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Showing posts with label Bus Econ Obamanomics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bus Econ Obamanomics. Show all posts

Thursday, August 18, 2016

The Hill: Aetna pulling back from ObamaCare in blow to health law

The Hill: Aetna pulling back from ObamaCare in blow to health law


In a blow to the healthcare law, Aetna — one of the largest health insurers in the country — announced Monday that it will significantly scale back its presence on the ObamaCare marketplaces next year.

The move comes as a range of insurers have complained of financial losses on the ObamaCare marketplaces.
The company said it will scale back from participating in 15 states this year to just four states in 2017.

“As a strong supporter of public exchanges as a means to meet the needs of the uninsured, we regret having to make this decision,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said in a statement, citing a loss of $200 million in the second quarter.

The Obama administration argued the move is not a sign that the ObamaCare marketplaces are in trouble.

“Aetna’s decision to alter its Marketplace participation does not change the fundamental fact that the Health Insurance Marketplace will continue to bring quality coverage to millions of Americans next year and every year after that,” said the administration’s ObamaCare marketplace CEO, Kevin Counihan.

The move comes on the heels of pullbacks from other major insurers, including UnitedHealthcare and Humana.


The insurers have raised concerns about the sustainability of the ObamaCare marketplaces. Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/291531-aetna-pulling-back-from-obamacare-in-blow-to-health-law
*****

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

WaPo: the ObamaCare component of President Obama’s legislative legacy


WaPo: the ObamaCare component of President Obama’s legislative legacy

August 16, 2016 / Kevin Dayhoff

When I was younger I loved writing about such things as the practice of medicine in Carroll County history and presidential history. Nowadays, not so much. But this is a rather fascinating academic assessment of one aspect of President Obama’s legislative legacy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/obama-legacy/obamacare.html?wpisrc=nl_evening&wpmm=1 “Obama’s legislative legacy comes down to this question: What if?” by Mike DeBonis:

“President Obama’s landmark health-care law came with a steep political cost, leaving a host of questions about his legislative legacy: Could health-care reform have been done in a different way? Could Democrats have kept control of Congress for another two years or more? Was Obamacare worth it?”

Anyway, I would rather have a root canal than talk with even good friends about the presidential election.

I recently read a piece on Facebook by a pastor that I have always looked-up to, who chastised another pastor for wading into the political waters because he advocated voting for a particular candidate.

Then this pastor proceeded to say disparaging things about one party and write glowingly about the other party. He essentially committed the same offense, only it was okay that he did it because he advocated voting for the opposite party than the pastor he had just chastised for advocating a political position... 

When I ask many folks that have left mainstream denominational churches, why they left; I hear several themes consistently. One they got tired of hearing that they ought to contribute more money to the church. And two, they did not want to hear from pastors about politics when they went to church.

As for President Obama’s legislative legacy - I know that if I ever went back into political office, I would sidestep some of the issues I took-on head-on years ago when I was an elected official. The price was simply far too high. I will forever shake my head over some of the legislative initiatives of past presidents. You would think that at that level of accomplishment, one would learn to avoid the perils and pitfalls of political third-rails.

For some additional context on the legacy of ObamaCare, read a recent article in The Hill on "Aetna pulling back from ObamaCare in blow to health law - In a blow to the health care law, Aetna -- one of the largest health insurers in the country -- announced Monday that it will significantly scale back its presence on the ObamaCare marketplaces next year..." Find it here: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/291531-aetna-pulling-back-from-obamacare-in-blow-to-health-law

Well, I am not a fan of Aetna – so I am not sure if this is a good thing or not…

Moreover, it is still far too early to determine the historic legacy of President Obama. Just like, for example, President John F. Kennedy and Harry Truman; from an historian’s point of view, some aspects of these administrations have stood the test of time well. Some not so much. I mean what in the world was President Truman thinking when he tried to nationalize the steel making industry? My partisan friends will not be amused to learn that presidential historians have come to consider President Bill Clinton as a conservative president and President Nixon a liberal president. Go figure.

