Facebook
Home Finance Page 3

Finance

Not as bad as we thought: Obamacare Premiums in California Lower than Expected

Not as bad as we thought: Obamacare Premiums in California Lower than Expected

 

 
 Health insurance providers in the state of California will charge an average of $304 a month for the silver-level coverage (the least expensive plan) in state-based exchanges starting next year. That said, many residents will pay far less than this figure for coverage. 
 
Rates for Obamacare plans will vary by region, level of coverage, and age; the majority of low-income California residents will qualify for federal subsidies that will further lower premiums. The plans will be provided in four tiers, ranging from bronze to platinum. The bronze plan will charge lower premiums, but will carry increased out-of-pocket benefits, and the platinum plan will have the highest premiums but the cheapest out-of-pocket costs. 
 
Federal subsidies will be based on the cost of silver plans and will be provided to those earning up to 400 percent of the poverty line, which comes out to approximately $45,000 for an individual and $92,000 for a family of four. 
 
State-based exchanges will open for enrollment in October of this year, while coverage under Obamacare will start in January. 
 
Multiple plans from insurance providers including Blue Cross Blue Shield will be available based on region. However, other large providers, including UnitedHealth declined to participate in the program. 
 
The least costly silver plan for a young person will cost around $215 a month, but those regarded as low income (earning 150 percent of the poverty line) may only be required to pay $44 after procuring federal subsidies. The same plan for middle-aged individuals will cost roughly $275 a month and approximately $40 after the subsidies kick in. 
 
States are beginning to unveil details of their plans; however, California has provided the most detail in describing its plans. 
 
“Several Americans will see rates similar to what they are paying now, and in many cases, far lower and with better benefits,” said the Washington Insurance Department in a blog posting. “We are definitely not seeing the significant rate increases that some insurance providers had predicted.”
 
 
Source: whitehouse.gov

SEC Charges Dallas-Based Trader with Front Running

Yahoo Defending No-Work-At-Home Polic

Yahoo Defending No-Work-At-Home Polic

 

Internet giant Yahoo is responding to backlash of a decision to prohibit employees from working at home, claiming it is the right move for the company. 
 
“This is not a broad industry view on working from your home, this is about what is right for Yahoo at this time and going forward,” said a company spokesman in a statement issued to the media on Wednesday morning. 
 
The no-work-at-home policy prompted widespread criticism since it was announced in an e-mail to all employees earlier this week from Jackie Reses, the head of human resources who was hired by CEO Marissa Mayer.
 
“To become the best place to work, collaboration and communication will be principal, so we will need to be working as a team, side-by-side,” said the e-mail. “It is critical that we are all present in the office each and every working day.”
 
Yahoo did not reveal how many of its 11,500 employees currently work from home, claiming it does not comment on internal matters. 
 
Many have criticized the policy as impacting morale, claiming it could even turn-off or chase away talent. 
 
“We wish to give our employees the freedom to work where they choose, safe in the knowledge that they have the talent and drive to perform exceptionally, whether they are in the office or in their kitchen. I have never worked at a traditional office, and I never will” said Virgin CEO Richard Branson on his blog.” 
 
Others claim that the policy itself isn’t the issue, but how it was presented—via e-mail without comment from Yahoo’s Chief Executive Officer– to the company. “The new Human Resources policy is shocking in its measure, and harsh delivery,” opined Fortune’s Patricia Sellers. “The chief issue is how the new policy got communicated to the employee base.”
 
A study by Telework Research Network found that working from home or remotely increased nearly 75% from 2005 to 2011 in the United States. 
 
 
Source: Associated Press
 

The Rich get Richer: Forbes’ Rankings finds 210 New Billionaires

The Rich get Richer: Forbes' Rankings finds 210 New Billionaires

 

The Forbes Rankings, which lists the wealthiest men and women in the world, was released today and revealed a record 1,426 billionaires spread throughout the world. According to the latest tally from Forbes, rising stock prices and a shift to normalcy in the markets added 210 new members to the exclusive 10-figure club. 
 
The rankings also revealed Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim to be the richest person in the world; this is Silm’s fourth year on top of the prestigious list with an estimated $73 billion, up from $69 billion last year. Slim edged out Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who was once again ranked as the second richest person in the world with his $67 billion fortune. 
 
