SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog said today that a one-minute radio advertisement released by health insurance companies opposed to Prop 45's health insurance rate regulation provisions fraudulently misrepresents the advertisement's backers,...
Reported by PR Newswire 4 hours ago.
Consumer Watchdog Warns Public Of Insurance Industry's Deceptive No On Prop 45 Radio Advertising
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Wonkblog: Why your fear of medical debt is entirely justified
In an age of expanded health insurance coverage, being able to pay your medical bills could still be a major headache.
One in four people say their medical debt exceeds their emergency savings, according to a new survey published today. The problem is even more acute among low-income people, as you might expect. Nearly half (44 percent) of those earning less than $30,000 per year say their emergency savings are eclipsed by medical debt, according to the Bankrate survey. And most people (about 55 percent) say they're worried that they won't have enough savings to pay their medical bills. Reported by Washington Post 3 hours ago.
One in four people say their medical debt exceeds their emergency savings, according to a new survey published today. The problem is even more acute among low-income people, as you might expect. Nearly half (44 percent) of those earning less than $30,000 per year say their emergency savings are eclipsed by medical debt, according to the Bankrate survey. And most people (about 55 percent) say they're worried that they won't have enough savings to pay their medical bills. Reported by Washington Post 3 hours ago.
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Employers Not Seeing Uptick in Health Benefits Buying; AIS Newsletter Examines Why
The average number of workers enrolled in a company-sponsored health plan remains flat, despite the reform law’s mandates that all full-time employees be offered insurance. The Sept. 1, 2014, issue of Atlantic Information Services’s Health Plan Week examines why.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 04, 2014
Despite many industry observers who expected that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate would spur more individuals to take advantage of employer offerings and avoid being penalized, and a recent announcement by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of a rise in the number of its employees buying company health insurance, data show that employees have not shifted in great numbers to employer plans from 2013 to 2014. The Sept. 1 issue of Atlantic Information Services, Inc.’s Health Plan Week (HPW) examines why.
In one study, benefits consulting firm Mercer conducted a survey of more than 700 employer clients (26% with fewer than 500 employees, 49% with 500 to 4,999, and 24% with 5,000 or more) which found that the average number of workers enrolled in a company plan for 2014 was 69.3%. This is only slightly above the 69.1% level of 2013. And when asked to project to 2015, the survey respondents told Mercer they expect a very small increase in employee uptake to 69.8%.
One possible explanation for the unexpected trend is that employers are tracking hours more closely to meet the ACA’s requirement that full-time workers be offered insurance by their employers. “This is all about managing employees better. If they are supposed to be working 25 hours per week and end up working 31,” that has an impact on their insurance status under the Affordable Care Act, Beth Umland, Mercer’s director of employer research for health and benefits, tells HPW.
Another possibility is that some employees opt out of employer-offered health benefits, for a variety of reasons. “The typical opt-out rate is 15% and that is typically people who have coverage elsewhere, through their spouse, through their parents. So they don’t need their employer’s coverage because they have other coverage,” Tracy Watts, senior partner and national health care reform leader at Mercer, tells HPW.
Employees also might not know their options when it comes to obtaining health insurance. “I know of one employer that offered a private exchange last year but employees did not know,” says Paul Fronstin, director of the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Health Research and Education Program. “The name of the exchange was not used, and workers would only know that they have more choices, from three plans to 20 to 25 now.”
Visit http://aishealth.com/archive/nhpw090114-01 to read the article in its entirety, which includes analysis from other industry observers, including Shari Davidson, a vice president at the National Business Group on Health.
About Health Plan Week
Published since 1991, the 8-page weekly newsletter Health Plan Week provides timely, objective business, financial and regulatory news of the health insurance industry. Coverage includes new benefit designs and underwriting practices, new products and marketing strategies, mergers and alliances, financial performance and results, Medicare and Medicaid opportunities, disease management, and the flood of reform-driven regulatory initiatives including medical loss ratios, exchanges, ACOs and myriad benefit design changes that are mandated. Visit http://aishealth.com/marketplace/health-plan-week for more information.
About Atlantic Information Services
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 04, 2014
Despite many industry observers who expected that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate would spur more individuals to take advantage of employer offerings and avoid being penalized, and a recent announcement by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of a rise in the number of its employees buying company health insurance, data show that employees have not shifted in great numbers to employer plans from 2013 to 2014. The Sept. 1 issue of Atlantic Information Services, Inc.’s Health Plan Week (HPW) examines why.
In one study, benefits consulting firm Mercer conducted a survey of more than 700 employer clients (26% with fewer than 500 employees, 49% with 500 to 4,999, and 24% with 5,000 or more) which found that the average number of workers enrolled in a company plan for 2014 was 69.3%. This is only slightly above the 69.1% level of 2013. And when asked to project to 2015, the survey respondents told Mercer they expect a very small increase in employee uptake to 69.8%.
One possible explanation for the unexpected trend is that employers are tracking hours more closely to meet the ACA’s requirement that full-time workers be offered insurance by their employers. “This is all about managing employees better. If they are supposed to be working 25 hours per week and end up working 31,” that has an impact on their insurance status under the Affordable Care Act, Beth Umland, Mercer’s director of employer research for health and benefits, tells HPW.
Another possibility is that some employees opt out of employer-offered health benefits, for a variety of reasons. “The typical opt-out rate is 15% and that is typically people who have coverage elsewhere, through their spouse, through their parents. So they don’t need their employer’s coverage because they have other coverage,” Tracy Watts, senior partner and national health care reform leader at Mercer, tells HPW.
Employees also might not know their options when it comes to obtaining health insurance. “I know of one employer that offered a private exchange last year but employees did not know,” says Paul Fronstin, director of the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Health Research and Education Program. “The name of the exchange was not used, and workers would only know that they have more choices, from three plans to 20 to 25 now.”
Visit http://aishealth.com/archive/nhpw090114-01 to read the article in its entirety, which includes analysis from other industry observers, including Shari Davidson, a vice president at the National Business Group on Health.
About Health Plan Week
Published since 1991, the 8-page weekly newsletter Health Plan Week provides timely, objective business, financial and regulatory news of the health insurance industry. Coverage includes new benefit designs and underwriting practices, new products and marketing strategies, mergers and alliances, financial performance and results, Medicare and Medicaid opportunities, disease management, and the flood of reform-driven regulatory initiatives including medical loss ratios, exchanges, ACOs and myriad benefit design changes that are mandated. Visit http://aishealth.com/marketplace/health-plan-week for more information.
About Atlantic Information Services
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
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Obamacare made a dent in the number of uninsured in Texas
Despite all the controversy and criticism, the Affordable Care Act made a dent in the number of uninsured Texans, according to a new report from Rice University’s Baker Institute. An estimated 378,684 additional Texans, or 2.4 percent of the state's uninsured population, now have health insurance following the closing of the ACA Marketplace’s enrollment period, the study showed. The trend is due to several reasons, Dr. Vivian Ho of the Baker Institute told the Houston Business Journal. Primarily,…
Reported by bizjournals 2 hours ago.
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New York regulators slash health insurance rates for 2015
The average health insurance rate increase next year will be about 6 percent in New York state. State regulators today set the rates for 2015 after reviewing proposals from insurers, which requested an average increase of about 13 percent. While some reduction was expected, some insurers said severe 2015 rate cuts by state regulators would harm the companies. Results varied widely among the various insurers. For instance, venture-backed Soho startup Oscar emerged entirely unscathed and is the…
Reported by bizjournals 1 hour ago.
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A Hacker Breached The Obamacare Website
A hacker breached the federal HealthCare.gov website in July and uploaded malicious software, federal officials said Thursday. The breach, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, was discovered last week. No personal data was taken, but the break-in has raised concerns months ahead of the start of another open enrollment period.
The Department of Health and Human Services briefed congressional staff Thursday on the breach, believed to be the first successful hack of the federal health insurance exchange where millions of people signed up for private plans late last year and early this year.
"Today, we briefed key Congressional staff about an intrusion on a test server that supports HealthCare.gov," HHS said in a statement. "Our review indicates that the server did not contain consumer personal information; data was not transmitted outside the agency, and the website was not specifically targeted. We have taken measures to further strengthen security."
An HHS official told Business Insider the breach was discovered on Aug. 25 when a department security team noticed an anomaly in the system security logs of one of the server's systems. HHS leadership and its Inspector General's office were "quickly notified and assisted in assessing this incident," the official said.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security were also called in to investigate the attack.The official said HealthCare.gov was not specifically targeted in the hack, which could mean it was part of a broader effort to discover vulnerable spots across government-agency and private-sector websites.
"The commonplace malware uploaded on the test server was designed to launch a 'denial of service' attack against other websites when activated and not designed to exfiltrate [personally identifiable information]," the official said.
The HHS official said the breach wouldn't have any effect on the second period of open enrollment, which is scheduled to begin Nov. 15.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 25 minutes ago.
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HUFFPOST HILL - Bob McDonnell Launches Campaign For Laundry Duty
Bob McDonnell might do some time -- good thing he has that fancy watch. Scott Brown thinks lawmakers need to know how to plan battles, which makes sense considering his hero is President Thomas Whitmore from "Independence Day.” And Rep. Steve Southerland is hosting a men-only fundraiser, saying that such events go back to the 12th Century.You know what else goes back to the 12th Century? Not including women in things. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Thursday, September 3rd, 2014:
*MCDONNELL AND WIFE FOUND GUILTY OF CORRUPTION* - At least they can stop pretending that they hate each other and get back to the politically proper thing of ignoring each other...just this time it'll be in jail. "Former Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia and his wife, Maureen, were convicted of corruption in federal court Thursday, following a trial that halted the political ascent of the one-time Republican star and peeled back the couple’s private life to the bone. As 11 counts of 'guilty' were pronounced on counts of conspiracy, bribery and extortion for Mr. McDonnell, he covered his face with his hands and his head fell nearly to the defense table. His wife, convicted on nine counts, looked straight ahead. There were sobs from the seats behind the couple that included their five adult children...Asked whether Mr. McDonnell will appeal, his lawyer, Henry W. Asbill, said 'Of course.' He said he was 'shocked' by the verdict." [NYT]
*The Former Abramoff Lobbyist Pissed At Things, famous for having Equinox delivered to his jail cell, has some words of wisdom for McDonnell:* "FALPAT is with you on being sad because it sucks going from being the guy everyone wants to be around to the guy who doesn't get a phone call except from his overpriced lawyers. Speaking of your lawyers, get new ones, and the fact you threw your wife under the bus makes you the biggest John Edwards in American politics." Thanks, FALPAT!