Nevertheless, in addition to the recent article on the ObamaCare marketplaces, a number of business periodicals have carried recent articles that explain that once again, this year, the rise in the cost of healthcare is greater that wage increases.

For those of us who felt strongly that health insurance companies had abrogated its social contract with the greater community and that healthcare reform was an absolute necessity; many feel that we have taken two steps forward and three steps back. Take for example, pre-existing conditions. The position of the insurance industry to deny coverage to individuals because of pre-existing conditions, was nuts.

In the last several years I have worked closely with the healthcare delivery system on behalf of several family members and loved ones and my reaction is a mixed-bag.

Several steps into the local hospital and one enters a wormhole in which you quickly find that you are no longer in Carroll County. An esteemed local community leader who commented with the implicit understanding that he would remain anonymous, has recently reassessed his past glowing perception of the hospital and explained that today, “it is a very angry place. Avoid it.”

I have witnessed a number of folks retain attorneys before beginning negotiations with issues with respect to old-age care. In an era when many doubt that government can anything well, Medicare continues to be efficient and effective – but extraordinarily nuanced and complex. Regular folks going to the hospital do not stand a chance and they learn quickly that the social worker health care advocates are not on your side.


Anyway, give “Obama’s legislative legacy comes down to this question: What if?” by Mike DeBonis a read. At a time when so much partisan drivel is passed-off as journalism, Mr. DeBonis has presented non-partisan history junkies with a good read. Just saying. 
*****

Friday, May 20, 2016

Washington Post: Millions more workers will be eligible for overtime pay under new federal rule

Washington Post: Millions more workers will be eligible for overtime pay under new federal rule


Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and President Obama will announce a new rule Wednesday that will expand the number of workers eligible for overtime pay. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

The Obama administration unveiled a new rule Wednesday that will make millions of middle-income workers eligible for overtime pay, a move that delivers a long-sought victory for labor groups.

The regulations, which were last updated more than a decade ago, would let full-time salaried employees earn overtime if they make up to $47,476 a year, more than double the current threshold of $23,660 a year. The Labor Department estimates that the rule would boost the pay of 4.2 million additional workers.

The change is scheduled to take effect Dec. 1.

The move caps a long-running effort by the Obama administration to aid low- and middle-income workers whose paychecks have not budged much in the last few decades, even as the top earners in America have seen their compensation soar. The last update to the rules came in 2004, and Wednesday’s announcement is the third update to the salary threshold for overtime regulations in 40 years.

“Along with health care reform, this is one of the most important measures that the Obama administration has implemented to help middle-wage workers,” said Jared Bernstein, a former chief economist for Vice President Biden and a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The Obama administration will unveil a new rule that would make millions of middle-income workers eligible for overtime pay. Here's what you need to know about it. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

About 35 percent of full-time salaried employees will be eligible for time and a half when they work extra hours under the new rule, up significantly from the 7 percent who qualify under the current threshold, according to the Labor Department.

The shift was swiftly criticized by small business owners, nonprofit groups, and universities that say they may have to switch some salaried workers to hourly positions to afford the new threshold. And instead of seeing bigger paychecks, some salaried workers may be assigned fewer hours, they said.

“For many of these types of employees they’re going to be viewing it as a demotion,” said David French, senior vice president of government relations for the National Retail Federation. “They’re going to have to clock in and clock out. They’re no longer going to have flexibility at work.”


*****

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

An Insurer Wants to Raise Its Obamacare Premiums by 85 Percent. Don't Sweat It. by Jordan Weissmann


Under Obamacare, health insurance companies that want to jack up their premiums by more than 10 percent in a year are required to submit their requests to state and federal regulators for review. 

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted all of those petitions online in an easily searchable database, which revealed that a number of insurers are, in fact, asking for double-digit rate hikes. 

As Politico notes, some large plans could theoretically get 20 or even 30 percent more expensive. 

The New York Times found one insurer in Georgia looking to up its premiums by as much as 85 percent. The Wall Street Journal, which reported on the news earlier after states began making the filings public, thinks it is "setting the stage for an intense debate this summer over the law’s impact."