Gates’ good friend Warren Buffet dropped out of the top three for the rights since 200, as head of Spanish retailer Zara, Armancio Ortega, took third place. Ortega’s wealth of $57 billion is a massive gain of $19.5 billion from 2012, the largest gain of any person on the list. Ironically, Buffet’s fortune posted the second largest increase on the list; Buffet’s estate increased $9.5 billion to 53.5 billion as shares Berkshire Hathaway, Buffet’s investment firm, increased a dramatic 17% in 2012. 
 
The United States is home to the most billionaires with 442, a net gain of 17 from 2012. 386 billionaires call the Asia-Pacific region home and 366 of the world’s wealthiest reside in Europe. 
 
Excluding those who passed away or split their wealth with family members, 60 people who were represented on the 2012 Billionaire’s list feel out of the prestigious club this year. Notable dropouts include Mark Pincus, CEO of online gaming company Zynga, whose stock fell more than 75% last year and former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon. 
 
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook wins the dubious award of suffering the biggest loss of wealth for any American billionaire, as his worth plunged $4.2 billion to $13.3 billion. 
 
That said, there were far more winners than losers on the 2013 list. In total, the 1,426 billionaires possess a combined net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion in 2012. The majority of the net gain is due to larger membership as the average net worth of each billionaire was $3.8 billion or an uptick of $100 million from 2012.  
 
 
Source: CNN

Hess to Quit Retail Gasoline Business

Hess to Quit Retail Gasoline Business

 

The Hess Corporation is set to discontinue its retail gasoline operations along with its marketing and energy trading businesses to focus on production and exploration, the company announced on Monday. 
 
Hess also announced it will boost its yearly dividend to $1 per share and buy back up to $4 billion in company stock. Upon release of this news, Hess stock increased $2.45 a share or $3.68 percent to $68.99 on Monday. 
 
Hess also said it will nominate five independent directors for election to its board at the annual shareholders meeting in May. Moreover, the company named a six director that will be up for election at the 2014 shareholder’s meeting. Six of the oil giant’s current directors will announce their retirement from the board in the upcoming months.
These announcements come just over a month after prominent Hess investor Elliot Management pushed for alterations at the company and began lobbying for new management. The plea from Elliot with regards to changing leadership was based on an accusation that the board partook in poor oversight and engaged in a “decade of failures.”
 
Hess has already issued plans to sell domestic oil storage facilities and close a New Jersey refinery as it leaves the volatile refining sector. ConocoPhillips, Murphy Oil and Marathon Oil have all syphoned and split their refining businesses in recent years to place a greater emphasis on production and exploration. 
 
 
Source: CNN

Is the Cure for HIV at Risk because of Budget Cuts?

Is the Cure for HIV at Risk because of Budget Cuts?

 

Dr. Deborah Persuad of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center spearheaded a remarkable treatment plan that cured the HIV virus in a toddler. However, the budget cuts undertaken by the United States Federal Government will reduce funding delivered to the National Institutes of Health, which co-founded the incredible achievement. 
The cuts in federal spending, known as sequestration, could slash critical medical research, including the recently unveiled treatment plan that cured the toddler.
 
The National Institutes of Health, which co-administered the study, is set to lose over $1.6 billion of its $31 billion budget through September of this year as a result of the sequester. As the most prominent supporter of biomedical research in the United States, it could reduce funding for hundreds of research programs, such as the HIV case. 
 
The National Institutes of Health, in conjunction with AIDS research foundation, funded the treatment plan used to treat the child. 
 
Chris Collins, the vice president of public policy for the AIDS Research Foundation said there was a “brutal irony” to the timing of the HIV cure discovery and the budget cuts. “As we have heard this exciting news about HIV cure research, the entire AIDS research field is undergoing a significant setback,” said Collins. “If we are in the business of ending this virus, this would be the time invest, not to cut back.”
 
Doctors at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center used a mix of antiretroviral drugs to eliminate the HIV virus out of the Mississippi toddler, who was born to a woman with AIDS and is now free of the infection. 
 
The toddler was given a cocktail of drugs including Epivir, Viramune and Zidovudine. The child was then treated with a Kaletra drug mix to sweep-out the virus. This combination of drugs costs several hundred dollars when produced in a generic fashion in developing nations. 
 
The budget cuts would reduce funding to long-running research programs that the National Institutes of Health is already committed to, claims Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. 
 
Dr. Fauci claims that the budget cuts will damage the program and its initiatives in the long run. Moreover, Fauci said the budget cats may also keep future research projects from materializing. 
 