*FLASHBACK: "McDonnell rejected plea offer to face one felony, spare wife any charges, avoid trial"* [WashPost headline in January]
*HELP HUFFPOST'S FERGUSON FELLOWSHIP* - We're seeking reader support for a year's worth of journalism in Ferguson, Mo. Our Ferguson Fellow is named Mariah Stewart and you can read more about Mariah and our fellowship HERE.
*D.C. CIRCUIT TO RE-HEAR CRUCIAL OBAMACARE CASE* - AP/HuffPost: "The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to re-hear the case of Halbig v. Burwell. In July, a three-judge panel from the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that people in the 36 states that use the federal health insurance exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act are ineligible for subsidized insurance...The same July day the D.C. Circuit Court panel ruled on Halbig, a Virginia federal appeals panel ruled the opposite way on an identical case. The plaintiffs in the D.C. case requested the Supreme Court to take on the case in August. According to the Wall Street Journal's Brent Kendall, oral arguments will be heard in December." [AP/HuffPost]
*DAILY DELANEY DOWNER* - The new unemployment rate comes out tomorrow. It will probably be part of a positive jobs report. There will only be millions of unemployed people, maybe a few million long-term. I had lunch with a lady today who is selling all her stuff to make rent. [Hang in there!]
Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
*GAY MARRIAGE BANS STRUCK DOWN IN INDIANA AND WISCONSIN* - Rudy (and Jeff)! Rudy (and Jeff)! Rudy (and Jeff)! AP: "A U.S. appeals court in Chicago has ruled that gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana are unconstitutional. Thursday's decision by a three-judge panel at the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals bumps number of states where gay marriage will be legal from 19 to 21. The decision was unanimous. The Wisconsin and Indiana cases shifted to Chicago after their attorneys general appealed separate lower court rulings in June tossing the bans. The 7th Circuit stayed those rulings pending its own decision." [AP]
*HEALTHCARE.GOV HACKED IN JULY* - "A hacker broke into part of the HealthCare.gov insurance enrollment website in July and uploaded malicious software, according to federal officials. Investigators found no evidence that consumers' personal data was taken in the breach, federal officials said. The hacker appears only to have accessed a server used to test code for HealthCare.gov. *The Department of Health and Human Services discovered the attack last week. An HHS official said the attack appears to mark the first successful intrusion into the website*, where millions of Americans bought insurance starting last year under the Affordable Care Act. It raised concerns among federal officials because of how easily the intruder gained access and how much damage could have occurred." [WSJ]
*AMERICA MIGHT HAVE (ANOTHER) GENOCIDAL FRENEMY* - Sabrina Siddiqui: "The Obama administration has flatly ruled out working alongside the same regime that has committed large-scale atrocities during the Syrian civil war. But several military and counterterrorism analysts believe the U.S. may be left with limited options should it go after ISIS in the region absent a tacit agreement, at the very least, with [Syrian President Bashar] Assad. Unilateral action, some argue, would expose the U.S. to a number of risks -- be it the downing of one of its military aircraft or gaps in intelligence that would make a successful bombing campaign against ISIS difficult to execute...Seizing on an opportunity to legitimize his government, Assad has said he is open to partnering with the U.S. against ISIS and warned the Obama administration against acting unilaterally." [HuffPost]
The Free Beacon has a supercut of Luke Russert's bro-iest moments.
*DARK MONEY: CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP* - Paul Blumenthal: "Dark money groups have spent at least $142 million on advertising campaigns naming specific senators, representatives and congressional candidates over the past 20 months, according to a Huffington Post analysis of news reports, press releases and political advertising reports collected by the Sunlight Foundation. This total now surpasses the $122 million spent by independent groups that do disclose their donors and only stands to grow...network raised and distributed $400 million in the 2012 elections. This time around, the six groups at the center of the Koch operation have already combined to spend at least $53.5 million just on candidate-specific ads." [HuffPost]
*Rand Paul refuses to shrug the atlas*: "Paul defended himself against critics of this apparently new position in a Time op-ed on Thursday, pushing back against pundits who 'are surprised that I support destroying the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militarily.' Paul claimed that he is neither an isolationist nor an interventionist and that he sees 'war as the last resort.' But he ultimately supports military action against extremists threatening the Middle East because ''Peace through Strength' only works if you have and show strength.'" [HuffPost]
*ONCE MORE INTO THE UNTO THE BREACH, BROHEEMS* - Plus he probably discussed pikeman formation and castle siege tactics with all those kings and queens. Mike McAuliff: "Scott Brown... is again talking up his long service in the National Guard, suggesting it taught him how to run a 'frontal attack.' ...Still, he gave the impression Wednesday in a campaign question-and-answer session in Hudson, New Hampshire, that he was a bit more combat-seasoned than that. Criticizing President Barack Obama's efforts cutting costs and reshaping the military as 'incoherent,' Brown suggested he would do better because of his experience. 'That's why we need someone in there with military experience to do that, who understands what an 11 Bravo [infantryman] is, and what's the composition of a rifle company, and how do you lead a frontal attack. Those are the things that we need to be aware of,' Brown said." [HuffPost]
*CONGRESSMAN HOLDS STAG NIGHT* - Suddenly Steve Southerland's women's outreach initiative, "Broads for Steve," starts to make a lot more sense. Kate Nocera: "Back in March, organizers held a fundraiser for Republican Congressman Steve Southerland described as a meeting with Southerland and a 'small group of concerned men,' according to an invite obtained by BuzzFeed. The invite goes on to say that attendees should *'tell the misses not to wait up' because 'the after dinner whiskey and cigars will be smooth & the issues to discuss are many.'*...Good men sitting around discussing & solving political & social problems over fine food & drink date back to the 12th Century with King Arthur’s Round Table,' the invitation said." [BuzzFeed]
*Next time she should just accuse Scott Walker of causing Ebola*: "Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Thursday that she 'shouldn't have used' charged language to describe Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) record on women's issues. The congresswoman ripped Walker at a Wednesday roundtable in Milwaukee for giving 'women the back of his hand' by signing a bill that prevents victims of employment discrimination from seeking punitive and compensatory damages in state courts." [HuffPost's Igor Bobic]
*BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR* - Here's a dog excited about the water.
*COMFORT FOOD*
- A treatise on PG-13 movies.
- The Times has details on Apple's next big product announces.
- Don't dress your dog up like a gigantic spider. It's terrifying.
- A roundup of some of Joan Rivers' best moments.
- Bulldog teamwork.
*TWITTERAMA*
@indecision: Glenn Beck says Hillary Clinton will win in 2016. Sounds like somebody's angling for a VP nod!
@jesseberney:
BOTH SIDES
E L
N A
G V
H E
A R
Z Y
I
@dceiver: I dunno why Biden wants to chase Isis to Hell, Michigan but it sure looks like it's gonna be tricky you guys
*Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e* Reported by Huffington Post 31 minutes ago.
*MCDONNELL AND WIFE FOUND GUILTY OF CORRUPTION* - At least they can stop pretending that they hate each other and get back to the politically proper thing of ignoring each other...just this time it'll be in jail. "Former Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia and his wife, Maureen, were convicted of corruption in federal court Thursday, following a trial that halted the political ascent of the one-time Republican star and peeled back the couple’s private life to the bone. As 11 counts of 'guilty' were pronounced on counts of conspiracy, bribery and extortion for Mr. McDonnell, he covered his face with his hands and his head fell nearly to the defense table. His wife, convicted on nine counts, looked straight ahead. There were sobs from the seats behind the couple that included their five adult children...Asked whether Mr. McDonnell will appeal, his lawyer, Henry W. Asbill, said 'Of course.' He said he was 'shocked' by the verdict." [NYT]
*The Former Abramoff Lobbyist Pissed At Things, famous for having Equinox delivered to his jail cell, has some words of wisdom for McDonnell:* "FALPAT is with you on being sad because it sucks going from being the guy everyone wants to be around to the guy who doesn't get a phone call except from his overpriced lawyers. Speaking of your lawyers, get new ones, and the fact you threw your wife under the bus makes you the biggest John Edwards in American politics." Thanks, FALPAT!
*FLASHBACK: "McDonnell rejected plea offer to face one felony, spare wife any charges, avoid trial"* [WashPost headline in January]
*HELP HUFFPOST'S FERGUSON FELLOWSHIP* - We're seeking reader support for a year's worth of journalism in Ferguson, Mo. Our Ferguson Fellow is named Mariah Stewart and you can read more about Mariah and our fellowship HERE.
*D.C. CIRCUIT TO RE-HEAR CRUCIAL OBAMACARE CASE* - AP/HuffPost: "The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to re-hear the case of Halbig v. Burwell. In July, a three-judge panel from the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that people in the 36 states that use the federal health insurance exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act are ineligible for subsidized insurance...The same July day the D.C. Circuit Court panel ruled on Halbig, a Virginia federal appeals panel ruled the opposite way on an identical case. The plaintiffs in the D.C. case requested the Supreme Court to take on the case in August. According to the Wall Street Journal's Brent Kendall, oral arguments will be heard in December." [AP/HuffPost]
*DAILY DELANEY DOWNER* - The new unemployment rate comes out tomorrow. It will probably be part of a positive jobs report. There will only be millions of unemployed people, maybe a few million long-term. I had lunch with a lady today who is selling all her stuff to make rent. [Hang in there!]
Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
*GAY MARRIAGE BANS STRUCK DOWN IN INDIANA AND WISCONSIN* - Rudy (and Jeff)! Rudy (and Jeff)! Rudy (and Jeff)! AP: "A U.S. appeals court in Chicago has ruled that gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana are unconstitutional. Thursday's decision by a three-judge panel at the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals bumps number of states where gay marriage will be legal from 19 to 21. The decision was unanimous. The Wisconsin and Indiana cases shifted to Chicago after their attorneys general appealed separate lower court rulings in June tossing the bans. The 7th Circuit stayed those rulings pending its own decision." [AP]
*HEALTHCARE.GOV HACKED IN JULY* - "A hacker broke into part of the HealthCare.gov insurance enrollment website in July and uploaded malicious software, according to federal officials. Investigators found no evidence that consumers' personal data was taken in the breach, federal officials said. The hacker appears only to have accessed a server used to test code for HealthCare.gov. *The Department of Health and Human Services discovered the attack last week. An HHS official said the attack appears to mark the first successful intrusion into the website*, where millions of Americans bought insurance starting last year under the Affordable Care Act. It raised concerns among federal officials because of how easily the intruder gained access and how much damage could have occurred." [WSJ]
*AMERICA MIGHT HAVE (ANOTHER) GENOCIDAL FRENEMY* - Sabrina Siddiqui: "The Obama administration has flatly ruled out working alongside the same regime that has committed large-scale atrocities during the Syrian civil war. But several military and counterterrorism analysts believe the U.S. may be left with limited options should it go after ISIS in the region absent a tacit agreement, at the very least, with [Syrian President Bashar] Assad. Unilateral action, some argue, would expose the U.S. to a number of risks -- be it the downing of one of its military aircraft or gaps in intelligence that would make a successful bombing campaign against ISIS difficult to execute...Seizing on an opportunity to legitimize his government, Assad has said he is open to partnering with the U.S. against ISIS and warned the Obama administration against acting unilaterally." [HuffPost]
The Free Beacon has a supercut of Luke Russert's bro-iest moments.
*DARK MONEY: CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP* - Paul Blumenthal: "Dark money groups have spent at least $142 million on advertising campaigns naming specific senators, representatives and congressional candidates over the past 20 months, according to a Huffington Post analysis of news reports, press releases and political advertising reports collected by the Sunlight Foundation. This total now surpasses the $122 million spent by independent groups that do disclose their donors and only stands to grow...network raised and distributed $400 million in the 2012 elections. This time around, the six groups at the center of the Koch operation have already combined to spend at least $53.5 million just on candidate-specific ads." [HuffPost]
*Rand Paul refuses to shrug the atlas*: "Paul defended himself against critics of this apparently new position in a Time op-ed on Thursday, pushing back against pundits who 'are surprised that I support destroying the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militarily.' Paul claimed that he is neither an isolationist nor an interventionist and that he sees 'war as the last resort.' But he ultimately supports military action against extremists threatening the Middle East because ''Peace through Strength' only works if you have and show strength.'" [HuffPost]
*ONCE MORE INTO THE UNTO THE BREACH, BROHEEMS* - Plus he probably discussed pikeman formation and castle siege tactics with all those kings and queens. Mike McAuliff: "Scott Brown... is again talking up his long service in the National Guard, suggesting it taught him how to run a 'frontal attack.' ...Still, he gave the impression Wednesday in a campaign question-and-answer session in Hudson, New Hampshire, that he was a bit more combat-seasoned than that. Criticizing President Barack Obama's efforts cutting costs and reshaping the military as 'incoherent,' Brown suggested he would do better because of his experience. 'That's why we need someone in there with military experience to do that, who understands what an 11 Bravo [infantryman] is, and what's the composition of a rifle company, and how do you lead a frontal attack. Those are the things that we need to be aware of,' Brown said." [HuffPost]
*CONGRESSMAN HOLDS STAG NIGHT* - Suddenly Steve Southerland's women's outreach initiative, "Broads for Steve," starts to make a lot more sense. Kate Nocera: "Back in March, organizers held a fundraiser for Republican Congressman Steve Southerland described as a meeting with Southerland and a 'small group of concerned men,' according to an invite obtained by BuzzFeed. The invite goes on to say that attendees should *'tell the misses not to wait up' because 'the after dinner whiskey and cigars will be smooth & the issues to discuss are many.'*...Good men sitting around discussing & solving political & social problems over fine food & drink date back to the 12th Century with King Arthur’s Round Table,' the invitation said." [BuzzFeed]
*Next time she should just accuse Scott Walker of causing Ebola*: "Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Thursday that she 'shouldn't have used' charged language to describe Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) record on women's issues. The congresswoman ripped Walker at a Wednesday roundtable in Milwaukee for giving 'women the back of his hand' by signing a bill that prevents victims of employment discrimination from seeking punitive and compensatory damages in state courts." [HuffPost's Igor Bobic]
*BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR* - Here's a dog excited about the water.
*COMFORT FOOD*
- A treatise on PG-13 movies.
- The Times has details on Apple's next big product announces.
- Don't dress your dog up like a gigantic spider. It's terrifying.
- A roundup of some of Joan Rivers' best moments.
- Bulldog teamwork.
*TWITTERAMA*
@indecision: Glenn Beck says Hillary Clinton will win in 2016. Sounds like somebody's angling for a VP nod!
@jesseberney:
BOTH SIDES
E L
N A
G V
H E
A R
Z Y
I
@dceiver: I dunno why Biden wants to chase Isis to Hell, Michigan but it sure looks like it's gonna be tricky you guys
*Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e* Reported by Huffington Post 31 minutes ago.
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Hackers break into HealthCare.gov
Hackers successfully breached HealthCare.gov, but no consumer information was taken from the health insurance website that serves more than 5 million Americans, the Obama administration disclosed Thursday.
Reported by Miami Herald 7 minutes ago.
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Hackers break into server for Obamacare website: U.S. officials
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An unknown hacker or hackers broke into a computer server supporting the HealthCare.gov website through which consumers enroll in Obamacare health insurance, a government cybersecurity team discovered last week, apparently uploading malicious files.
Reported by Reuters 10 minutes ago.
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Ruling Limiting Health Law Subsidies to be Reviewed
A federal appeals court agreed to take a new look at the legality of health-insurance subsidies tied to the 2010 federal health care law, a blow to challengers who won an earlier ruling that invalidated subsidies in many states.
Reported by Wall Street Journal 1 day ago.
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Hackers break into Obamacare website
Hackers successfully breached HealthCare.gov, but no consumer information was taken from the health insurance website that serves more than 5 million Americans, the Obama administration disclosed Thursday.
Reported by NY Daily News 1 day ago.
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Health insurers' rate hike requests slashed on New York State exchanges
The state announced Thursday that it kept health insurance premiums for 2015 to an average 6.7 percent increase -- about half of what the insurance companies sought.
Reported by Newsday 17 hours ago.
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Obamacare citizenship, immigration proof due Friday
700 Delaware residents must verify their status or lose their Obamacare health insurance
Reported by Delawareonline 1 day ago.
Reported by Delawareonline 1 day ago.
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Hacker breaches HealthCare.gov website
A Healthcare.gov security breach has been discovered just as the federal government and insurance companies prepare for the second year of open enrollment to buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Federal officials discovered the breach last week, The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday. The breach occurred in July when a hacker uploaded malicious software, the paper said. According to The Hill, Congressional staffers were briefed about the hack on Thursday. The attack appears…
Reported by bizjournals 20 hours ago.
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BenchmarkPortal Announces: Santa Clara Family Health Plan Call Center Achieves Certification as a BenchmarkPortal Center of Excellence
BenchmarkPortal recognizes the exceptional efficiency and effectiveness of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan Call Center by awarding it Certification as a Center of Excellence. The granting of certification is based on a company’s operational metrics, customer satisfaction and agent satisfaction.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 05, 2014
The Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) call center has been certified as a Center of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal, a leading contact center research and consulting organization. “Only the top 10 percent of those benchmarked annually achieve this distinction,” said BenchmarkPortal CEO Bruce Belfiore. “Achieving Center of Excellence certification is an acknowledgement of strong management and leadership in the call center industry.”
To achieve certification as a Center of Excellence, a company must undergo a rigorous call center benchmarking process, which compares the organization’s operational metrics to those of its peers, using the world's largest database of contact center metrics. During this process, BenchmarkPortal experts audit and verify key data from the contact center applying for certification.
Factors (called key performance indicators) such as first call resolution, cost per call, call waiting time, customer satisfaction, agent satisfaction and utilization of human resources are taken into account. BenchmarkPortal is able to scientifically gauge how the contact center being studied compares to other centers in the same industry, and if the performance of the contact center is superior. Customer satisfaction, which relates to customer loyalty and business growth, is the goal, balanced by financial metrics which show that the center is being operated efficiently.
“Center of Excellence certification indicates that the contact center delivers superior customer service within a responsible cost structure,” said Belfiore. "A great contact center operation reflects its management's passion for balancing the demands of high quality and low costs. SCFHP has shown its ability to achieve that balance through its objective performance metrics. We have validated its metrics and have certified that SCFHP is, indeed, among the best in its industry. I congratulate SCFHP on a job well done.”
“Contact centers that achieve certification are remarkable in their ability to balance a commitment to service excellence. It is an achievement of distinction,” added Belfiore, who has been with the company since 2000.
About BenchmarkPortal
BenchmarkPortal’s founders pioneered the first contact center benchmarking study in 1995. Now custodian of the largest database of contact center metrics in the world, BenchmarkPortal is a leader in certification, training, consulting and research for the customer contact industry. Its team of professionals has gained international recognition for expertise and innovation in best practices. BenchmarkPortal’s mission is to help management optimize the performance of their centers in terms of both cost and quality, encourage customer loyalty and build enterprise value. For more information on BenchmarkPortal, call 1-800-214-8929 or visit http://www.BenchmarkPortal.com.