[…]



*****

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Obamacare cost shockwave hits local schools equals bad news for Congressional Democrats

Americans for Limited Government:

Obamacare cost shockwave hits local schools equals bad news for Congressional Democrats
By Rick Manning
Calvert County, Maryland is a small, wealthy exurban enclave of Washington, DC, wedged between the Chesapeake Bay and the historic Patuxent River. 
A tradition rich locale whose county flag features a tobacco leaf symbolizing the historic crop that dominated the landscape even into the 21st century, the County school system is one of the best in the state.
But now the school system has a problem – Obamacare. 
The system faces a 13.7 percent increase in health care costs next year, as previously uncovered substitute teachers get covered and the overall policy costs are higher.
A Southern Maryland News article by Sara Newman spells out the bad news for everyone in the school system.   Victoria Karol, the District's acting director of human resources explains that there is hope that the County will be able to deal with the costs through negotiations with the teacher and administrator unions.
"We're going to have to work closely with those other unions and develop a health care committee," Victoria Karol said. "We're going to have to open a health care article next year in negotiations to help with this."
Newman quotes Nancy Highsmith, the newly appointed interim superintendent for the Schools as predicting, "There's no doubt we have got to bring health care on the table next year during negotiations. We cannot sustain this."
But Highsmith is not just looking toward the teacher's union, but also is targeting taxpayers who fund the District through taxes paid to the Calvert County government saying, "These are going to be very serious conversations we have to have with the county commissioners."
Calvert County Commissioner Evan Slaughenhoupt responds to these school administrators saying, "We've been able to stretch during this economic downturn and could be at the precipice of where discussions about reducing services could become a reality. Both the school system and the county employees performed extraordinarily at high standards while we have absorbed reduced revenue and increased costs. Time is of the essence now to prepare for the upcoming fiscal years."
This is the exact type of discussion that school districts and local governments are having across the nation as the reality of Obamacare hits their budgets.  How do they pay for it?
Should teachers and administrators be forced to pay the additional costs through increased deductions in paycheck deductions, should taxpayers pay higher taxes, or should there be budget cuts that impact the education, police, fire and social services that local government provides their constituents?
At a time when Obamacare supporters, like Calvert County's U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer, double down in support of the law, this new reality and the choices being forced upon local elected officials hit home for their constituents. 
As former House Speaker Tip O'Neill famously noted, "all politics is local."  Now that Obamacare is impacting local schools and public services, that truism promises disaster for those who foisted it upon the public and continue to refuse to repeal it.
Just a small lessen from the geographically smallest county in the deepest blue state of Maryland.
Rick Manning is vice president of public policy and communications for Americans for Limited Government and a resident of Calvert County, Maryland.
*****

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Washington Post: Affordable Care Act enrollment drops off in February

BY JASON MILLMAN March 11, 2014

About 4.2 million people have signed up for health plans on Obamacare exchanges through the end of February. That makes it unlikely that the Obama administration will hit the estimate of 6 million enrollees by the end of March.

Whatever momentum was building in January appeared to drop off in February. The numbers -- which were released a day before Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on the Hill -- also show young people aren't enrolling at rates officials had predicted. That group is key because they are generally presumed to be healthier and less costly.

Read more at: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/11/obamacare-bummer-enrollment-drops-off-in-february/ 
*****

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Md Senator David Brinkley: More than $100 million spent with nothing to show for it

More than $100 million spent with nothing to show for it


February 11, 2014

Dear Kevin-  

Senator
 David R. Brinkley
Maryland has become known as a test kitchen for liberal policies. After the passage of Obamacare in DC, Maryland spent more than $100 million to voluntarily set up and market its own exchange. Led by Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Democrats in Annapolis patted themselves on the back for leading the way. Yet, when these health care exchange web sites went live last fall,Maryland's site made the Federal rollout look like a success.  Hard to believe, isn't it?

Now Maryland is scrambling to find a way to clean up this mess and help the many Marylanders who lost their existing health care plan and could not sign up for a new plan on the State's exchange web site.

