US Public Records Factor in Foreign Politics (Russian and Egyptian)

In the past year, US public records have played a role in two high-profile foreign political dramas.  Most recently, Vladimir Pekhtin, a founder of the United Russia party and chair of the ethics commission in the lower house of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) resigned following reports that he owned property in Miami Beach that was unreported on required statements of financial interests. 

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Here Comes the STOCK Act

The STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act was signed into law on April 4, 2012 and many of its key provisions are now starting to take effect.  Most recently, a provision requiring federal personal financial disclosure report filers to make so called periodic reports of transactions went into effect on July 3rd.  

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Use search.usa.gov for Federal, State and Local Government Site Search

Researchers looking specifically for government documents should add search.usa.gov to their repertoire.  This site, billed as the "U.S. Government's official search engine," is extremely useful when conducting a broad-based search for specific mentions inside of government records including minutes, staff reports or agency memoranda. 

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Using SEC Form 13F to Learn About Hedge Fund Holdings

Some insight into the holdings of large hedge funds is provided via SEC Form 13F filings. These quarterly reports are filed by institutional investment managers like hedge funds and also including investment advisers, banks, insurance companies, some pension funds and corporations that have discretion over more than $100 million in Section 13(f) securities.

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JFK Records Now Digitally Archived and Available Online

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation recently announced the launch of its online database of newly digitized records from the JFK Presidential Archives. These records have always been available in person at the library, but efforts to digitally preserve them and make them available to the general public on the Internet have now been realized through the Access to a Legacy program.

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