About Santa Clara Family Health Plan
Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is a local, public, not-for-profit health plan that provides high-quality health coverage to residents of Santa Clara County. Through a dedicated partnership with an expansive network of doctors and medical professionals, SCFHP acts as a bridge between the health care system and those who do not have access to, or cannot afford health care. SCFHP is the local plan for Medi-Cal and Healthy Kids in Santa Clara County (Medi-Cal is a public insurance program and Healthy Kids is a locally funded insurance program).
SCFHP began in 1997 and is now proud to provide services to over 179,000 members. Through devotion to outstanding service and care for the community, SCFHP is committed to providing quality, affordable health insurance to the underserved in Santa Clara County’s diverse population. Reported by PRWeb 20 hours ago.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 05, 2014
The Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) call center has been certified as a Center of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal, a leading contact center research and consulting organization. “Only the top 10 percent of those benchmarked annually achieve this distinction,” said BenchmarkPortal CEO Bruce Belfiore. “Achieving Center of Excellence certification is an acknowledgement of strong management and leadership in the call center industry.”
To achieve certification as a Center of Excellence, a company must undergo a rigorous call center benchmarking process, which compares the organization’s operational metrics to those of its peers, using the world's largest database of contact center metrics. During this process, BenchmarkPortal experts audit and verify key data from the contact center applying for certification.
Factors (called key performance indicators) such as first call resolution, cost per call, call waiting time, customer satisfaction, agent satisfaction and utilization of human resources are taken into account. BenchmarkPortal is able to scientifically gauge how the contact center being studied compares to other centers in the same industry, and if the performance of the contact center is superior. Customer satisfaction, which relates to customer loyalty and business growth, is the goal, balanced by financial metrics which show that the center is being operated efficiently.
“Center of Excellence certification indicates that the contact center delivers superior customer service within a responsible cost structure,” said Belfiore. "A great contact center operation reflects its management's passion for balancing the demands of high quality and low costs. SCFHP has shown its ability to achieve that balance through its objective performance metrics. We have validated its metrics and have certified that SCFHP is, indeed, among the best in its industry. I congratulate SCFHP on a job well done.”
“Contact centers that achieve certification are remarkable in their ability to balance a commitment to service excellence. It is an achievement of distinction,” added Belfiore, who has been with the company since 2000.
About BenchmarkPortal
BenchmarkPortal’s founders pioneered the first contact center benchmarking study in 1995. Now custodian of the largest database of contact center metrics in the world, BenchmarkPortal is a leader in certification, training, consulting and research for the customer contact industry. Its team of professionals has gained international recognition for expertise and innovation in best practices. BenchmarkPortal’s mission is to help management optimize the performance of their centers in terms of both cost and quality, encourage customer loyalty and build enterprise value. For more information on BenchmarkPortal, call 1-800-214-8929 or visit http://www.BenchmarkPortal.com.
About Santa Clara Family Health Plan
Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is a local, public, not-for-profit health plan that provides high-quality health coverage to residents of Santa Clara County. Through a dedicated partnership with an expansive network of doctors and medical professionals, SCFHP acts as a bridge between the health care system and those who do not have access to, or cannot afford health care. SCFHP is the local plan for Medi-Cal and Healthy Kids in Santa Clara County (Medi-Cal is a public insurance program and Healthy Kids is a locally funded insurance program).
SCFHP began in 1997 and is now proud to provide services to over 179,000 members. Through devotion to outstanding service and care for the community, SCFHP is committed to providing quality, affordable health insurance to the underserved in Santa Clara County’s diverse population. Reported by PRWeb 20 hours ago.
↧
Obamacare plan premiums to decline on average in 16 cities: study
Health insurance premiums for low-cost Obamacare plans in 16 U.S. cities will fall slightly in 2015 as competition helps drives down price for the new subsidized individual health plans, according to a study Friday from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Kaiser analysis found that the premiums for the second lowest cost “silver” tier plan, upon which government tax credit subsidies are based, will fall compared with 2014 prices by an average of 0.8 percent in […]
Reported by Raw Story 19 hours ago.
↧
Frontrunning: September 5
· Euro left reeling after ECB's liquidity splurge (Reuters)
· Coalition Emerges to Battle Islamic State Militants (WSJ)
· Ukraine Gas Chief Takes on Gazprom in Race With Winter (BBG)
· Nato leaders fail to agree spending targets (FT)
· JPMorgan Had Exodus of Tech Talent Before Hacker Breach (BBG)
· Mercedes-Benz Sales Rise Despite Weak German Demand (WSJ)
· Secret Network Connects Harvard Money to Payday Loans (BBG)
· ICE looks to crack financial data market (FT)
· Pakistan opposition in talks with government to end political crisis (Reuters)
· Kids Slapped With 192-Pound Weight Tilt Qantas Plane Nose (BBG)
· Barclays, BofA, Citigroup Sued for ISDAfix Manipulation (BBG)
· Al-Qaeda in India Tests Modi’s Bid to Unite Muslims, Hindus (BBG)
· Uber’s ’Small Change’ Ban Reply May Anger German Judges (BBG)
· Virginia ex-governor, wife found guilty in corruption trial (Reuters)
*Overnight Media Digest*
WSJ
* American allies including the UK and France said they would help form an international military coalition to fight a growing threat from Islamic State militants. (http://on.wsj.com/1t6Kyi7)
* A hacker broke into part of the HealthCare.gov insurance enrollment website in July and uploaded malicious software, according to federal officials. Investigators found no evidence that consumers' personal data were taken or viewed during the breach, federal officials said. The hacker appears only to have gained access to a server used to test code for HealthCare.gov, the officials said. (http://on.wsj.com/Z8RXoB)
* Apple Inc said it plans additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts. In his first interview on the subject, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said celebrities' iCloud accounts were compromised when hackers correctly answered security questions to obtain their passwords or when they were victimized by a phishing scam to obtain user IDs and passwords. He said none of the Apple IDs and passwords leaked from the company's servers. (http://on.wsj.com/1puYPl3)
* Nvidia Corp opened a new front in the recent legal wars over mobile technology, filing suits accusing Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Qualcomm Inc of infringing patents that cover graphics chips. (http://on.wsj.com/1BfcsxB)
* The dollar hit its highest level in nearly six years against the yen Friday following the European Central Bank's surprise rate move overnight and as monetary policy in the United States and Japan hits a fork in the road. (http://on.wsj.com/WiV5MC)
* BP Plc was grossly negligent in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, a federal judge ruled, handing down a decision that could cost the company as much as $18 billion in pollution fines for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. (http://on.wsj.com/1pQrgzX)
* The credit-card industry is accelerating efforts to keep sensitive customer information out of the hands of merchants, as a rash of data breaches at major U.S. retailers erodes confidence in electronic payment systems. Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc are rolling out technology that replaces cardholder information such as account numbers and expiration dates with a unique series of numbers that validates the customer's identity. (http://on.wsj.com/1Bf9Vn3)
* Google Inc has agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint that it allowed children to rack up millions of dollars in charges in its mobile app store without their parents' knowledge or consent. Google will refund a minimum of $19 million to consumers whose children made purchases inside applications downloaded from the Google Play app store. Google will also modify its billing practices to ensure it obtains express consent before charging consumers for items sold in mobile apps. (http://on.wsj.com/Z9z6JZ)
* New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg finds himself in a very different situation as he comes back to run Bloomberg LP. The media company is hardly in crisis. It has solidified its position as a dominant provider of financial information, and its revenue and subscribers have jumped sharply in recent years. There are threats looming, however. Bloomberg is returning to a more competitive marketplace than the one he left in 2002 and to increasingly strained relations with the financial institutions that make up the company's core customer base. (http://on.wsj.com/1AcQtow)
* Caterpillar Inc's Progress Rail subsidiary, the subject of a federal criminal investigation, has lost railcar-repair contracts at some of the nation's busiest railroad terminals, including the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. (http://on.wsj.com/1qB6P8b)
* A panel of top regulators Thursday proposed giving MetLife Inc tougher government oversight, bringing the insurer and regulators a step closer to a possible legal showdown. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, led by the Treasury secretary, voted to propose labeling a nonbank financial company as "systemically important," the panel said in a statement released after a closed-door meeting. MetLife acknowledged it was the unnamed firm. (http://on.wsj.com/YgjZhy)
* U.S. regulators on Thursday approved a new kind of cancer drug from Merck & Co Inc that is designed to unleash the body's immune system against tumors. The drug is part of a long-anticipated wave of medicines that could transform cancer treatment and forge a large new market for pharmaceutical companies. (http://on.wsj.com/1ptUM8z)
* Walgreen Co scrambled to notify thousands of customers who had their prescriptions filled during a recent system crash, because errors might have left their labels unreadable. The drugstore chain found that its systems were printing labels with random characters in the instructions, making some hard to understand, said Chuck Greener, a spokesman for the company. (http://on.wsj.com/1oKFaNS)
* Steven Spielberg has hired Michael Wright, a cable-television veteran with no film-business experience to run his struggling studio DreamWorks SKG. Wright, who recently left his post as head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies amid strategy changes at Time Warner Inc's cable-TV unit, was named chief executive of DreamWorks on Thursday. (http://on.wsj.com/1o4eDMn)
FT
A U.S. court has ruled against BP Plc accusing it of gross negligence and wilful misconduct in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 that killed 11 people and caused the world's largest offshore oil spill, exposing it to fines of up to $18 billion.
Barclays Plc has become the first bank in the United Kingdom to launch a scanner that identifies customers by the unique vein patterns in their fingers, as the bank seeks to ramp up its fight against cyber crime and fraud.
The United Kingdom is moving to scale up its operations against the ISIL in Iraq after meeting with world leaders and members of NATO at the NATO summit in Wales and efforts in Westminster to begin generating support for more intervention.
Germany's telecom regulator and the European Commission are all set for a "war" over mobile termination fees, which generate millions of euros for some of Europe's largest cellular operators.
Mario Draghi startled markets on Thursday cutting interest rates to a record low and pledging to buy hundreds of billions of euros of private sector bonds in a dramatic move to save the eurozone from economic stagnation.