 
Source: Whitehouse.gov

Waterproof Tablets and Phones set to make a Splash

Waterproof Tablets and Phones set to make a Splash

 

Consumer electronics and water seldom mix, and for many users, there are few things more annoying than a tablet or smartphone that’s been accidentally dropped in water.

A trip to the bathroom or a rainy day used to require babysitting our expensive devices. “I cannot tell you how many users I know who have accidentally dropped their device in the toilet or their kid spilled a drink all over it,” said senior writer Maggie Reardon.

A soaked tablet or phone has traditionally meant shelling out a few hundred for a replacement; however, new technology has moved rugged cell phones and waterproof cases to withstand pesky situations or adverse conditions. Several smartphones and tablets highlighted at this  year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and Mobile World Congress Convention suggests the future is bright for tablets and phone that are both powerful and waterproof—or at least water resistant.

Sony debuted the Xperia Tablet Z at last week’s Mobile World Congress; the item is drawing praise for its functionality, sleek design and ability to withstand getting drenched by water or other liquids.

“If you are taking a bath and want to enjoy a movie and you accidentally drop the tablet into the water, it will be okay,” said Zperia Z product manager Sharath Muddaiah.

Makers of the Xperia Z claim the tablet can withstand sprays of water and can submerges in up to 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes.

The tablet does not boast special coating; however, the device’s parts are all water-persistent. The water-resistant features of the new tablet do not come with the bulky characteristics associated with the so-called rugged phones.

Although far more water-resistant than most smart devices, Sony cautions that the tablet’s port covers must be sealed up to hold water. The device’s micro-USB and headphone sockets are lined with rubber port covers that must be flipped up for access.

Sony is not the only electronics company making an effort to provide a sturdier smart device as Fina’s Huawei dunked its Ascend D2 phone in a tub of water for attendees at the Mobile World Congress Convention.

Other electronic companies trying to solve the liquid-incompatibility problem are reciting the same mantra: water-resistant features are incorporated on these devices to help in case of accidents, and not to make a device that is safe for scuba diving. In the meantime, there is always the traditional fix if your device has gone for an unplanned trip to a liquid sanctuary: grab a bowl and pick-up a bag of rice. 

 

 

Source: AP

Stock Market Soars to Record High

Stock Market Soars to Record High

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a record high during Tuesday’s trading hours. The Dow rallied more than 150 points higher at one point on Tuesday to an all-time high of 14,286.37. This number tops both the Dow’s intraday and closing records set during October of 2007. Additionally, the S&P 500 added 16 points and is currently trading at its highest level since October of 2007. The S&P 500 is currently 1.5% away from its record high, which was also set in October of 2007. 
 
“We are going back to the highest levels in American history, but we have more things going for the economy and the stock market that we did during our last boom,” said Art Hogan, managing director at Lazard Capital. 
 
During the splendor of 2007, the economy was on the verge of heading into a tailspin, said Hogan, whereas now the market is getting stronger, albeit at a slow pace. 
Stocks are cheaper across the board, as a number of blue chips trading at 17 times earnings estimates in 2007 are valued roughly at 14 times earnings estimates for 2013. 
 
That said not all indexes set record highs; the NASDAQ, which climbed over 40 points on Tuesday, is nearly 38% below its all-time highs that were set during the dot-com boom in March of 2000. 
 
Although Hogan expects stocks to keep rising, the investment professional expects to come across some significant bumps along the way. Hogan envisions many investors pulling out of the market after earning more than 9% year-to-date, causing stocks to move sideways or trend down slightly. 
 
Additionally, concerns over Europe and the ongoing budget drama in Washington could act as a catalyst for a brief slide. However, a pullback could be short-lived and actually a mechanism to propel long-term growth. “There is a ton of money on the sidelines waiting to get in the market, but those investors want they need a pullback before they can jump in,” said Hogan. 
 
To this end, individual investors have invested just $21 billion in U.S. mutual funds this year, a marginal amount given that they pulled in excess of $500 billion from the funds since the financial crisis. 
 
 
Source: White House Press Release

Cyber Currency is Booming

Cyber Currency is Booming

 

Bitcoin—digital currencies created by an anonymous hacker–sounds like something from the future or science fiction; however, the four-year-old currency is quite real and trading at an all-time high. 
 
One Bitcoin was worth approximately 40 U.S. dollars earlier this week, and surged today to nearly $50. That’s an increase from roughly $13 in January and 5 cents in 2010, according to Mt. Gox, the digital currency’s primary exchange. On Mt. Gox and other trading platforms, traders can purchase or sell their digital coins for real cash. 
Watchers of the alternative currency attribute Bitcoin’s success to the recent decision by several popular technology vendors and networking sites to accept the currency. Just recently, online community Reddit and blog hosting site WordPress decided to accept Bitcoins as an acceptable form of payment. 
 