I am leading the call for a full independent investigation to uncover how these millions of tax dollars were spent and who is responsible for the mess. Only through an independent investigation with the power to subpoena will we be able to learn the truth. The Democrats are avoiding investigating this and getting the answers we as citizens deserve until this summer, conveniently timed after the Primary Election.

As always, if I can ever be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me in Annapolis or my District office.  

Sincerely, 
 
Senator David Brinkley  
  

Senator Brinkley in the News . . .
 
"Two-hundred-sixty million dollars through all these appropriations and we still don't have something that's working . . . " Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley said. 

The Baltimore Sun - February 3, 2014 - "Mr. Brown Gets a Reprieve" [Editorial] 
. . . Frankly, the best idea we've heard so far is from Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley who called for an independent probe. That was good enough for the Democrats when they weren't happy with hiring and firing practices in the administration of Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. nine years ago, and the same standard ought to apply today.

Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Frederick), who wants the state to hire outside counsel to investigate, scoffed at the suggestion that such an inquiry would reduce the number of Marylanders who get health insurance.
"They are recognizing that there's an ongoing problem, but they don't want to address it because it might cause embarrassment to the lieutenant governor in his gubernatorial bid," he said.
*****

Thursday, April 11, 2013

FOXBusiness Obama Unveils 2014 Budget Proposal - By Kathryn Buschman Vasel


Obama Unveils 2014 Budget Proposal


Published April 10, 2013


The budget battle on Capitol Hill heated up Wednesday as President Barack Obama released his budget for fiscal 2014 that aims to find middle ground to progress long-stalled budget negations.

The president's budget includes 215 proposals to cut spending, will raise $680 billion in new tax revenues and reduce future deficits by $600 billion over 10 years. The White House says the president's plan includes $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction, replacing the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts poised to take effect over the next 10 years.

The budget aims to find middle ground between the dueling parties by including reductions to popular entitlements, which doesn’t sit well with Democrats, as well as Republican-loathed tax increases.

"My budget will reduce our deficits by nearly another 2-trillion dollars so that, all told, we will have surpassed the goal of 4-trillion dollars in deficit reduction that independent economists believe we need to stabilize our finances," the president said in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.


Medicare and Social Security face cuts under the president’s budget, which has drawn criticism from members of his own party…

*****

Friday, March 15, 2013

Gateway Pundit: Obama Sends 1,400 Manufacturing Jobs & Sensitive Technology to Brazil

Gateway Pundit: Obama Sends 1,400 Manufacturing Jobs & Sensitive Technology to Brazil

Yesterday, after a conflict-fraught deliberation process, the Obama Administration awarded the Light Air Support (LAS) contract to Brazilian-based Embraer over Beechcraft; a Wichita Kansas based company with a long history of  supplying the U.S. military with aircraft.  Had Beechcraft been granted the  contract, the company expected  to add or sustain 1,400 jobs in the U.S.  The Embraer plane, on the  other hand, will be primarily built in Brazil, with only  about 50 assembly jobs in the U.S.... Breaking: Obama Sends 1,400 Manufacturing Jobs & Sensitive Technology to Brazil

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/02/breaking-obama-sends-1400-manufacturing-jobs-sensitive-technology-to-brazil/#

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Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/ “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

President Obama: The sky is falling March 13, 2013 by Kevin E. Dayhoff




Almost two weeks have gone by since the so-called “sequester” of the federal budget went into effect and all indications lead us to believe that the Zombie Apocalypse has not happened. Nor has it otherwise resulted in the end of the world as we know it.

Remember the sequester? It was the key and critical provision of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which took effect on March 1.

According to Dylan Matthews on March 1, 2013, in The Washington Post:

“The 2013 sequester includes: $42.7 billion in defense cuts (a 7.9 percent cut); $28.7 billion in domestic discretionary cuts (a 5.3 percent cut); $9.9 billion in Medicare cuts (a 2 percent cut); $4 billion in other mandatory cuts (a 5.8 percent cut to nondefense programs, and a 7.8 percent cut to mandatory defense programs).”

