Is It True? Do Doctors Really Loathe Obamacare?

Is It True? Do Doctors Really Loathe Obamacare?: "Chief Complaints Concern Payments
The primary criticism doctors have of Obamacare centers around money."



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Why the AMA Endorses Obamacare—But Your Doctor Does Not | TheBlaze.com

Why the AMA Endorses Obamacare—But Your Doctor Does Not | TheBlaze.com: "The answer, as in most cases, involves following the money. There was a time, up until the 1980’s, that the AMA made most of its revenue from physician dues. In those days, presumably, they cared about the issues that negatively affected physicians, and by extension, the practice of medicine and patient care. In 1963, when the AMA was not given equal time to rebut President Kennedy’s Madison Square Garden speech arguing for Medicare, the AMA rented the empty Garden, and then President Dr. Edward Annis made an impassioned televised plea, exhorting Americans to avoid the trap of socialized health care.

Today’s AMA is a different animal. This year, only 15 percent of practicing physicians are members, down from 75 percent in the 1950s. Between 2008 and 2010, membership declined by 5 percent. But, in spite of hemorrhaging members, the organization has done financially better than ever. Between 1987 and 1999, the organization was variably “in the red”, and never reported over $7.6 million in yearly profit, but, beginning in 2000, for twelve consecutive years the organization has consistently operated “in the black.” Reporting record net incomes of $39.8 million in 2005, and most recently $24.7 million profit in 2011.

Now, if this were a restaurant with diminishing customers and record returns, the Feds would investigate the owner– suspecting money laundering or drugs. So what is the AMA’s secret?  In the mid 1980’s, the AMA, in a brilliant business move, created a coding system that all doctors and hospitals required to bill the government or private insurance: the CPT codebook. And, as the codification of medicine required more and more paperwork, the AMA was more than happy to step in and supply electronic systems to help both the government and the doctors all at a price, of course."



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Bob Dylan wins 2016 Nobel Prize in literature- YES!!!

Bob Dylan wins 2016 Nobel Prize in literature: "Bob Dylan, regarded as the voice of a generation for his influential songs from the 1960s onwards, has won the Nobel Prize for Literature in a surprise decision that made him the only singer-songwriter to win the award.

The 75-year-old Dylan — who won the prize for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition" — now finds himself in the company of Winston Churchill, Thomas Mann and Rudyard Kipling as Nobel laureates.

The announcement was met with gasps in Stockholm's stately Royal Academy hall, followed — unusually — by some laughter.

Dylan's songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are a-Changin'," "Subterranean Homesick Blues," and "Like a Rolling Stone" captured a spirit of rebellion, dissent and independence.

More than 50 years on, Dylan is still writing songs and is often on tour, performing his dense poetic lyrics, sung in a sometimes rasping voice that has been ridiculed by detractors.

Some lyrics have resonated for decades."



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China sends a chill through world markets - CBS News

China sends a chill through world markets - CBS News: "Data showed that China’s exports last month fell 10 percent from a year earlier in U.S. dollar terms, compared with a 2.8 percent fall in August. The drop was wider than expected. Analysts forecast a fall of 3.3 percent.

Imports also dropped 1.9 percent last month, after a 1.5 percent gain in August, due to lower shipments of key commodities such as iron ore and copper.

“China’s exports weakened last month on the back of subdued external demand. At the same time, import growth returned to negative territory, raising questions over the strength of the recent recovery in domestic demand,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics. “This could be an early sign that the recent recovery in economic activity is losing momentum.”"



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Chinese Banks Will Need $1.7 Trillion To Cover Bad Debt Deluge, S&P Calculates | Zero Hedge

Chinese Banks Will Need $1.7 Trillion To Cover Bad Debt Deluge, S&P Calculates | Zero Hedge: "For now Beijing's response has been mostly optical. On Monday, the Politburo announced a series of guidelines aimed at cutting company debt levels which some fear could destabilise the world's second largest economy.  Encouraging mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies, debt-to-equity swaps and debt securitisation are some of the measures intended to improve credit allocation and stop wasteful spending in the economy.  The problem is that all those "other" market participants, mostly SOE banks, for whom the soon to be impaired debt is an asset, will need lots of cash, as much as $2 trillion according to S&P, to offset the hole on the balance sheet.

How China's banks will raise this amount is unclear.

"We expect further deterioration in the credit strength of state owned enterprises as they continue with their debt-funded expansion," S&P Global's report said. "High leverage in corporates will likely constrain investments and aggregate demand.""



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Did Warren Buffett surprise Trump, and others, with his response? - CSMonitor.com

Did Warren Buffett surprise Trump, and others, with his response? - CSMonitor.com: "As to Trump’s decision to withhold his tax returns due to an audit, Buffett says that due to 2010 creation of the IRS’ “Wealth Squad,” many high earners are audited each year. But that presents no legal barrier to sharing tax returns, he says.

“I have been audited by the IRS multiple times and am currently being audited. I have no problem in releasing my tax information while under audit,” said Buffett.

“Neither would Mr. Trump – at least he would have no legal problem.”"



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China Has Quietly Bailed Out Over $220 Billion In Bad Debt In The Past 2 Months | Zero Hedge

China Has Quietly Bailed Out Over $220 Billion In Bad Debt In The Past 2 Months | Zero Hedge: "And then today we learned that not only was China going through with this epic debt-for-equity swap, but it has already equitized over $220 billion in non-performing loans.

Note: these are not traditional, Chapter 11 prepacks where the debt is converted into equity and the debt holder gets the keys to the company. In this case, it is the Chinese government itself which indirectly via state-owned banks, has become the de facto owner of countless companies."



