Jan. 22, 2013 ? In 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission mandated that public companies submit portions of annual (10-K) and quarterly (10-Q) reports -- in a digitized format known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The goal of this type of data was to provide more relevant, timely, and reliable "interactive" data to investors and analysts. The XBRL-formatted data is meant to allow users to manipulate and organize the financial information according to their own purposes faster, cheaper, and more easily than current alternatives.
But how useful and usable is the new data to analysts and investors? The authors, early proponents of interactive data, from Columbia Business School's Center for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis (CEASA) recently completed a review of the state of XBRL, with a focus on its usefulness and usability for security analysis. The study questions the reliability of the data, the simplicity and stability of the underlying taxonomy and architecture, as well as the lack of user tools that add value and are easily integrated into an investor's or analyst's existing work flow and tools. As a result, the researchers conclude that XBRL has promised more than it has delivered to date and is at risk of becoming obsolete for use by analysts and investors.
However, the authors recommend specific changes that could make the formatted data more useful to investors and analysts. First, the entire XBRL stakeholder community must reduce significantly the error rate and limit unnecessary "extensions" (company-specific data identifiers or "tags"). Steps that might achieve this include: greater regulatory oversight and enforcement, mandatory audits of the data and tags, or requirements around meeting the XBRL US organization's error and quality checks. Second, the entities that file the XBRL-formatted financial reports should focus their energy on improving the quality of their data, rather than on trying to destroy the SEC's XBRL regulation. Third, the ongoing development of XBRL technology should be taken over and run by technologists, rather than accountants and regulators. An interesting approach for this might include partnering with major business information system vendors (like IBM, Oracle, and SAP), the key web-based financial information suppliers (like Google and Yahoo), and possibly even the major data aggregators (Bloomberg, CapitalIQ, Factset, and Thomson Reuters) not only to ensure that the SEC's regulatory data can be used effectively by investors and analysts, but, more importantly, to help improve the XBRL technology and usability overall.
"The potential for interactive data to democratize financial information and transform transparency remains stronger than ever, and many investors and analysts wish that the data were more useful today," the researchers wrote in the study. "But unless stakeholders focus on improving the data's reliability and on creating value-added, easily integrated tools, XBRL-tagged data is unlikely to be used by a significant number of investors or analysts."
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USDA studies confirm plant water demands shift with water availabilityPublic release date: 22-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ann Perry ann.perry@ars.usda.gov 301-504-1628 United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics
This release is available in Spanish.
WASHINGTON, January 22, 2012Plants can adapt to extreme shifts in water availability, such as drought and flooding, but their ability to withstand these extreme patterns will be tested by future climate change, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their cooperators.
The study was published this week in Nature by a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists led by Guillermo Ponce Campos and Susan Moran and an Australian team led by Alfredo Huete from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). This research included contributions from nine other ARS scientists, four U.S. Forest Service scientists, and colleagues from the University of Arizona, the University of California-Irvine, and UTS. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change.
"In the United States, much of our agricultural productivity has depended on long-term precipitation regimes. But those patterns are changing and we need information for managing the effects of those shifts," said ARS Administrator Edward B. Knipling. "These findings can help managers respond to the challenges of global climate change with effective strategies for maintaining agricultural productivity."
The researchers conducted their investigation using measurements made during 2000-2009 at 29 sites in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Australia. This provided data about precipitation patterns in environments ranging from grasslands to forests. Globally, the 2000-2009 decade ranked as the 10 warmest years of the 130-year (1880-2009) record. The team compared these data with measurements taken from 1975 to 1998 at 14 sites in North America, Central America, and South America.
To calculate ecosystem water use, the scientists used satellite observations to approximate aboveground net plant productivity at each site. Then they combined these approximations with field data of precipitation and estimates of plant water loss to generate indicators of plant water use efficiency.
The researchers observed that ecosystem water-use efficiency increased in the driest years and decreased in the wettest years. This suggests that plant water demand fluctuated in accordance with water availability and that there is a cross-community capacity for tolerating low precipitation and responding to high precipitation during periods of warm drought.
