The FDA and Congress share the blame for outrageous EpiPen prices—commentary

The FDA and Congress share the blame for outrageous EpiPen prices—commentary: "Let's take a little journey down memory lane so that Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton and Mylan's contemplable board can get on the same page!

When George Calkins and Stanley Sarnoff invented the EpiPen forbearer in 1973, they acknowledged that their ideas were improvements upon work commissioned for the U.S. and U.K. military emergency medicine needs in the 1960s! That the U.S. Patent Office granted their patent in 1973 was, at the time, a bit of a stretch as it was more about a mechanical design improvement – not a real invention. This technology, used in the military and in EMS kits around the world was the basis for their company.

As the U.S. government was a principal buyer of anaphylaxis injector pens and funded a considerable amount of the technical improvements thereto, the U.S. government has march-in rights to use the technology at a reasonable commercial royalty rate it can set!

The U.S. government's EpiPens don't cost $608 per unit. Meridian Medical Technologies – the Department of Defense's supplier of the actual EpiPen (owned by Pfizer) – sell the same technology dispensing numerous anaphylaxis drugs to the U.S. government for under $50 a unit.

Epinephrine, the drug in the EpiPen has been off patent for decades. It's the dispenser — the actual injection pen — that's covered by a patent (U.S. Patent 7,794,432) that Meridian received and then licensed to Mylan (and others).

And let's face it, Congress knows about this. The FDA knows this. And the reason why Mylan gets away with this – just like they get away with incorporating out of the U.S. using the dubious inversion strategy for tax efficiency – is because powers that be love to provide liquidity to their benefactors!

The U.S. Patent Office and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have given Mylan license to extract excessive benefit from public that needs treatment options. Pfizer's Meridian Medical is cruising along under the radar with a very clear statement on their website stating that their technology is "Available only for use by United States military personnel." And Sarah Jessica Parker is keeping the Hollywood face on the whole racket unaware that what she's encouraging parents and school districts to do is really to enrich a dubious corporation while preying on real public fear."



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State pension fund gap to top $1 trillion

State pension fund gap to top $1 trillion: "After years of not setting aside enough money, state pension funds are looking at a $1 trillion shortfall in what they owe workers in benefits, according to a new analysis from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
State retirement systems caught a break with strong investment returns in fiscal 2014, but the gap is expected to top $1 trillion in fiscal 2015, the last fiscal year with full results."



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Market underpricing risk in post-Brexit world, says Nobel-winner Joseph Stiglitz

Market underpricing risk in post-Brexit world, says Nobel-winner Joseph Stiglitz: "The EU made a mistake by prioritizing the formation of a currency union over democratizing decision-making and forging a stronger European Parliament to balance the power of the bureaucracy, he said. As a result, he added, the EU is seen as little more than a bureaucracy.
Stiglitz said he is pessimistic European leaders can summon the political will to take relatively simple economic steps to save the euro, such as a creating banking union and coordinating fiscal policy.

In his view, one alternative to a divorce is a "flexible euro" that would bind smaller regions of Europe with more similar economic growth rates into smaller currency unions. That could result in the adoption of a northern and southern euro, he said.

In that scenario, the greater European Union could revisit the idea of a broader currency union if the requisite institutions develop and if exchange rates between the multiple euros converge, he said."



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Now we know the real reason Aetna bailed on Obamacare

From Business Insider - 08/17/16

http://www.businessinsider.com/aetna-humana-merger-reason-for-leaving-obamacare-2016-8

"As we add new territories, given the additional startup costs of each new territory, we will incur additional losses," the letter said. "Our ability to withstand these losses is dependent on our achieving anticipated synergies in the Humana acquisition."

Additionally, the letter seemed to foretell the move on Monday. Here's the key passage(emphasis added):

"Our analysis to date makes clear that if the deal were challenged and/or blocked we would need to take immediate actions to mitigate public exchange and ACA small group losses.Specifically, if the DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction, we will immediately take action to reduce our 2017 exchange footprint.

"We currently plan, as part of our strategy following the acquisition, to expand from 15 states in 2016 to 20 states in 2017. However, if we are in the midst of litigation over the Humana transaction, given the risks described above, we will not be able to expand to the five additional states.

"In addition, we would also withdraw from at least five additional states where generating a market return would take too long for us to justify, given the costs associated with a potential breakup of the transaction. In other words, instead of expanding to 20 states next year, we would reduce our presence to no more than 10 states."

In other words, the cost of fighting the DOJ would make Aetna unable to sustain the losses incurred from the public exchanges.

Fidelity presses case for student debt tax break

Fidelity presses case for student debt tax break: "Fidelity, the Boston-based financial group, has been quietly lobbying politicians and White House officials in favour of a new tax break that would encourage employers to help pay off employees' student debts.

The company, which manages or administers $5.2tn in assets on behalf of savers, has thrown its weight behind plans that could put student loan repayments alongside pension contributions and healthcare as a tax-free benefit offered by employers.