NYT
* After pitting five potential host states against one another in a quest for hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives, Tesla Motors Inc said Thursday that it had struck a deal with Nevada for construction of its sprawling factory to build batteries for electric cars and the power grid. (http://nyti.ms/1qsjADc)
* A federal judge determined that the BP Plc's conduct made it chiefly responsible for the oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers. United States District Court Judge Carl Barbier opened the possibility of $18 billion in new civil penalties for BP, nearly quadruple the maximum Clean Water Act penalty for simple negligence and far more than the $3.5 billion the company has set aside. (http://nyti.ms/1u4g3Mz)
* On Tuesday, Apple Inc will unveil a set of long-anticipated products: two iPhones with larger screens and a wearable computer that the media has nicknamed the iWatch. The so-called smartwatch, which is expected to include fitness tracking and wireless payment, will be the first new product unveiled under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who replaced Steve Jobs in 2011. (http://nyti.ms/1qiKJZo)
* The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first of an eagerly awaited new class of cancer drugs that unleashes the body's immune system to fight tumors. The drug, which Merck & Co Inc will sell under the name Keytruda, was approved for patients with advanced melanoma who have exhausted other therapies. (http://nyti.ms/1vUL9s3)
* Puerto Rico's electric power authority, which has been in negotiations with lenders over its debt burden, said on Thursday that it had hired the consulting firm AlixPartners to supervise its restructuring. (http://nyti.ms/1txvYEw)
* A federal panel is proposing to assign MetLife Inc to a club it does not want to join, by initially voting on Thursday to deem it a "systemically important financial institution" and thus subjecting it to more intensive regulation than most other life insurers. (http://nyti.ms/1Cw7XQD)
* Hackers breached security at the website of the government's health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, but did not steal any personal information on consumers, Obama administration officials said Thursday. (http://nyti.ms/1o3Ylms)
* Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, said on Thursday that the bank would soon start to buy bonds that are backed by loans made to consumers and companies. He did not say how much the central bank would be willing to spend on these loan-backed bonds. But the purchases could make up a substantial share of the roughly 1 trillion euros, or $1.3 trillion, that Draghi implied that the bank was prepared to spend. (http://nyti.ms/1Cw9pm4)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The long-held dream of boosting exports of Alberta crude to Asia by the decade's end is fading, as multibillion-dollar pipelines get bogged down by local opposition and regulatory wrangling. Enbridge Inc signaled Thursday that its contentious Northern Gateway pipeline to the west coast is unlikely to start up by 2018 as planned. (bit.ly/1ty0bDo)
** Regulators in the United States have officially granted permission for the first human clinical trial of Canada's experimental Ebola vaccine. NewLink Genetics Corp, the Iowa-based drug company the public health agency of Canada licensed to produce the vaccine, announced Thursday that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start Phase 1 safety trials. (bit.ly/1wbmqwZ)
NATIONAL POST
** Canadian liquefied natural gas may soon be lighting up Hawaii, if plans to ship the super-chilled gas to the Pacific island state come to fruition. As 16 LNG consortiums consider investments on the West Coast, Kelowna, British Columbia-based FortisBC Energy Inc is expected to beat the traffic and start supplying LNG to Hawaiian Electric Company under a 15-year agreement starting mid-2017, subject to regulatory approvals. (bit.ly/1rcydH4)
** Canadian exports to the European Union have climbed a whopping 40 percent in the past year, more than double the increase in the value of shipments to the United States during the same period - although far behind our largest trading partner in total money terms. As impressive as the latest export numbers are, they do mask recent troubling developments in the EU economy. (bit.ly/1qjG21t)
** Mayor Rob Ford's campaign team accidentally released the mayor's wildly quixotic C$9 billion ($8.28 billion) transit plan online Tuesday night, hours before the mayor was due to make a rare policy announcement. The document was unavailable on the mayor's campaign website Wednesday morning, just minutes before the mayor was due to speak at his campaign headquarters. (bit.ly/1uCPzA0)
** Rob Ford has been subpoenaed to testify in an upcoming extortion trial linked to his use of crack cocaine. The mayor confirmed Thursday that a homicide detective personally served him with the subpoena at his home some time in the past several weeks. Ford said he could not remember exactly when the summons arrived, nor could he say when he was expected to appear in court. (bit.ly/YgIds3)
China
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
- China's anti-monopoly drive is continuing to gain pace, the official paper said on Friday, after the country's anti-trust agencies have shone the spotlight recently on sectors including medical devices, computer software and automotive.
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
- China's National Energy Administration (NEA) released another measure on Thursday to subsidize the country's hard-hit solar companies.
21st CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD
- China's far-western Xinjiang region will focus on developing its transportation industry in its thirteenth five-year plan, the local branch of the National Development Regulatory Commission (NDRC) said on Thursday.
CHINA DAILY
- The number of tourists visiting China is dropping, with the capital Beijing seeing a 6 percent fall in the first seven months of 2014, the China National Tourism Administration said.
- Chinese tourists spent $47 billion more overseas than the amount spent by foreign visitors in China in the first half of this year, according to a report by the Chinese Tourism Academy.
SHANGHAI DAILY
- China plans to overhaul its strict examination system in schools and universities by 2020, according to a notice from the country's State Council on Thursday. The reforms are aimed at easing the pressure on Chinese students.
- A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor has been detained after scamming patients out of 6 million yuan($977,469), a local Shanghai procuratorate said on Thursday.
Britain
The Times
PENNYCOOK TO LEAD CO-OP AFTER WINNING 'HEARTS AND MINDS'
The Co-operative Group has named Richard Pennycook, the interim boss who had previously counted himself out of the running for the top job, as new Chief Executive as it attempts to rebuild its reputation after a series of damaging financial crises. (http://thetim.es/1r9ULrO)
LET US COME HOME, SAY BRITISH JIHADISTS
Dozens of British jihadists have become so disillusioned with fighting in Syria that they have contacted the UK begging to come home. One jihadist, claiming to represent 30 Britons, approached an intermediary to complain of growing despondency among the men in his group. (http://thetim.es/1xhiW0p)
The Guardian
CBI FORECASTS SLOWING GROWTH FOR UK ECONOMY
Economic growth will slow in the second half of the year as the effect of improved confidence and better credit conditions starts to wear off, the CBI has predicted. (http://bit.ly/1prHIRl)
INVESTORS FIRE WARNING SHOT AT BETFAIR EXECUTIVE BONUSES
Nearly a third of shareholders in online betting exchange Betfair on Thursday voted against pay and bonus deals for Chief Executive Breon Corcoran. (http://bit.ly/1r9WygG)
The Telegraph
ROGUE TRADER JEROME KERVIEL TO LEAVE PRISON JUST 110 DAY INTO THREE-YEAR SENTENCE
Convicted rogue trader Jerome Kerviel has been told he can walk free from prison just 110 days into a three-year sentence. The former Societe Generale banker, who took the French lender to the brink of collapse with a series of risky bets, will be released from Fleury Merogis prison, just south of Paris, next week, an appeals court said yesterday. (http://bit.ly/Z93rZ9)
PHONES4U DEBTS UNDER REVIEW FOR DOWNGRADE AFTER SPLIT WITH VODAFONE
Phones4U suffered a new blow on Thursday as the ratings agency Moody's warned clients the mobile phone retailer was under review for a downgrade, a measure that could make more difficult for the heavily-indebted company to raise funds. (http://bit.ly/1AbW2Ud)
Sky News
NUCLEAR REACTORS MAY BE OFFLINE UNTIL 2015
Four nuclear reactors, which each provide 1 percent of Britain electricity, could be out of action until the end of the year due to safety fears. The announcement by EDF Energy, which owns the Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations, raised further concerns about the chances of blackouts during the winter following confirmation of actions to secure supplies by the National Grid. (http://bit.ly/1oIf6mz)
EUROZONE TEETERS AS ECB'S BAZOOKA IS HELD BACK
The European Central Bank's shock interest cut on Thursday, taking its benchmark policy rate from 0.15 percent to 0.05 percent, created drama on currency markets, sending the euro down against the US dollar by almost a full percentage point - a move seldom seen - to its lowest level for 14 months. (http://bit.ly/1r8QipB)
The Independent
CO-OP REVIVAL COULD TAKE FIVE YEARS, SAYS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Repairing the beleaguered Co-operative Group after two years of turmoil could take up to five years, the company's new head Richard Pennycook warned on Thursday. (http://ind.pn/1qg4WiC)
BRITISH OIL GIANT ACCUSED OF BRIBERY IN TUSSLE OVER AFRICA'S OLDEST NATIONAL PARK
Contractors and agents working on behalf of London-based oil company Soco International paid bribes to officials and rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo in their bid to explore for oil in Africa's oldest national park, according to anti-corruption activists. (http://ind.pn/1tvlAgn)
*Fly On The Wall Pre-Market Buzz*
ECONOMIC REPORTS
Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Nonfarm payrolls for August at 8:30--consensus up 230K
Unemployment rate for August at 8:30--consensus 6.1%
ANALYST RESEARCH
Upgrades
AllianceBernstein (AB) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill
BP (BP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup
Banco de Chile (BCH) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
Ciena (CIEN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Intralinks (IL) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel
Matrix Service (MTRX) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at First Analysis
SanDisk (SNDK) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
Southern Company (SO) upgraded to Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC
Statoil (STO) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC
Vertex (VRTX) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Downgrades
Alaska Air (ALK) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Coca-Cola HBC (CCHGY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Finisar (FNSR) downgraded to Buy from Strong Buy at Needham
LMI Aerospace (LMIA) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
Take-Two (TTWO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee
VeriFone (PAY) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Initiations
Actavis (ACT) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
Air Canada (AIDIF) initiated with an Outperform at Imperial Capital