However, the team observed that the water-use efficiency data exhibited a trend of "diminishing returns." This suggests plant communities will eventually approach a water-use efficiency threshold that will disrupt plant water use and severely limit plant production when drought is prolonged.
The scientists also used the data to develop predictions about future plant response to climate changes. Their results suggest that ecosystem resilience will decline as regions are subjected to continuing warming and drying trends. They project that this downturn will begin in grassland biomes because these plant communities are particularly sensitive to the hot and dry conditions of prolonged warm droughts.
This work can help resource managers develop agricultural production strategies that incorporate changes in water availability linked to changing precipitation patterns.
###
ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to help answer agricultural questions that impact Americans every day. ARS work helps to ensure high-quality, safe food and other agricultural products; assess the nutritional needs of Americans; sustain a competitive agricultural economy; enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities and society as a whole.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
USDA studies confirm plant water demands shift with water availabilityPublic release date: 22-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ann Perry ann.perry@ars.usda.gov 301-504-1628 United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics
This release is available in Spanish.
WASHINGTON, January 22, 2012Plants can adapt to extreme shifts in water availability, such as drought and flooding, but their ability to withstand these extreme patterns will be tested by future climate change, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their cooperators.
The study was published this week in Nature by a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists led by Guillermo Ponce Campos and Susan Moran and an Australian team led by Alfredo Huete from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). This research included contributions from nine other ARS scientists, four U.S. Forest Service scientists, and colleagues from the University of Arizona, the University of California-Irvine, and UTS. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change.
"In the United States, much of our agricultural productivity has depended on long-term precipitation regimes. But those patterns are changing and we need information for managing the effects of those shifts," said ARS Administrator Edward B. Knipling. "These findings can help managers respond to the challenges of global climate change with effective strategies for maintaining agricultural productivity."
The researchers conducted their investigation using measurements made during 2000-2009 at 29 sites in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Australia. This provided data about precipitation patterns in environments ranging from grasslands to forests. Globally, the 2000-2009 decade ranked as the 10 warmest years of the 130-year (1880-2009) record. The team compared these data with measurements taken from 1975 to 1998 at 14 sites in North America, Central America, and South America.
To calculate ecosystem water use, the scientists used satellite observations to approximate aboveground net plant productivity at each site. Then they combined these approximations with field data of precipitation and estimates of plant water loss to generate indicators of plant water use efficiency.
The researchers observed that ecosystem water-use efficiency increased in the driest years and decreased in the wettest years. This suggests that plant water demand fluctuated in accordance with water availability and that there is a cross-community capacity for tolerating low precipitation and responding to high precipitation during periods of warm drought.
However, the team observed that the water-use efficiency data exhibited a trend of "diminishing returns." This suggests plant communities will eventually approach a water-use efficiency threshold that will disrupt plant water use and severely limit plant production when drought is prolonged.
The scientists also used the data to develop predictions about future plant response to climate changes. Their results suggest that ecosystem resilience will decline as regions are subjected to continuing warming and drying trends. They project that this downturn will begin in grassland biomes because these plant communities are particularly sensitive to the hot and dry conditions of prolonged warm droughts.
This work can help resource managers develop agricultural production strategies that incorporate changes in water availability linked to changing precipitation patterns.
###
ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to help answer agricultural questions that impact Americans every day. ARS work helps to ensure high-quality, safe food and other agricultural products; assess the nutritional needs of Americans; sustain a competitive agricultural economy; enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities and society as a whole.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
We probably didn?t need this kind of iron-clad confirmation to know that Freddy Adu was done with the Philadelphia Union ? but we got it anyway.
Not everyone agrees, but I personally enjoy this type of candor from those in power.
In a letter to fans this morning, Union manager John Hackworth has provided confirmation (as we speculated late last week) that Adu?s days at PPL Park are, indeed, numbered.
In theory, one could contest that public acknowledgement of this decision makes a move more difficult, or diminishes the potential financial return.
But, honestly, who?s kidding whom here? Adu was barely a part of the team late last year under Hackworth. Everybody noticed. You think officials at potential destinations would believe Hackworth if the Union manager picked up the phone and said, ?We love this guy! We?re gonna build the team around him. Heck, we?re thinking of renaming the damn stadium after our little Freddy. I mean, we might think about handing him over for the right price, but ??