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Contra Corner » China Accelerates Bad Debt Writeoffs: The Ponzi Fractures Widen

Contra Corner » China Accelerates Bad Debt Writeoffs: The Ponzi Fractures Widen: "The five biggest Chinese banks, which account for more than half of all loans in the country, removed Rmb59bn ($9.5bn) from their books in debts that could not be collected, according to their 2013 results. That was up 127 per cent from 2012, and the highest since the banks were rescued from insolvency, recapitalised and publicly listed over the past decade.

The sharp acceleration in write-offs is the latest indication of the turbulence now buffeting China’s financial system. The bond market suffered its first true default in March, two high-profile shadow bank investment products were spared from collapse by last-minute bailouts earlier this year, and a small rural lender suffered a brief bank run last week.

Data also point to a deeper economic downturn in the first quarter than expected, putting China on track this year for its slowest growth since 1990."



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Money: China banks write off $300 billion in bad loans: official - British Express

Money: China banks write off $300 billion in bad loans: official - British Express: "Chinese banks have written off more than $300 billion of bad loans in the past three years, an official said Thursday as Beijing seeks to reassure investors that the country can cope with its mounting debt problem."



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Chinese Banks Step Up Bad-Loan Write-Offs - WSJ

Chinese Banks Step Up Bad-Loan Write-Offs - WSJ: "The country’s top four banks collectively wrote off 130.3 billion yuan ($19.5 billion) of bad loans in the first half of 2016, 44% more than in the same period a year earlier."



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Donald Trump’s Ventures Began With a Lot of Hype. Here’s How They Turned Out.

Donald Trump’s Ventures Began With a Lot of Hype. Here’s How They Turned Out.: "Of the roughly 60 endeavors started or promoted by Mr. Trump during the period analyzed, The Times found few that went off without a hitch. One-third of them either never got off the ground or soon petered out. Another third delivered a measure of what was promised — buildings were built, courses taught, a product introduced — but they also encountered substantial problems, like lawsuits, government investigations, partnership woes or market downturns.

The remaining third, while sometimes encountering strife, generally met expectations — notably the television show "The Apprentice" and the purchases of numerous golf courses, including properties near Philadelphia and in the Hudson Valley.

In interviews, Mr. Trump disputed some of the characterizations, saying that, among other things, some projects that might appear to be failures were successes, for him at least, because he often made his money upfront, through fees for the use of the Trump name. "



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Feds say Mylan overcharged for EpiPen - The Boston Globe

Feds say Mylan overcharged for EpiPen - The Boston Globe: "Feds say Mylan overcharged for EpiPen

Mylan NV for years overcharged the US Medicaid health program for its EpiPen shot, the government said Wednesday. From 2011 to 2015, the joint state-federal program for the poor spent about $797 million on EpiPens, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Wednesday. That included rebates of about 13 percent. But the United States should have been getting a larger discount of at least 23.1 percent. While the agency didn’t say exactly how much Mylan had overcharged, the amount could be substantial. Under law, companies are required to give Medicaid back any price increases they take on brand drugs above the rate of inflation, in addition to the 23.1 percent discount. Mylan, after acquiring the drug in 2007, has raised the price of EpiPen by about sixfold, to over $600 for a package of two. The government has in the past “expressly told Mylan that the product is incorrectly classified,” CMS said in the letter, which came in response to an inquiry by Congress.
— BLOOMBERG NEWS"



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John Bruton reviews The Euro by Joseph Stiglitz: there are two sides to this coin

John Bruton reviews The Euro by Joseph Stiglitz: there are two sides to this coin: "Wishful thinking lay behind the decision to have a single Europe-wide money, but to leave the supervision of banks, who create the money in the form of credit, to 17 different national authorities. This happened because Germany wanted a German authority to supervise German banks, and not a Europe-wide one. And it was these poorly supervised German banks who led the way in the mistaken cross-border lending to Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal."



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Brexit recession fears fade as UK service sector beats forecasts – as it happened | Business | The Guardian

Brexit recession fears fade as UK service sector beats forecasts – as it happened | Business | The Guardian: "Brexit recession fears fade as UK service sector beats forecasts – as it happened
UK services companies say new business picked up in September, easing fears that June’s referendum has triggered a downturn"



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Eurozone PMI at 20-month low as growth slows in Germany, Italy and Spain

https://www.markiteconomics.com/Survey/PressRelease.mvc/844a1c95437e4c9b871c5a4939a80f88



Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS
Markit said:
“While the PMI surveys suggest the eurozone
economy continued to grow at a 0.3% rate in the
third quarter, there are signs that momentum is
waning. September’s expansion was the smallest
since the start of last year.
“The slowing rate of growth across the region in
part reflects growing caution among businesses in
terms of their spending due to worries about the
economic outlook, linked in many cases to political
uncertainty. We see this trend persisting into next
year, as the impact of Brexit is exacerbated by
uncertainty surrounding elections in France and
Germany alongside ongoing political unrest in Italy
and Spain.
“While we see the eurozone economy expanding by
1.6% in 2016, even this modest growth is looking
unattainable in 2017 given the heightened political
uncertainty that lies ahead.
“Of the four largest euro states, only France is
showing signs of its upturn gaining momentum, with
growth trending lower in Germany, Italy and Spain.
The latter remains the stand-out performer,
however, with the PMI pointing to 0.6% GDP
growth in the third quarter, double the 0.3% rate of
expansion signalled for both France and Germany.
Italy is perhaps the greatest concern, with the PMI
indicating a near stalling of economic growth to just
0.1% in the third quarter.”



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