According to a number of astute political observers, including Chris Cillizza, also of The Washington Post, the sequester may very well have been over-hyped by a president who is not used to media scrutiny.

Mr. Cillizza wrote in “Did President Obama cry wolf on the sequester,” “In the days leading up to the March 1 sequester deadline, dire warnings about its impact were being issued daily from President Obama. Lines at airports would be interminable. First responders would be compromised. Things would be, in a word, bad.”

At my advanced age, I can easily recognize political silliness when I see it.

According to Media Research Center’s Brent Baker, who wrote in an article titled, “Krauthammer: Obama on Charm Offensive Because ‘Media Could No Longer Cover for Him,’” “Charles Krauthammer credited President Obama’s charm offensive toward Republicans to his losing the news media which couldn’t any longer abide his ridiculous sequester ‘cut’ exaggerations.

Mr. Baker is the vice president for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog organization and think tank.

President Obama’s strongest constituency, which, according to Dr., Krauthammer, “is not the left, it’s the mainstream media, could no longer cover for him without being entirely embarrassed,” Krauthammer observed last Friday night on the Fox News Channel, “It had to expose the one exaggeration after another on the sequester.”

Dr. Krauthammer went on to observe that … http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5670
*****

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Washington Post: Obama to use a recess appointment to name Cordray as nation’s top consumer watchdog


The Washington PostWednesday, January 4, 2012 10:09:15 AM
POLITICS NEWS ALERT

Obama to use a recess appointment to name Cordray as nation’s top consumer watchdog  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/44/post/obama-to-use-executive-power-to-name-consumer-watchdog-chief-over-gop-objections/2012/01/04/gIQAVtFXaP_blog.html

The Obama administration will appoint Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, using a rare recess appointment to get around the Senate's rejection of the nomination last month, sources said. The president will announce the move on Wednesday at an appearance in Cleveland, but it could spark a legal challenge from the Senate.

Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Or visit PostPolitics.com.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/44/post/obama-to-use-executive-power-to-name-consumer-watchdog-chief-over-gop-objections/2012/01/04/gIQAVtFXaP_blog.html

Bus Econ anti-business, Bus Econ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, US Govt Fiscal Discipline Bus Econ Obamanomics, Bus Econ Obamanomics, Pres 2009 44 Obama-Barack, Business Economics, Business Economics qv Bus Econ, This is nuts,

Bus Econ anti-business, Bus Econ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Bus Econ Obamanomics, Business Economics, Business Economics qv Bus Econ, Pres 2009 44 Obama-Barack, US Govt, US Govt Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, US Govt recess appointments
*****

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Interesting Stats That Explain A Lot

 Interesting Stats That Explain A Lot

 Check this set of statistics!!

 The percentage of each past president's cabinet who had worked in the  private business sector prior to their appointment to the cabinet.

 Here are the percentages.

 T. Roosevelt.................. 38%

 Taft............................... 40%

 Wilson .......................... 52%

 Harding......................... 49%

 Coolidge....................... 48%

 Hoover .........................42%

 F. Roosevelt..................50%

 Truman......................... 50%

 Johnson........................ 47%

 Nixon............................ 53%

 Ford............................. 42%

 Carter.......................... 32%

 Reagan..........................86%

 GH Bush....................... 51%

 Clinton .........................39%

 GW Bush...................... 55%

 And the winner is: Obama...................08% ****

This helps to explain the incompetence of this administration: only 8% of them have ever worked in a job not supported by tax money!

 That's right!

Only eight percent---the least, by far, of the last 19 presidents! And these people are trying to tell our big corporations how to run their
business?

They know what's best for GM, Chrysler, Wall Street, and you and me?

How can the president of our nation, the nation with the most successful economic system in world history, stand and talk about business when he's never worked for one?

Or about jobs when he has never really had one?

And when it's the same for 92% of his senior staff and closest advisers who have spent most of their time in academia, government and/or non-profit 
jobs - or as "community organizers.