No. Everyone knows the deal.? So why not come out and talk about it?? Get it all out there ? especially around a bunch of faithful supporters who feel like team officials haven?t always been as forthcoming as they might have been.
Here?s the critical part of what Hackworth wrote to supporters on Monday:
? This was also a conversation that started before the end of last season. Basically, to make a very long story short, we presented Freddy with an option to come back and play for the Philadelphia Union. However, Freddy chose to stick with his current contract, which was not an option we were willing to accept.
?At the moment, Freddy has not been sold nor loaned and he continues to be our player, but in reality, while we are paying his salary and while we have his rights ? he is not a part of our plans going forward. We have a number of challenges because of moves we have made in the past couple of years that affect us long term and frankly, Freddy Adu is a major one. The next step for him is one that we have been trying to work on since October, which is to see if there is a viable option to sell or loan him that makes sense for our organization and for Freddy.?
So one of the highly respected financial planners in the country today will have a finance session for all the singles out there!
I got curious, so I asked, a couple of questions:
Why the singles?
Randell Tiongson: the habits we pick up as singles, we bring them into our married life. If you cant handle finances as a single, imagine what your married life will be? Preparation is always a good idea in finance, earlier the better. Many financial mistakes start during our single years.
What can we expect from this event?
Randell Tiongson:?Basics in personal finance and why God wants you to handle money properly.
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It takes humility for us singles to seek advice from people who have actually been there and done that. I think one of the major reasons why the Philippines is doing good in its economy now (and will continue to do good! yeah!) is because of the financial literacy- and this event, is part of it!
Go attend!
More info here:?https://www.facebook.com/events/116682885175028/?fref=ts
Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. [Proverbs 19:20, NIV]
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The Pittsburgh Affiliate of Susan G. Komen has named Kerri Colvin Ballas as the chair of the Pittsburgh 2013 Race for the Cure.
A resident of Indiana, PA, Ballas is the first chairperson for the Pittsburgh Race hailing from outside of Allegheny County. This year?s race will take place on Mother?s Day, Sunday, May 12, on Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park, Oakland.
A six-year breast cancer survivor, Ballas became involved with Komen in 2007 when she first ran the Pittsburgh Race with friends while she was undergoing chemotherapy.?
?I was hooked on hope and on raising money for Komen,? Ballas says. ?Raising awareness and funds for Komen gave me the opportunity to fight back and help other women.????????????
Now, Ballas and her team, Paint Pittsburgh Pink, participate in the race every year and continue to raise more money each year. For the past three years, Ballas has been a member of the Pink Honor Roll, composed of the Komen Pittsburgh Affiliate?s top 25 individual race fundraisers.
?The best part of fundraising for the Komen Pittsburgh Affiliate is that 75 percent of the funds remain in our area to help women in the 30 counties served by the Pittsburgh Affiliate, including my home county of Indiana,? Ballas said.
At home in Indiana County, Ballas and another survivor, Tara Wiltbank, have been honored as local heroes during the IUP women?s basketball Shoot for the Cure Classic. Ballas has co-directed the event for the last three years, and it has raised more than $80,000 since its inception eight years ago.
Ballas and her husband of 19 years, Joseph, also hold fundraising parties at their restaurant, the Ironwood Grill, featuring a local band, silent auctions and prizes. Ballas and her husband have a daughter, Blair, and a son, Connor.
For Ballas, speaking about her experience with breast cancer and raising awareness is an essential part of her life. As she says, ?I can?t imagine not doing it.?
?We are honored to have Kerri serving as this year?s race chair,? says Kathy Purcell, chief executive officer, Komen Pittsburgh. ?She has dedicated so much of her time and talent to supporting the fight against breast cancer and now we are excited to have her bring her enthusiasm and spirit to this year?s Race for the Cure.?
For more information about the Komen Pittsburgh Affiliate or the 2012 Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure, visit www.komenpittsburgh.org.
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Public release date: 22-Jan-2013
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