More from the Financial Times:
|Trump loses his shine in Pennsylvania
The return of American exceptionalism
Clinton targets Trump on Republican turf

Supporters of the plans say they are vital to tackle a US student debt mountain that has almost tripled in a decade to $1.3tn, while Fidelity hopes to gain because the sooner graduates pay down their loans, the sooner they are likely to start investing and saving for their retirement."



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What's the real unemployment rate?

What's the real unemployment rate?: "In July, average hourly wages were up to $25.69. Average weekly wages rose to $886.31."



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Mind The "GAAP" (Or How The Game Is Really 'Rigged') | Zero Hedge

Mind The "GAAP" (Or How The Game Is Really 'Rigged') | Zero Hedge: "While we agree with Warren, the problem is that the issue goes much deeper.  Even within the confines of "GAAP" reporting, CFO's have a number of levers that can be pulled to "manage" earnings.  Aggressive accrual policies, while they might technically be GAAP-compliant, make it pretty easy to move expenses from the P&L to the balance sheet...and the best part of all is that when accruals get too bloated then they can be expensed in a 1x charge that wall street conveniently adds back as "extraordinary."  The bottom line is that the game is rigged and if you're going to play it then you better be well trained at finding the shenanigans.  "



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Jim Cramer Wipes Out Retail Investors After Bristol Myers Plummets | Zero Hedge

Jim Cramer Wipes Out Retail Investors After Bristol Myers Plummets | Zero Hedge: "So much for the "dividend" trade.. "paid to wait"... "bond-like-stocks" - BMY just wiped out 7 years of dividends in 30 minutes!!"



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Where The July Jobs Were: "Obamacare Again Offset Weak Industrial, Consumer Sector" | Zero Hedge

Where The July Jobs Were: "Obamacare Again Offset Weak Industrial, Consumer Sector" | Zero Hedge: "While last month's outlier spike in Information-related jobs, which saw 42K tech sector created in June, has come and gone, the breakdown of the July job additions confirms that some recently well-known trends continue, namely that the bulk of new jobs added remain in low-paying industries. Not only that, but some frank question marks emerge, like for example how did the government add 27K education jobs in July (out of a toal 38K) at a time when schools don't hire. The answer: seasonal adjustments and model quirks."

While last month's outlier spike in Information-related jobs, which saw 42K tech sector created in June, has come and gone, the breakdown of the July job additions confirms that some recently well-known trends continue, namely that the bulk of new jobs added remain in low-paying industries. Not only that, but some frank question marks emerge, like for example how did the government add 27K education jobs in July (out of a toal 38K) at a time when schools don't hire. The answer: seasonal adjustments and model quirks.

So where were the July jobs? As our friends at Southbay Research point out, "Obamacare jobs offset weak Industrial and Consumer payrolls"

The breakdown:

• Consumer demand is wobbly
  • Construction: Weak
  • Retail: Weak
• Industrial Sector and related ecosystem remains weak but has bottomed
  • Mining (-7K)
  • Manufacturing (+9K)
  • Truck & Rail (+1k)
  • Temp (+17K)
• Obamacare to the rescue: Healthcare +49K
  • Leisure & Hospitality (+45K) surges on extra convention-related hiring
• Construction: Despite claims of a strong housing market, Construction payrolls are the weakest since 2012, consistent with SouthBay data which shows a sudden sharp decline in hiring at homebuilders. Reflecting the slowdown, Building Material Retail jobs were also weak (-1K).
• Retail (+15K): Peak Auto sales is evident in Auto payrolls (+1K)
• Temp (+17K)
• Election Year Payrolls: Advertising (+3K)

And the full breakdown:

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New Tool for Central Banks: Buying Corporate Bonds - WSJ

New Tool for Central Banks: Buying Corporate Bonds - WSJ: "New Tool for Central Banks: Buying Corporate Bonds
Bank of England to purchase up to £10 billion in corporate loans
By SAM GOLDFARB And CHRISTOPHER WHITTALL
Aug. 4, 2016 6:37 p.m. ET
Central banks have a new favorite tool for boosting lackluster growth: corporate-debt purchases."



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Household chores not the reason why many marriages split after all

Household chores not the reason why many marriages split after all: "The new research is based on data from 6,300 married couples who were interviewed between 1968 and 2013.

Because so many marriage battles are fought over chores, two findings were notable:

Among couples who married before 1975, the risk of divorce went up when women did a smaller amount of housework.
Among the couples who married after 1975, only the husband's employment status strongly affected the risk of divorce.
It's unclear why the husband's job loss is so important when it comes to divorce.

"I could speculate that losing a job might bring with it depression or some other kinds of mental health issues," Killewald said.

There is some suggestion in the data that among couples where both spouses work full time, divorce is less likely if the man shoulders more household chores. But that finding could be due to chance, she said.

The link between a husband's job loss and a higher risk of divorce doesn't surprise Daniel Shaw, chair and professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.

"The study is interesting because it suggests that males are still expected to bring home the bacon to some extent," says Shaw, who is unaffiliated with the new research."



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