In addition to their acceptance the counts are much easier to obtain; until recently, buyers typically needed to navigate international wire transfers and wait days for Bitcoin transactions to clear. Popular sites like Bitinstant and Coinabse now let customers purchase bitcoins with cash or bank transfers. 
 
That said, some longtime advocates of the digital currency are leery of the recent surge in value. “The majority of people do not think $40 is an acceptable price right now,” claimed Jon Holmquist, head of marketing at two related startups, Bitcoinstore and Coinabul. 
 
The price fluctuations are widely due to the relatively low number of transactions and overall value of coins in circulation—the value of Bitcoins went from below $1 to over $28, then back to under $7 in 2011 alone. 
 
The digital currency was created in 2009 by an anonymous hacker using the screen name “Satoshi Nakamoto”—the Japanese equivalent of a vanilla name like “Paul Smith.” Bitcoin has no central-bank backing the currency; the idea behind Bitcoin was to create a currency that is free from government intervention to conduct transactions without processing or exchange fees. 
 
The digital currency is “minted” by a network of computers using specialized software on powerful hardware systems. The technology is designed to release new coins at a steady pace. Currently, a new block of 25 Bitcoins is generated every 10 minutes, adding to the pool of roughly 11 million circulating coins. 
 
The system used to generate coins is extremely difficult to infiltrate, but the digital wallets used by Bitcoin owners to purchase goods in online stores aren’t so protected. A series of thefts in 2011 crashed the currency’s value and one operator lost over 24,000 Bitcoins to an online thief in September of last year. Skeptics also contend that the anonymous culture of the currency could make it an instrument for money launderers. 
 
However, Bitcoin supporters think the currency’s recent rise is a sign of its widespread acceptance and growing community. Those supporting the currency see it as a legitimate alternative to more traditional payment methods. 
 
 
Source: AP
 

Workers not getting their Piece of the Pie

Workers not getting their Piece of the Pie

 

The gap between hourly pay and productivity is the highest it’s been since the few years following World War II. “A larger share of what companies in the United States are producing is going to the owners, and operators of the firms and the lenders who financed the firm’s projects while a smaller percentage is going to the workforce,” claims Gary Burtless, a senior fellow in economic studies at The Brookings Institution. 
Productivity, which measures goods and services created per hour worked, jumped nearly 81 percent between 1973 and 2001, compared to a marginal increase of 10.7 percent in median hourly compensation, according to the Economic Policy Institute. These figures represent a shift from the trend between 1948 and 1973, when hourly compensation and productivity ran analogous to one another. 
 
The primary reason for the wider gap is saturated wage growth in recent years among both college-educated workers and those workers without degrees, said the Institute’s President Lawrence Mishel. National deregulation and increased global competition have also kept compensation down.
 
The split between the two figures has been acute since the beginning of the 21st century, when wage growth flattened out; and now with unemployment rising, the bulk of the workforce feels lucky just to have a job. As a result of the weak employment numbers, many companies are using their leverage to get a better deal out of their workforce. 
 
Employers are also achieving their gains with fewer workers; economic activity in the United States is 2.5 percent higher than it was when the recession struck in the latter portion of 2007 with less than 3 million workers in the labor force. 
 
Evaluating hourly compensation by itself does not tell the story because these figures do not include benefits, which make up roughly 30 percent of a worker’s compensation package. That said, costs of benefits are rising over time, which serves as a factor in the widening of productivity figures versus hourly compensation rates. 
 
Many professionals attribute the widening gap to market forces. Professionals expect the gap to narrow as the economy further recovers from the collapse of 2007. As the economy improves, the labor market will ultimately tighten, and companies will raise wages. One sector where this shift has become tangible is the energy market in the Midwest, where employers are beginning to boost compensation for their workers. 
 
 
Source: US Department of Labor
 
1234...31Page 3 of 31
Disclaimer: There is no confidential attorney-client relationship formed by using Laws.com website and information provided on this site is not legal advice. For legal advice, please contact your attorney. Attorneys listed on this website are not referred or endorsed by this website. By using Laws.com you agree to Laws.com Terms Of Use.
Facebook
© LAWS.COM NETWORK 2023-2024

Attorneys, Get Listed

Free Coupon
X