Akamai (AKAM) initiated with a Buy at UBS
Alexion (ALXN) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Allegion (ALLE) initiated with a Buy at Buckingham
Allergan (AGN) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
America's Car-Mart (CRMT) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
Astronics (ATRO) initiated with a Buy at DA Davidson
Bonanza Creek (BCEI) initiated with an Outperform at Imperial Capital
Celgene (CELG) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Consumer Portfolio (CPSS) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Credit Acceptance (cacc) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
EZCORP (EZPW) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
Eaton (ETN) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
First Cash Financial (FCFS) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
GSV Capital (GSVC) initiated with an Outperform at JMP Securities
Incyte (INCY) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Ingersoll-Rand (IR) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
Insmed (INSM) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen
Intercept (ICPT) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen
JGWPT Holdings (JGW) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Lennox (LII) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
Mylan (MYL) initiated with a Hold at ISI Group
NBT Bancorp (NBTB) initiated with a Neutral at Sterne Agee
Parker-Hannifin (PH) initiated with a Buy at Buckingham
Pentair (PNR) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
Pharmacyclics (PCYC) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust
Plum Creek Timber (PCL) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan
Regional Management (RM) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Sabre (SABR) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer
Santander Consumer (SC) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
SpartanNash (SPTN) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
Springleaf (LEAF) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Teva (TEVA) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
Valeant (VRX) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
Weyerhaeuser (WY) initiated with a Neutral at JPMorgan
World Acceptance (WRLD) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
bluebird bio (BLUE) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
COMPANY NEWS
Tesla (TSLA) officially selected Nevada as official site for battery gigafactory
MetLife (MET) said it "strongly disagrees" with the Financial Stability Oversight Council's preliminary designation of MetLife as a SIFI. "MetLife is not systemically important under the Dodd-Frank Act criteria," the company said
SandRidge (SD) announced a $200M share repurchase program
Gap (GPS) said August SSS declined 2%
FDA removed partial clinical hold on OncoMed (OMED) ipafricept
EARNINGS
Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
ACETO (ACET), Ambarella (AMBA), Culp (CFI), El Pollo Loco (LOCO), Verint Systems (VRNT), Infoblox (BLOX), SeaChange (SEAC), Zumiez (ZUMZ)
Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
bebe stores (BEBE)
Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Cooper Companies (COO), Finisar (FNSR)
NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES
Apple (AAPL) plans to warn users of attempts to hack iCloud, WSJ reports
Warner Bros. (TWX) to eliminate jobs 'at every level' across studio, Deadline Hollywood reports
New Dollar General (DG) offer might not woo Family Dollar (FDO), Reuters reports
Microsoft (MSFT), competitors aim to halt Google (GOOG) EU agreement, Reuters reports
HP (HPQ) considered pulling out of Autonomy deal, FT reports
Joy Global (JOY) current price may be good entry, Barron's says
SYNDICATE
Golar LNG (GLNG) offers 27.83M shares of common stock by World Shipholding
Golden Minerals (AUMN) announces proposed common stock, warrant offering
Harvest Natural (HNR) enters $75M equity distribution agreement
Michael Kors (KORS) offers 11.63M shares for Sportswear Holdings
PennantPark (PNNT) offers 11M shares of common stock
Sempra Energy (SRE) files automatic mixed securities shelf
Sensata (ST) offers 15.05M ordinary shares for holders
Tumi (TUMI) offers 8M shares of common stock for holders
iStar Financial (STAR) files automatic mixed securities shelf Reported by Zero Hedge 18 hours ago.
· Coalition Emerges to Battle Islamic State Militants (WSJ)
· Ukraine Gas Chief Takes on Gazprom in Race With Winter (BBG)
· Nato leaders fail to agree spending targets (FT)
· JPMorgan Had Exodus of Tech Talent Before Hacker Breach (BBG)
· Mercedes-Benz Sales Rise Despite Weak German Demand (WSJ)
· Secret Network Connects Harvard Money to Payday Loans (BBG)
· ICE looks to crack financial data market (FT)
· Pakistan opposition in talks with government to end political crisis (Reuters)
· Kids Slapped With 192-Pound Weight Tilt Qantas Plane Nose (BBG)
· Barclays, BofA, Citigroup Sued for ISDAfix Manipulation (BBG)
· Al-Qaeda in India Tests Modi’s Bid to Unite Muslims, Hindus (BBG)
· Uber’s ’Small Change’ Ban Reply May Anger German Judges (BBG)
· Virginia ex-governor, wife found guilty in corruption trial (Reuters)
*Overnight Media Digest*
WSJ
* American allies including the UK and France said they would help form an international military coalition to fight a growing threat from Islamic State militants. (http://on.wsj.com/1t6Kyi7)
* A hacker broke into part of the HealthCare.gov insurance enrollment website in July and uploaded malicious software, according to federal officials. Investigators found no evidence that consumers' personal data were taken or viewed during the breach, federal officials said. The hacker appears only to have gained access to a server used to test code for HealthCare.gov, the officials said. (http://on.wsj.com/Z8RXoB)
* Apple Inc said it plans additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts. In his first interview on the subject, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said celebrities' iCloud accounts were compromised when hackers correctly answered security questions to obtain their passwords or when they were victimized by a phishing scam to obtain user IDs and passwords. He said none of the Apple IDs and passwords leaked from the company's servers. (http://on.wsj.com/1puYPl3)
* Nvidia Corp opened a new front in the recent legal wars over mobile technology, filing suits accusing Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Qualcomm Inc of infringing patents that cover graphics chips. (http://on.wsj.com/1BfcsxB)
* The dollar hit its highest level in nearly six years against the yen Friday following the European Central Bank's surprise rate move overnight and as monetary policy in the United States and Japan hits a fork in the road. (http://on.wsj.com/WiV5MC)
* BP Plc was grossly negligent in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, a federal judge ruled, handing down a decision that could cost the company as much as $18 billion in pollution fines for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. (http://on.wsj.com/1pQrgzX)
* The credit-card industry is accelerating efforts to keep sensitive customer information out of the hands of merchants, as a rash of data breaches at major U.S. retailers erodes confidence in electronic payment systems. Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc are rolling out technology that replaces cardholder information such as account numbers and expiration dates with a unique series of numbers that validates the customer's identity. (http://on.wsj.com/1Bf9Vn3)
* Google Inc has agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint that it allowed children to rack up millions of dollars in charges in its mobile app store without their parents' knowledge or consent. Google will refund a minimum of $19 million to consumers whose children made purchases inside applications downloaded from the Google Play app store. Google will also modify its billing practices to ensure it obtains express consent before charging consumers for items sold in mobile apps. (http://on.wsj.com/Z9z6JZ)
* New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg finds himself in a very different situation as he comes back to run Bloomberg LP. The media company is hardly in crisis. It has solidified its position as a dominant provider of financial information, and its revenue and subscribers have jumped sharply in recent years. There are threats looming, however. Bloomberg is returning to a more competitive marketplace than the one he left in 2002 and to increasingly strained relations with the financial institutions that make up the company's core customer base. (http://on.wsj.com/1AcQtow)
* Caterpillar Inc's Progress Rail subsidiary, the subject of a federal criminal investigation, has lost railcar-repair contracts at some of the nation's busiest railroad terminals, including the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. (http://on.wsj.com/1qB6P8b)
* A panel of top regulators Thursday proposed giving MetLife Inc tougher government oversight, bringing the insurer and regulators a step closer to a possible legal showdown. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, led by the Treasury secretary, voted to propose labeling a nonbank financial company as "systemically important," the panel said in a statement released after a closed-door meeting. MetLife acknowledged it was the unnamed firm. (http://on.wsj.com/YgjZhy)
* U.S. regulators on Thursday approved a new kind of cancer drug from Merck & Co Inc that is designed to unleash the body's immune system against tumors. The drug is part of a long-anticipated wave of medicines that could transform cancer treatment and forge a large new market for pharmaceutical companies. (http://on.wsj.com/1ptUM8z)
* Walgreen Co scrambled to notify thousands of customers who had their prescriptions filled during a recent system crash, because errors might have left their labels unreadable. The drugstore chain found that its systems were printing labels with random characters in the instructions, making some hard to understand, said Chuck Greener, a spokesman for the company. (http://on.wsj.com/1oKFaNS)
* Steven Spielberg has hired Michael Wright, a cable-television veteran with no film-business experience to run his struggling studio DreamWorks SKG. Wright, who recently left his post as head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies amid strategy changes at Time Warner Inc's cable-TV unit, was named chief executive of DreamWorks on Thursday. (http://on.wsj.com/1o4eDMn)
FT
A U.S. court has ruled against BP Plc accusing it of gross negligence and wilful misconduct in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 that killed 11 people and caused the world's largest offshore oil spill, exposing it to fines of up to $18 billion.
Barclays Plc has become the first bank in the United Kingdom to launch a scanner that identifies customers by the unique vein patterns in their fingers, as the bank seeks to ramp up its fight against cyber crime and fraud.
The United Kingdom is moving to scale up its operations against the ISIL in Iraq after meeting with world leaders and members of NATO at the NATO summit in Wales and efforts in Westminster to begin generating support for more intervention.
Germany's telecom regulator and the European Commission are all set for a "war" over mobile termination fees, which generate millions of euros for some of Europe's largest cellular operators.
Mario Draghi startled markets on Thursday cutting interest rates to a record low and pledging to buy hundreds of billions of euros of private sector bonds in a dramatic move to save the eurozone from economic stagnation.
