2014 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey

In 2014, U.S. businesses (nonfarm) invested $1.6 trillion in new and used buildings, structures, machinery and equipment (including computer software), up $110.8 billion (7.4 percent) from 2013. Investment spending in the mining sector totaled $228.7 billion in 2014, up $26.5 billion (13.1 percent) from 2013, with the oil and gas extraction industry accounting for $196.0 billion of the total spending, up $29.1 billion (17.5 percent) from 2013.

The Census Bureau’s Annual Capital Expenditures Survey provides estimates of all business expenditures during the year for new and used structures and equipment chargeable to asset accounts for which depreciation or amortization accounts are ordinarily maintained. Expenditures also include capitalized leasehold improvements and capitalized interest charges on loans used to finance capital projects.

Study Finds Caregiving Takes Physical, Emotional & Financial Toll

Family members of older adults with disabilities provide help with many tasks, including making doctor's appointments, keeping track of medicines and providing transportation.

A new report has found that these unpaid caregivers experience emotional, physical and financial difficulties, as well as lower work productivity. Researchers estimate that 14.7 million caregivers assisted 7.7 million older adults in 2011. Caregivers who provided "substantial" help were more likely to report emotional, physical or financial difficulties.

More from the NIH

Demographic and Economic Profiles of States Holding March 1 Primaries and Caucuses

In advance of the March 1 primaries and caucuses, the U.S. Census Bureau presents a variety of statistics that give an overall profile of each participating state’s voting-age population and industries. Statistics include:

·        Voting-age population and estimate of eligible voters (i.e., citizens age 18 and older).

·        Breakdown of voting-age population by race and Hispanic origin

·        Selected economic characteristics, including median household income and poverty.

·        Selected social characteristics, including educational attainment.

·        County Business Patterns (providing information on employment by specific industries).

·        Statistics on voting and registration.

CDC Report: Lifetime Risk of HIV Diagnosis in the United States

A CDC study released in February 2016 provides the first-ever comprehensive national estimates of the lifetime risk of
an HIV diagnosis for several key populations at risk and in every state. Overall, the likelihood that an American will be
diagnosed with HIV at any point during his or her life is now 1 in 99, an improvement from a previous study using 2004-
2005 data that reported lifetime risk at 1 in 78. Despite overall progress, this study reveals stark disparities by race, risk
group and geography.

Lifetime Risk of an HIV Diagnosis Varies by Mode of Transmission


More from the CDC.

Five Ways to Ease the Burden of Your Passing

Nobody likes to plan for when bad things happen. But not doing so can put more stress on your nearest and dearest at a time of grief or worry.

Taking a few simple steps now to plan ahead, while you’re of sound mind and body, can ease the burden on your loved ones – and failure to do so usually compounds their pain. This month, the latest edition of If Something Should Happen: How to Organize Your Financial and Legal Affairs was published by the American Institute for Economic Research.

These tips will help individuals pull all their information together into one easy-to-understand workbook. Here are a few of the more important steps to take, sooner rather than later.

See more at AIER.

2013 NYS HIV/AIDS County Surveillance Report

The County HIV/AIDS Surveillance Reports for 2013, including and excluding State Prison Inmates, are now available on the DOH public web site..

Please note that if you use Internet Explorer to open the documents, you need to right click on the document to access the navigation buttons, which will allow you to open the bookmarks to navigate the documents.

This Year, More Than Half of Americans Will Use Facebook

This year, for the first time, more than half of the US population will use Facebook, according to eMarketer’s latest social network usage forecast. In 2016, 50.3% of Americans of all ages will be on Facebook at least once a month, up from 49.3% in 2015.

Facebook will remain the dominant social network by a wide margin through at least 2020, the end of eMarketer’s forecast period.

This year, 162.9 million US internet users will log on to the site at least once a month. Facebook-owned Instagram, the second-most-used social network, will have 89.4 million US users this year, or 27.6% of the population. Twitter is a distant third, with 56.8 million users this year, representing 17.5% of the US population.

- See more at: eMarketer.com

February 2016 Author Earnings Report: Amazon’s Ebook, Print, and Audio Sales

Two years ago, the first Author Earnings report revealed the growing market share of self-published ebooks. With data on hundreds of thousands of titles, it was suddenly possible to measure the relative sales and earnings power of ebooks according to publishing path. By sharing this data, we hoped to help authors understand the changing market in order to make sound decisions with their manuscripts. In the two years since, our quarterly snapshots have revealed emerging trends in the digital publishing world.

In two short years, the market share of paid unit sales between indie and Big 5 ebooks has more than inverted. The Big 5 now account for less than a quarter of ebook purchases on Amazon, while indies are closing in on 45%.

More from Author Earnings.com

"When does my passport expire?"

This is a question we ask ourselves before any big trip. If you haven't checked your passport's expiration date in a while and are planning a trip overseas, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise. Passports expiring in 2016 must be renewed as soon as possible.

Some countries are also now requiring that you have a passport that has been valid for at least 6 months. As spring and summer travel plans come up, passport agencies become even busier.

So don't put it off and renew your passport today! For more information on overseas travel, visit USA.gov. 

Earned Income Tax Credit available for Noncustodial Parent

Earned income tax credits can add up to $8,427 for a family with three children. As many as 430,000 eligible New Yorkers may be missing out on this benefit. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York State Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA) remind New York taxpayers to check their eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC can reduce the amount of taxes owed or provide a substantial tax refund. However, based on IRS estimates, each year more than 430,000 eligible New Yorkers—including nearly 250,000 in New York City alone—may fail to claim the credit. (See chart below for county-by-county estimates.) EITCs are refundable federal, New York State, and New York City credits for working taxpayers earning up to the $53,267 maximum.