 ** **
 Pass this on! We'll NEVER see these facts in the main stream media.
*****

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

By Byron York: New report cites 'regulatory tsunami' under Obama

 By Byron York: New report cites 'regulatory tsunami' under Obama


The number and scope of federal regulations, along with the costs of those regulations and the number of federal regulators, are all growing despite an executive order from President Obama that was touted as a measure to curb over-regulation, according to a new report by the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee.
The report says the Obama administration has "imposed 75 new major regulations costing more than $380 billion over ten years."  In addition, the report says there are 219 more "economically significant regulations" in the works which will cost businesses $100 million or more each year -- for a minimum cost of $21 billion over ten years. ...  

*****

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The New York Times DealBook: Edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin: Why Wall St. Is Deserting Obama

 DealBook: Edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin
 The New York Times
 Tuesday, August 31, 2010
------------------------------------------------------------
For updates throughout the day, visit:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/
----------------------------------------
To view the latest DealBook headlines on
your mobile device, go to:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/dealbook
----------------------------------------
For tips, feedback: e-mail 
dealbook@nytimes.com;


1. Top Story: Sorkin: Why Wall St. Is Deserting Obama
2. M & A: Taiwan Blocks Sale of A.I.G.'s Nan Shan
3. Banking: Lenders Back Off of Environmental Risks
4. Private Equity: Candover to Wind Up Funds
5. Hedge Funds: Funds Move to Halt Ambac Asset Grab
6. Offerings: A Year of Disappointing I.P.O.'s Angers Investors
7. Venture Capital: The Google Deal Machine
8. Legal: Warren's Fate Is Gauge of Wall St. Overhaul


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----------------------------------------


1. Top Story: Sorkin: Why Wall St. Is Deserting Obama
----------------------------------------

A letter from a hedge fund manager to his investors about Washington's
policies is stirring up controversy on a sensitive topic among the
moneyed elite, The New York Times's Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in his
latest DealBook column.

The poison pen of Daniel S. Loeb took a jab recently at one of his
former allies, the Obama administration, deploring the redistribution
of resources and power that Wall Street has come to fear with the
passage of the financial regulation overhaul.

Some say that they knew Obama would seek higher taxes and tighter
regulation; that was O.K. What they say they did not realize was that
they were going to be painted as villains. And as they grow to distrust
government, they threaten to cut off investment in the United States.

Go to Column from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/business/31sorkin.html?dbk

Read More
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=279975&dlbk&emc=dlbk

Add a Comment
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=279975&dlbk&emc=dlbk#respond


2. M & A: Taiwan Blocks Sale of A.I.G.'s Nan Shan
----------------------------------------

The Taiwan financial regulator said  Tuesday that it would block the
$2.15 billion sale of Nan Shan -- American International Group's life
insurance unit on  the island -- to a group of buyers tied to  China,
citing laws that limit investment  from the mainland.

Go to Item from DealBook:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/taiwan-blocks-sale-of-a-i-g-s-nan-shan/

Read More
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280137&dlbk&emc=dlbk

Add a Comment
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280137&dlbk&emc=dlbk#respond

-----

The American power producer Exelon said Tuesday that it had agreed to
buy John Deere Renewables, a wind power company, in a deal that may be
worth up to $900 million.

Go to Item from DealBook:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/exelon-to-buy-wind-firm-john-deere-renewables/

Go to Exelon Statement:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100831005745/en/Exelon-Expanding-Wind-Generation-Acquisition-John-Deere

Go to Previous Item from Bloomberg News:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/business/22exelon.html?dbk

Read More
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280165&dlbk&emc=dlbk

Add a Comment
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280165&dlbk&emc=dlbk#respond

-----

"Let me in, and I might go higher." That, in a nutshell, is the message
Chris Viehbacher, the chief executive of Sanofi-Aventis, is sending the
management of the biotech company Genzyme in making public his $18.5
billion offer to buy it.

Go to Article from Reuters Breakingviews:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/business/31views.html?dbk

Read More
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280145&dlbk&emc=dlbk

Add a Comment
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-----

BHP Billiton denied speculation on Monday that it planned to sell any
of Potash Corp.'s assets if it succeeds with its $38.6 billion hostile
bid for the world's largest fertilizer producer.