NYT
* After pitting five potential host states against one another in a quest for hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives, Tesla Motors Inc said Thursday that it had struck a deal with Nevada for construction of its sprawling factory to build batteries for electric cars and the power grid. (http://nyti.ms/1qsjADc)
* A federal judge determined that the BP Plc's conduct made it chiefly responsible for the oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers. United States District Court Judge Carl Barbier opened the possibility of $18 billion in new civil penalties for BP, nearly quadruple the maximum Clean Water Act penalty for simple negligence and far more than the $3.5 billion the company has set aside. (http://nyti.ms/1u4g3Mz)
* On Tuesday, Apple Inc will unveil a set of long-anticipated products: two iPhones with larger screens and a wearable computer that the media has nicknamed the iWatch. The so-called smartwatch, which is expected to include fitness tracking and wireless payment, will be the first new product unveiled under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who replaced Steve Jobs in 2011. (http://nyti.ms/1qiKJZo)
* The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first of an eagerly awaited new class of cancer drugs that unleashes the body's immune system to fight tumors. The drug, which Merck & Co Inc will sell under the name Keytruda, was approved for patients with advanced melanoma who have exhausted other therapies. (http://nyti.ms/1vUL9s3)
* Puerto Rico's electric power authority, which has been in negotiations with lenders over its debt burden, said on Thursday that it had hired the consulting firm AlixPartners to supervise its restructuring. (http://nyti.ms/1txvYEw)
* A federal panel is proposing to assign MetLife Inc to a club it does not want to join, by initially voting on Thursday to deem it a "systemically important financial institution" and thus subjecting it to more intensive regulation than most other life insurers. (http://nyti.ms/1Cw7XQD)
* Hackers breached security at the website of the government's health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, but did not steal any personal information on consumers, Obama administration officials said Thursday. (http://nyti.ms/1o3Ylms)
* Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, said on Thursday that the bank would soon start to buy bonds that are backed by loans made to consumers and companies. He did not say how much the central bank would be willing to spend on these loan-backed bonds. But the purchases could make up a substantial share of the roughly 1 trillion euros, or $1.3 trillion, that Draghi implied that the bank was prepared to spend. (http://nyti.ms/1Cw9pm4)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** The long-held dream of boosting exports of Alberta crude to Asia by the decade's end is fading, as multibillion-dollar pipelines get bogged down by local opposition and regulatory wrangling. Enbridge Inc signaled Thursday that its contentious Northern Gateway pipeline to the west coast is unlikely to start up by 2018 as planned. (bit.ly/1ty0bDo)
** Regulators in the United States have officially granted permission for the first human clinical trial of Canada's experimental Ebola vaccine. NewLink Genetics Corp, the Iowa-based drug company the public health agency of Canada licensed to produce the vaccine, announced Thursday that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start Phase 1 safety trials. (bit.ly/1wbmqwZ)
NATIONAL POST
** Canadian liquefied natural gas may soon be lighting up Hawaii, if plans to ship the super-chilled gas to the Pacific island state come to fruition. As 16 LNG consortiums consider investments on the West Coast, Kelowna, British Columbia-based FortisBC Energy Inc is expected to beat the traffic and start supplying LNG to Hawaiian Electric Company under a 15-year agreement starting mid-2017, subject to regulatory approvals. (bit.ly/1rcydH4)
** Canadian exports to the European Union have climbed a whopping 40 percent in the past year, more than double the increase in the value of shipments to the United States during the same period - although far behind our largest trading partner in total money terms. As impressive as the latest export numbers are, they do mask recent troubling developments in the EU economy. (bit.ly/1qjG21t)
** Mayor Rob Ford's campaign team accidentally released the mayor's wildly quixotic C$9 billion ($8.28 billion) transit plan online Tuesday night, hours before the mayor was due to make a rare policy announcement. The document was unavailable on the mayor's campaign website Wednesday morning, just minutes before the mayor was due to speak at his campaign headquarters. (bit.ly/1uCPzA0)
** Rob Ford has been subpoenaed to testify in an upcoming extortion trial linked to his use of crack cocaine. The mayor confirmed Thursday that a homicide detective personally served him with the subpoena at his home some time in the past several weeks. Ford said he could not remember exactly when the summons arrived, nor could he say when he was expected to appear in court. (bit.ly/YgIds3)
China
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
- China's anti-monopoly drive is continuing to gain pace, the official paper said on Friday, after the country's anti-trust agencies have shone the spotlight recently on sectors including medical devices, computer software and automotive.
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
- China's National Energy Administration (NEA) released another measure on Thursday to subsidize the country's hard-hit solar companies.
21st CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD
- China's far-western Xinjiang region will focus on developing its transportation industry in its thirteenth five-year plan, the local branch of the National Development Regulatory Commission (NDRC) said on Thursday.
CHINA DAILY
- The number of tourists visiting China is dropping, with the capital Beijing seeing a 6 percent fall in the first seven months of 2014, the China National Tourism Administration said.
- Chinese tourists spent $47 billion more overseas than the amount spent by foreign visitors in China in the first half of this year, according to a report by the Chinese Tourism Academy.
SHANGHAI DAILY
- China plans to overhaul its strict examination system in schools and universities by 2020, according to a notice from the country's State Council on Thursday. The reforms are aimed at easing the pressure on Chinese students.
- A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor has been detained after scamming patients out of 6 million yuan($977,469), a local Shanghai procuratorate said on Thursday.
Britain
The Times
PENNYCOOK TO LEAD CO-OP AFTER WINNING 'HEARTS AND MINDS'
The Co-operative Group has named Richard Pennycook, the interim boss who had previously counted himself out of the running for the top job, as new Chief Executive as it attempts to rebuild its reputation after a series of damaging financial crises. (http://thetim.es/1r9ULrO)
LET US COME HOME, SAY BRITISH JIHADISTS
Dozens of British jihadists have become so disillusioned with fighting in Syria that they have contacted the UK begging to come home. One jihadist, claiming to represent 30 Britons, approached an intermediary to complain of growing despondency among the men in his group. (http://thetim.es/1xhiW0p)
The Guardian
CBI FORECASTS SLOWING GROWTH FOR UK ECONOMY
Economic growth will slow in the second half of the year as the effect of improved confidence and better credit conditions starts to wear off, the CBI has predicted. (http://bit.ly/1prHIRl)
INVESTORS FIRE WARNING SHOT AT BETFAIR EXECUTIVE BONUSES
Nearly a third of shareholders in online betting exchange Betfair on Thursday voted against pay and bonus deals for Chief Executive Breon Corcoran. (http://bit.ly/1r9WygG)
The Telegraph
ROGUE TRADER JEROME KERVIEL TO LEAVE PRISON JUST 110 DAY INTO THREE-YEAR SENTENCE
Convicted rogue trader Jerome Kerviel has been told he can walk free from prison just 110 days into a three-year sentence. The former Societe Generale banker, who took the French lender to the brink of collapse with a series of risky bets, will be released from Fleury Merogis prison, just south of Paris, next week, an appeals court said yesterday. (http://bit.ly/Z93rZ9)
PHONES4U DEBTS UNDER REVIEW FOR DOWNGRADE AFTER SPLIT WITH VODAFONE
Phones4U suffered a new blow on Thursday as the ratings agency Moody's warned clients the mobile phone retailer was under review for a downgrade, a measure that could make more difficult for the heavily-indebted company to raise funds. (http://bit.ly/1AbW2Ud)
Sky News
NUCLEAR REACTORS MAY BE OFFLINE UNTIL 2015
Four nuclear reactors, which each provide 1 percent of Britain electricity, could be out of action until the end of the year due to safety fears. The announcement by EDF Energy, which owns the Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations, raised further concerns about the chances of blackouts during the winter following confirmation of actions to secure supplies by the National Grid. (http://bit.ly/1oIf6mz)
EUROZONE TEETERS AS ECB'S BAZOOKA IS HELD BACK
The European Central Bank's shock interest cut on Thursday, taking its benchmark policy rate from 0.15 percent to 0.05 percent, created drama on currency markets, sending the euro down against the US dollar by almost a full percentage point - a move seldom seen - to its lowest level for 14 months. (http://bit.ly/1r8QipB)
The Independent
CO-OP REVIVAL COULD TAKE FIVE YEARS, SAYS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Repairing the beleaguered Co-operative Group after two years of turmoil could take up to five years, the company's new head Richard Pennycook warned on Thursday. (http://ind.pn/1qg4WiC)
BRITISH OIL GIANT ACCUSED OF BRIBERY IN TUSSLE OVER AFRICA'S OLDEST NATIONAL PARK
Contractors and agents working on behalf of London-based oil company Soco International paid bribes to officials and rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo in their bid to explore for oil in Africa's oldest national park, according to anti-corruption activists. (http://ind.pn/1tvlAgn)
*Fly On The Wall Pre-Market Buzz*
ECONOMIC REPORTS
Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Nonfarm payrolls for August at 8:30--consensus up 230K
Unemployment rate for August at 8:30--consensus 6.1%
ANALYST RESEARCH
Upgrades
AllianceBernstein (AB) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill
BP (BP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup
Banco de Chile (BCH) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
Ciena (CIEN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Intralinks (IL) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel
Matrix Service (MTRX) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at First Analysis
SanDisk (SNDK) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
Southern Company (SO) upgraded to Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC
Statoil (STO) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC
Vertex (VRTX) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Downgrades
Alaska Air (ALK) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Coca-Cola HBC (CCHGY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Finisar (FNSR) downgraded to Buy from Strong Buy at Needham
LMI Aerospace (LMIA) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
Take-Two (TTWO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee
VeriFone (PAY) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Initiations
Actavis (ACT) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
Air Canada (AIDIF) initiated with an Outperform at Imperial Capital
Akamai (AKAM) initiated with a Buy at UBS
Alexion (ALXN) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Allegion (ALLE) initiated with a Buy at Buckingham
Allergan (AGN) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
America's Car-Mart (CRMT) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
Astronics (ATRO) initiated with a Buy at DA Davidson
Bonanza Creek (BCEI) initiated with an Outperform at Imperial Capital
Celgene (CELG) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Consumer Portfolio (CPSS) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Credit Acceptance (cacc) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
EZCORP (EZPW) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
Eaton (ETN) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
First Cash Financial (FCFS) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
GSV Capital (GSVC) initiated with an Outperform at JMP Securities
Incyte (INCY) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Ingersoll-Rand (IR) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
Insmed (INSM) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen
Intercept (ICPT) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen
JGWPT Holdings (JGW) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Lennox (LII) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
Mylan (MYL) initiated with a Hold at ISI Group
NBT Bancorp (NBTB) initiated with a Neutral at Sterne Agee
Parker-Hannifin (PH) initiated with a Buy at Buckingham
Pentair (PNR) initiated with a Neutral at Buckingham
Pharmacyclics (PCYC) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust
Plum Creek Timber (PCL) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan
Regional Management (RM) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Sabre (SABR) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer
Santander Consumer (SC) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
SpartanNash (SPTN) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
Springleaf (LEAF) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
Teva (TEVA) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
Valeant (VRX) initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
Weyerhaeuser (WY) initiated with a Neutral at JPMorgan
World Acceptance (WRLD) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies
bluebird bio (BLUE) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
COMPANY NEWS
Tesla (TSLA) officially selected Nevada as official site for battery gigafactory
MetLife (MET) said it "strongly disagrees" with the Financial Stability Oversight Council's preliminary designation of MetLife as a SIFI. "MetLife is not systemically important under the Dodd-Frank Act criteria," the company said
SandRidge (SD) announced a $200M share repurchase program
Gap (GPS) said August SSS declined 2%
FDA removed partial clinical hold on OncoMed (OMED) ipafricept
EARNINGS
Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
ACETO (ACET), Ambarella (AMBA), Culp (CFI), El Pollo Loco (LOCO), Verint Systems (VRNT), Infoblox (BLOX), SeaChange (SEAC), Zumiez (ZUMZ)
Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
bebe stores (BEBE)
Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Cooper Companies (COO), Finisar (FNSR)
NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES
Apple (AAPL) plans to warn users of attempts to hack iCloud, WSJ reports
Warner Bros. (TWX) to eliminate jobs 'at every level' across studio, Deadline Hollywood reports
New Dollar General (DG) offer might not woo Family Dollar (FDO), Reuters reports
Microsoft (MSFT), competitors aim to halt Google (GOOG) EU agreement, Reuters reports
HP (HPQ) considered pulling out of Autonomy deal, FT reports
Joy Global (JOY) current price may be good entry, Barron's says
SYNDICATE
Golar LNG (GLNG) offers 27.83M shares of common stock by World Shipholding
Golden Minerals (AUMN) announces proposed common stock, warrant offering
Harvest Natural (HNR) enters $75M equity distribution agreement
Michael Kors (KORS) offers 11.63M shares for Sportswear Holdings
PennantPark (PNNT) offers 11M shares of common stock
Sempra Energy (SRE) files automatic mixed securities shelf
Sensata (ST) offers 15.05M ordinary shares for holders
Tumi (TUMI) offers 8M shares of common stock for holders
iStar Financial (STAR) files automatic mixed securities shelf Reported by Zero Hedge 18 hours ago.
