουμε στα πλεονεκτήματα της χώρας μας και ειδικά στο άφθονο ταλέντο των νέων μας, να βελτιώσουμε την ανταγωνιστικότητα της χώρας στα πλαίσια ενός νέου μοντέλου οικονομικής ανάπτυξης, να δράσουμε με τόλμη και κυρίως να συνεργαστούμε όλοι μαζί. Προς την κατεύθυνση αυτή, το Επιμελητήριο και η Επιτροπή Βορείου Ελλάδος θα είναι δίπλα σας και στη διάθεσή σας για να συζητήσουμε κάθε νέα ιδέα για εποικοδομητική συνεργασία».

Κατά τη διάρκεια της ομιλίας του ο Περιφερειάρχης Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας κ. Απόστολος Τζιτζικώστας δήλωσε ότι: "Είμαστε ως Περιφέρεια Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας απόλυτα ταυτισμένοι με την επιλογή της στενότερης συνεργασίας με τις ΗΠΑ", τονίζοντας πόσο σημαντική είναι η "νέα σελίδα" που έχει ανοίξει για την Ελλάδα στον τομέα συνεργασίας με τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες. Επίσης αναφέρθηκε και στον σημαντικό ρόλο του Αμερικανού πρέσβη Geoffrey Pyatt που έχει ως αποτέλεσμα την ενίσχυση των διμερών σχέσεων με αποτέλεσμα σήμερα η Θεσσαλονίκη και η Βόρεια Ελλάδα να είναι ακόμα πιο κοντά στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες».

Ο Υφυπουργός Εσωτερικών (Μακεδονίας-Θράκης) κ. Θεόδωρος Καράογλου δήλωσε ότι: «Εύχομαι στο τέλος του 2020, όταν θα κοιτάξουμε πίσω για να κάνουμε τον απολογισμό, να δούμε μια χρονιά μέγιστης ανάπτυξης των αμερικανικών επενδύσεων στην Ελλάδα. Σε αυτήν την προσπάθεια ο ρόλος του ελληνοαμερικανικού επιμελητηρίου είναι πολύτιμος, διότι είστε η "γέφυρα" που φέρνει ακόμα πιο κοντά τις δυο χώρες εκπέμποντας σωστά μηνύματα. Υπάρχουν μεγάλα περιθώρια αναθέρμανσης και ενίσχυσης της διμερούς συνεργασίας Ελλάδας-Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών Αμερικής, τα οποία πρέπει να αξιοποιήσουμε κατάλληλα. Όπως είπα και στην ομιλία μου στο πρόσφατο οικονομικό φόρουμ που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Παρίσι, τώρα είναι η κατάλληλη ευκαιρία να επενδύσει κάποιος στην Ελλάδα, τώρα είναι η κατάλληλη ευκαιρία να επενδύσει κάποιος στη Μακεδονία και τη Θράκη».

Ο χαιρετισμός του Επιτετραμμένου της Αμερικανικής Πρεσβείας στην Αθήνα, κ. David Burger, στον ακόλουθο σύνδεσμο: https://gr.usembassy.gov/dcm-david-burgers-remarks-at-the-amcham-new-years-reception-pita-cutting/

Ήρθε η ώρα οριοθέτησης των ΑΟΖ της Ελλάδας, της Κύπρου και της Αιγύπτου

New post on Hellasjournal.com

Πριν είναι πάρα πολύ αργά: Ήρθε η ώρα οριοθέτησης των ΑΟΖ της Ελλάδας, της Κύπρου και της Αιγύπτου by politics Του ΘΕΟΔΩΡΟΥ ΚΑΡΥΩΤΗ Πανηγυρίζουμε την απομάκρυνση του τουρκικού ερευνητικού πλοίου Oruc Reis απο την ελληνική υφαλοκρηπίδα, αλλά Read more of this post politics | February 5, 2020