Go to Article from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67G1R620100830

Read More
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280099&dlbk&emc=dlbk

Add a Comment
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280099&dlbk&emc=dlbk#respond

-----

The days of being able to pick up failed financial institutions on the
cheap are coming to an end, despite a high number of bank failures this
year.

Go to Article from The Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required):
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704323704575461681180655898.html?dbk

Read More
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280097&dlbk&emc=dlbk

Add a Comment
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280097&dlbk&emc=dlbk#respond

-----

Newcrest Mining's $8 billion-plus acquisition of Lihir Gold is creating
a new top-tier of Australian gold producers, which are already being
sized up for takeovers, Reuters reported.

Go to Article from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67U0F920100831?dbk

Read More
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280029&dlbk&emc=dlbk

Add a Comment
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=280029&dlbk&emc=dlbk#respond


3. Investment Banking: Lenders Back Off of Environmental Risks
----------------------------------------

Some large lenders are taking a stand on industry practices -- like
mining and deforestation -- that they regard as risky to their
reputations.

Go to Article from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/business/energy-environment/31coal.html?dbk

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-----

No client is too small for Goldman Sachs Group these days, even a
company with no revenue that's owned by a hedge fund specializing in
penny stocks.

Go to Article from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67U1LZ20100831?dbk

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-----

Marketing campaigns aimed at reminding the world's 1.6 billion Muslims
to follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad that supposedly ban
receiving interest have increased as the global economy recovers this
year.

Go to Article from Bloomberg News:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-30/banks-step-up-ramadan-marketing-campaigns-to-spur-growth-islamic-finance.html?dbk

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-----

HSBC said Tuesday that it has sold its last United States auto finance
businesses to Santander for about $3.56 billion in cash, completing its
exit from a market that cost it billions during the financial crisis,
The Associated Press reported.

Go to Article from The Associated Press via The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/31/business/AP-EU-Britain-HSBC-Santander.html?dbk

Go to Santander Press Release:
http://www.santander.com/csgs/StaticBS?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1265282266427&cachecontrol=immediate&ssbinary=true&maxage=3600

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4. Private Equity: Candover to Wind Up Funds
----------------------------------------

Candover Investments said it will wind itself up, sealing the fate of
one of the buyout industry's highest-profile victims of the credit
crunch, Reuters reported.

Go to Article from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE67Q0PZ20100831?dbk

Go to Candover Statement:
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-news/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=10630011

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-----

Wilbur Ross's Assured Guaranty is alone in the municipal bond insurance
market, since Warren Buffett stopped Berkshire Hathaway from backing
new issues. But Mr. Ross's monopoly won't guarantee higher profits.

Go to Article from Bloomberg News:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-31/ross-may-find-profit-elusive-pursuing-muni-bond-insurance-buffett-avoids.html?dbk

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-----

Acquisitions in the United States power industry surged more than
20-fold by value in the first eight months of the year. Advisers say to
expect more deals as buyers like Blackstone Group bet that electricity
prices will rise with economic recovery.

Go to Article from Bloomberg News:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-31/u-s-power-company-acquisitions-surge-as-blackstone-nrg-hunt-for-bargains.html?dbk

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-----

Ronald W. Burkle has responded in a sharply worded letter to Barnes &
Noble's criticism of his investing record and his slate of candidates
for the company's board.

Go to Item from DealBook:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/burkle-no-plan-to-take-control-of-chain/

Go to Yucaipa Statement:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100830005565/en/Barnes-Nobles-Misstatements-Yucaipa-Attempt-Deflect-Attention

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5. Hedge Funds: Funds Move to Halt Ambac Asset Grab
----------------------------------------

Hedge funds including King Street Capital and Stonehill Capital
Management filed a motion seeking to prevent Ambac Financial Group from
taking assets out of a bond-insurance unit.