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Walgreens to Provide More Than 400,000 Free Flu Shot Vouchers to Help Protect Uninsured and Underinsured Americans During Flu Season
DEERFIELD, Ill. & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the fifth consecutive year, Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) is offering more than $10 million worth of flu shot vouchers free to those without health insurance coverage and unable to afford a flu shot without the voucher. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is again assisting in the voucher distribution effort to help improve flu immunization rates across the country. Each voucher is good for one flu shot at any Walgreens
Reported by Business Wire 18 hours ago.
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MRI Software Recognized as NorthCoast 99 Award Winner For the Eighth Year
The Cleveland-based MRI Software is proud to make the 2014 list of 99 “great workplaces for the top talent” in Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland, Ohio (PRWEB) September 05, 2014
MRI Software is proud to announce its standing as a 2014 NorthCoast 99 award-winner. Every year, the Employers Resource Council (ERC) honors 99 excellent workplaces in Northeast Ohio that endeavor to not only attract the top performers to work for their company, but also to facilitate high job satisfaction among their employees. Considered by many to be the most prestigious business-related award in Northeast Ohio, this is the eighth time that MRI Software has earned the NorthCoast 99 title.
“NorthCoast 99 is an annual recognition of Northeast Ohio companies that facilitate the attraction, retention and motivation of great employees, and we are thrilled that our ongoing efforts to create a great place to work have been formally recognized,” said Patrick Ghilani, CEO of MRI Software. “It is an honor to win this award for the eighth year.”
This is the 16th year for the NorthCoast 99 award, whose winners tend to have significant investments of time and money in their teams’ development, and a focus on creating a transparent, quality work environment for their employees. The program was developed and is presented by ERC, the area’s leading professional services organization dedicated to Compensation surveys, HR Help Desk, HR & Workplace compliance information, employee and management training, HR Consulting and health insurance for small and mid-size business.
“We’ve been very excited to see the stories from this year’s NorthCoast 99 winning organizations, and how they’ve created cultures for Top Performers to thrive. NorthCoast 99 has transformed from a workplace competition to a movement. We see it every day and are gratified that more and more local CEOs are shifting towards a great workplace strategy,” comments Pat Perry, ERC’s president.
To learn more about MRI Software, visit our website.
About MRI Software
MRI offers property management software solutions to the global property management and investment industries. As a leading provider of real estate enterprise software applications and hosted solutions, MRI serves the global multifamily and commercial property industries, helping them improve their bottom line and maximize their returns on their diverse business portfolios. MRI leverages its more than 40 years in business to develop long-term successful relationships with its clients. For more information, please visit http://www.mrisoftware.com. Reported by PRWeb 17 hours ago.
Cleveland, Ohio (PRWEB) September 05, 2014
MRI Software is proud to announce its standing as a 2014 NorthCoast 99 award-winner. Every year, the Employers Resource Council (ERC) honors 99 excellent workplaces in Northeast Ohio that endeavor to not only attract the top performers to work for their company, but also to facilitate high job satisfaction among their employees. Considered by many to be the most prestigious business-related award in Northeast Ohio, this is the eighth time that MRI Software has earned the NorthCoast 99 title.
“NorthCoast 99 is an annual recognition of Northeast Ohio companies that facilitate the attraction, retention and motivation of great employees, and we are thrilled that our ongoing efforts to create a great place to work have been formally recognized,” said Patrick Ghilani, CEO of MRI Software. “It is an honor to win this award for the eighth year.”
This is the 16th year for the NorthCoast 99 award, whose winners tend to have significant investments of time and money in their teams’ development, and a focus on creating a transparent, quality work environment for their employees. The program was developed and is presented by ERC, the area’s leading professional services organization dedicated to Compensation surveys, HR Help Desk, HR & Workplace compliance information, employee and management training, HR Consulting and health insurance for small and mid-size business.
“We’ve been very excited to see the stories from this year’s NorthCoast 99 winning organizations, and how they’ve created cultures for Top Performers to thrive. NorthCoast 99 has transformed from a workplace competition to a movement. We see it every day and are gratified that more and more local CEOs are shifting towards a great workplace strategy,” comments Pat Perry, ERC’s president.
To learn more about MRI Software, visit our website.
About MRI Software
MRI offers property management software solutions to the global property management and investment industries. As a leading provider of real estate enterprise software applications and hosted solutions, MRI serves the global multifamily and commercial property industries, helping them improve their bottom line and maximize their returns on their diverse business portfolios. MRI leverages its more than 40 years in business to develop long-term successful relationships with its clients. For more information, please visit http://www.mrisoftware.com. Reported by PRWeb 17 hours ago.
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PAUL KRUGMAN: Conservatives Want 'To Push Us Back To 1894'
New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman believes the conservative movement's "real goal" is to shift the entire country's social policies back 120 years.
"Their real goal is to push us back to 1894 — not even to 1924. So these are the stakes. This is really serious stuff," he declared Thursday night. "Never forget just how big this thing is."
The Nobel Prize-winning economist sat down for a discussion with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) at CUNY's Graduate Center in Manhattan. The two were pressed for their take on the U.S. Supreme Court's "Hobby Lobby" decision in June that ruled some "closely held" corporations had the right to deny insurance coverage for birth control.
Krugman, needless to say, was no fan of the decision. He argued the "outrageous" and "insane" ruling was based on the flawed premise that business owners could be shielded from certain government regulations based on their individual religious beliefs.
"We're telling you you have to provide health insurance. So if we can do that, we can say, 'Yeah, it has to be the standardized thing,'" he said. "This is an insane thing. And of course, where exactly doe the line end? ... How closely held does a corporation have to be when it ceases to be a person? I would say no corporation is a person — no matter what, no employer. Your role as an employer and your role as a person is not the same thing."
Krugman pivoted to a larger point and said the ruling must be viewed in the context of a "scary" conservative push on these sorts of issues.
"[We] should not be astonished to see this happening in 2014. The deep roots of what's going on in our political system is much bigger and much scarier. Of course, you have to have the political fight as you do on individual issues. But we are fighting something that is quite scary," he said.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 16 hours ago.
"Their real goal is to push us back to 1894 — not even to 1924. So these are the stakes. This is really serious stuff," he declared Thursday night. "Never forget just how big this thing is."
The Nobel Prize-winning economist sat down for a discussion with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) at CUNY's Graduate Center in Manhattan. The two were pressed for their take on the U.S. Supreme Court's "Hobby Lobby" decision in June that ruled some "closely held" corporations had the right to deny insurance coverage for birth control.
Krugman, needless to say, was no fan of the decision. He argued the "outrageous" and "insane" ruling was based on the flawed premise that business owners could be shielded from certain government regulations based on their individual religious beliefs.
"We're telling you you have to provide health insurance. So if we can do that, we can say, 'Yeah, it has to be the standardized thing,'" he said. "This is an insane thing. And of course, where exactly doe the line end? ... How closely held does a corporation have to be when it ceases to be a person? I would say no corporation is a person — no matter what, no employer. Your role as an employer and your role as a person is not the same thing."
Krugman pivoted to a larger point and said the ruling must be viewed in the context of a "scary" conservative push on these sorts of issues.
"[We] should not be astonished to see this happening in 2014. The deep roots of what's going on in our political system is much bigger and much scarier. Of course, you have to have the political fight as you do on individual issues. But we are fighting something that is quite scary," he said.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 16 hours ago.
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