IMF latest news

Check out your favorite content from January 2020

Most Read Blogs of January Tentative Stabilization, Sluggish Recovery In the October World Economic Outlook, we described the global economy as in a synchronized slowdown, with escalating downside risks that could further derail growth. Since then, some risks have partially receded with the announcement of a US-China Phase I trade deal and lower likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. Reduce Inequality To Create Opportunity Inequality of opportunity. Inequality across generations. Inequality between women and men. And, of course, inequality of income and wealth . They are all present in our societies and—unfortunately— in many countries they are growing. Cybersecurity Threats Call for a Global Response We all know that money moves quickly around the world. As Operation Taiex shows, cybercrime is doing the same, becoming increasingly able to collaborate rapidly across borders. Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean: New Challenges to Growth Economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean stagnated in 2019, continuing with the weak growth momentum of the previous five years and adding more urgency and new challenges to reignite growth. Countries in the IMF Financial Spotlight in 2020 In 2020, the IMF plans to assess the stability of twelve financial systems. Seven assessments are of jurisdictions with systemically important financial sectors (Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong SAR, Italy, Korea, Norway, and the United States), for which it is mandatory to undergo financial stability assessments every five years. It’s time for more transparency in the management and governance of national oil companies // Dear Colleague, National oil companies (NOCs) are economic giants. They control at least $3 trillion in assets and produce most of the world’s oil and gas. They dominate energy production in some of the world’s most oil-rich countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, and they play a central role in the oil and gas sector in many emerging producers. But there's one problem. These companies are poorly understood because of their uneven and often opaque financial reporting practices. And because they are so large, shortcomings in their reporting pose several economic risks. It's time to peel back the curtain on Really Big Oil. In our latest issue of F&D, David Manley, David Mihalyi, and Patrick Heller of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) pen a very thoughtful and researched look at exactly this challenge and how best to foster (and perhaps mandate) openness. NRGI's new report and accompanying database focuses on the failure to rigorously scrutinize NOCs and the policies their governments employ to manage them, and how this failure carries major risks for dozens of economies around the world that depend on these companies’ sound management of public resources. On average, the authors found that NOCs in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa disclosed the least amount of information. These findings reinforce the results of the institute’s Resource Governance Index, which revealed that 62 percent of the NOCs reviewed exhibited “weak,” “poor,” or “failing” performance in regard to public transparency. That's not so bad, is it? Well, some national oil companies carry huge debts that burden their national economies. Some have debts in amounts higher than 10 percent of their countries’ GDP. Venezuela’s troubled state oil company PDVSA has debt exceeding 20 percent of GDP. Many NOCs have required multibillion-dollar government bailouts in recent years, becoming a costly drain on public finances. At the peak of the oil price boom in 2013, there were at least 25 “NOC-dependent” countries—those where the NOC collects funds equivalent to 20 percent or more of government revenues (Chart 1). In most cases only a fraction of these resource revenues are then transferred to the governments, with the NOCs spending and investing the rest themselves. The median NOC in this sample transferred only 17 percent of its gross revenues to the state in 2015. The key here is that the fiscal health of many countries and their governments’ ability to use oil revenues for development depend heavily on how well the NOC is run, how much revenue it transfers to the state, and the quality of its spending. State-owned enterprises can weigh a country down or help propel growth, and in these countries, subpar governance of national resources perpetuates poverty and inequality.  You're right. This is a real problem. So how do we solve it? To start, NOCs and their governments should ensure that company strategies outline a sustainable vision for their futures. Such a vision can facilitate clear and effective rules on how much these companies are allowed to spend and borrow, and how much they must transfer to the government treasury. To ensure that these rules are followed, citizens and governments need better reporting from NOCs. Separating public relations from reality in company pronouncements about investments in renewables or boosting commercial efficiency requires consistent reporting on spending, production costs, and revenues. Like private oil companies, NOCs should also start assessing and disclosing how prepared they are for the coming energy transition. This should include an analysis of climate-related risks, and progress made in diversifying and mitigating those risks. Finally, in many countries, NOCs are not held sufficiently accountable, either because they don’t disclose enough information, or because formal oversight by government or informal oversight by civil society and the media is inconsistent. Under-scrutinized companies might perform poorly or become vessels for corruption. Increased transparency is a critical lever for holding company leadership accountable and encouraging strong returns on public investment. Drill deeper and read the full 1600-word article, which contains the latest data, charts and examples from around the world and how best to move forward. This piece is also available in pусский, español, français, 中文, and عربي. See you next week, Rahim Kanani Digital Editor, F&D Magazine International Monetary Fund rkanani@imf.org P.S. I wanted to flag that in our June 2018 issue of F&D, Harvard's David Bloom et al wrote a very detailed and insightful piece on the economics of epidemics. The Puzzle of Rising Populism with Guido Tabellini Populist leaders and movements are on the rise across the world, but why now? Populism has been around since Ancient Rome. In this podcast, economist Guido Tabellini says the 2008 global financial crisis and technology are driving the recent resurgence. Tabellini says with growing inequality people disappointed by the policies of the past that have excluded them from the benefits of the global economy are voting more along cultural identity lines. It’s the nationalists versus the cosmopolitans. Guido Tabellini is Professor of Political Economics at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and delivered the IMF’s Annual Richard Goode Lecture on his research.