Go to Article from Bloomberg News:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-31/hedge-funds-seek-to-block-payments-in-court-from-ambac-s-insurance-unit.html?dbk

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-----

Even some of the savviest hedge fund managers got burned in 2008 by
sticking with their hot stocks for too long as the market tumbled,
Reuters writes.

Go to Article from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67T3OL20100830?dbk

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6. I.P.O.s/Offerings: A Year of Disappointing I.P.O.'s Angers Investors ----------------------------------------

The woeful state of this year's market for initial public offerings is
provoking anger among investors and calls that companies' stock is
being issued with unrealistic valuations, The Financial Times reported.
Go to Article from The Financial Times (Subscription Required):
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c6cc16c-b46b-11df-8208-00144feabdc0.html?dbk

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-----

In its first implementation of the Dodd-Frank law, the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission said Monday that it had published a new set
of so-called final rules to regulate the retail foreign exchange
market.

Go to Item from DealBook:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/c-f-t-c-issues-new-forex-trading-rules/

Go to C.F.T.C. Statement:
http://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/pr5883-10.html?dbk

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-----

Stocks fell Tuesday in Europe and Asia, led by a 3.6 percent decline in
Tokyo, as worries about the global economy weighed on banks and a
strengthening yen hit manufacturers in Japan.

Go to Article from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/business/01markets.html?dbk

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-----

Hewlett-Packard said Monday that its board approved the buyback of an
additional $10 billion of shares to boost investor confidence as it
finds itself involved in a bidding war for high-end data storage
company 3Par.

Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/30/business/business-us-hewlettpackard-buyback.html?dbk

Go to Hewlett-Packard Press Release:
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2010/100830c.html

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7. Venture Capital: The Google Deal Machine
----------------------------------------

Google has now announced acquisitions of 25 companies in the 12 months
since its chief executive, Eric Schmidt, said he expected to do a deal
at least once a month.

Go to Item from DealBook:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/the-google-deal-machine/


In its effort to challenge Facebook, Google has become a social
butterfly. The latest proof of that is Google's acquisition of
SocialDeck, a maker of social games for mobile phones.

Go to Article from VentureBeat:
http://games.venturebeat.com/2010/08/30/social-butterfly-google-buys-mobile-game-developer-socialdeck/?dbk

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-----

IContact, a provider of e-mail marketing services like newsletter
creation and distribution, just raised $40 million in its second round
of funding, which was spearheaded by JMI Equity.

Go to Article from VentureBeat:
http://deals.venturebeat.com/2010/08/30/icontact-funding/?dbk

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8. Legal: Warren's Fate Is Gauge of Wall St. Overhaul
----------------------------------------

This autumn, Elizabeth Warren, a contender to become the top U.S.
consumer financial regulator, could become a focal point in a political
debate over how far government should go to rein in the financial
sector and other corporate interests.

Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/30/business/business-us-financial-regulation-warren.html?dbk

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-----

The Chinese government ran an enormous help-wanted advertisement on
Monday seeking professional managers for some of its biggest
state-controlled companies, a move that apparently reflected
unhappiness with the companies' current performance.

Go to Article from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/world/asia/31hire.html?dbk

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-----

Donald Kohn, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, will take his
central banking expertise to the Brookings Institution after he retires
this week from four decades at the Fed, Brookings announced on Monday.

Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/30/business/business-us-usa-fed-kohn.html?dbk

Go to Brookings Press Release:
http://www.brookings.edu/media/NewsReleases/2010/0830_kohn.aspx

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-----

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to pay $55 million to settle kickback
allegations related to federal government contracts, the U.S. Justice
Department said on Monday.

Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/30/business/business-us-hewlettpackard-settlement.html?dbk

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-----

Christoper R. Conte, a longtime lawyer in the Securities and Exchange
Commission's enforcement unit, is leaving the agency to join Steptoe &
Johnson.

Go to Item from DealBook:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/s-e-c-lawyer-leaves-for-steptoe/

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-----

And in today's Morning Take-Out:

--Immigrants to the rescue
--A beginner's guide to Twitter
--Mike Mayo doesn't trust Citi

Go to Morning Take-Out from DealBook:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/morning-take-out-76/

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*****