Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Pharma Deal With White House On Course To Net Industry Billions
Pop quiz.....
"Are the elected officials in our government working for the benefit of Joe 6 pack or for the benefit of someone else?"
Pharma Deal With White House On Course To Net Industry Billions: "The deal struck between the pharmaceutical lobby, the White House and Senate Democrats has drastically improved Big Pharma's expected profits, a private industry report finds.
IMS Health, a company that supplies the pharmaceutical companies with sales data, predicts that new health reform legislation -- combined with a projected upswing in the economy -- will result in a net gain of more than $137 billion in total market sales over the next four years. The new assessment was contained in document obtained by the Huffington Post.
"Are the elected officials in our government working for the benefit of Joe 6 pack or for the benefit of someone else?"
Pharma Deal With White House On Course To Net Industry Billions: "The deal struck between the pharmaceutical lobby, the White House and Senate Democrats has drastically improved Big Pharma's expected profits, a private industry report finds.
IMS Health, a company that supplies the pharmaceutical companies with sales data, predicts that new health reform legislation -- combined with a projected upswing in the economy -- will result in a net gain of more than $137 billion in total market sales over the next four years. The new assessment was contained in document obtained by the Huffington Post.
Back in March, that same firm projected a compound annual growth rate of -0.1 percent in the period of 2008 through 2013. In October, with the general outlines of health care reform clearly in place, it revised that number to a positive 3.5 percent for over the same period.
What happened in those seven months? The economy started looking up, for one, as did the overall prospects of health care reform. But the industry also won a major lobbying victory.
PhRMA, the lobby entity for the industry's heavy hitters, reached a secret deal with the White House and the Senate Finance Committee in June. As detailed in a memo first published by The Huffington Post, the Obama administration agreed to oppose congressional efforts to use government leverage to bargain for lower drug prices. The White House also agreed not to shift some drugs from Medicare Part B to Medicare Part D, which would have cost the industry billions in reduced reimbursements. All this in exchange for $80 billion over ten years to help push for reform.
The Senate version of the healthcare bill still conforms to the deal (that the White House has still never officially confirmed). The House bill is in the same ballpark, although it would cost Big Pharma an extra $14 billion.
The IMS, in its revised October findings, did not reference the deal specifically, but rather made note of what it called a "NEW EVENT" -- mainly that health care reform "could lead to higher priced branded products and increased healthcare coverage across the USA.""
Joke of the day - Geithner
Two headlines in the WSJ caught my attention this morning. Geithner is in Japan touting the U.S. strong dollar policy while the dollar is hitting a 15-month low. It is sad that the U.S. Treasury Secretary is such a liar.
Geithner Affirms Strong Dollar Policy
TOKYO -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that maintaining a strong dollar is "very important" for the country's economy, sticking to his mantra on foreign-exchange policy as the U.S. currency continues its broad downtrend.
"I believe deeply that it's very important for the U.S. and the economic health of the U.S. that we maintain a strong dollar," he said at a roundtable discussion with Japanese reporters. "We bear special responsibility for trying to make sure that we are implementing policy in the U.S. that will sustain confidence not just among American investors and .. savers but investors around the world" that the U.S. will fix its budgetary problems as its economy improves.
Dollar Hits 15-Month Low
The dollar sagged to a 15-month low against a basket of major currencies overnight Wednesday, and remained near that level in early New York trading, as positive Asian economic data sparked renewed optimism for a global economic recovery.
In early morning trading, the euro was at $1.5035 from $1.4978 late Tuesday, according to EBS via CQG. The dollar was at ¥89.91 from ¥89.84, while the euro was at ¥135.18 from ¥134.58. The U.K pound was at $1.6667 from $1.6728. The dollar was at 1.0045 Swiss francs from 1.0083 Swiss francs.
Geithner Affirms Strong Dollar Policy
TOKYO -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that maintaining a strong dollar is "very important" for the country's economy, sticking to his mantra on foreign-exchange policy as the U.S. currency continues its broad downtrend.
"I believe deeply that it's very important for the U.S. and the economic health of the U.S. that we maintain a strong dollar," he said at a roundtable discussion with Japanese reporters. "We bear special responsibility for trying to make sure that we are implementing policy in the U.S. that will sustain confidence not just among American investors and .. savers but investors around the world" that the U.S. will fix its budgetary problems as its economy improves.
Dollar Hits 15-Month Low
The dollar sagged to a 15-month low against a basket of major currencies overnight Wednesday, and remained near that level in early New York trading, as positive Asian economic data sparked renewed optimism for a global economic recovery.
In early morning trading, the euro was at $1.5035 from $1.4978 late Tuesday, according to EBS via CQG. The dollar was at ¥89.91 from ¥89.84, while the euro was at ¥135.18 from ¥134.58. The U.K pound was at $1.6667 from $1.6728. The dollar was at 1.0045 Swiss francs from 1.0083 Swiss francs.
The Dollar Index, a trade-weighted basket of six currencies, was at 74.853 from 75.052.
Blackwater Said to Approve $1 Million in Iraqi Bribes After Shootings - NYTimes.com
God Bless America, she desperately needs it.
Blackwater Said to Approve $1 Million in Iraqi Bribes After Shootings - NYTimes.com: "Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials.
Blackwater approved the cash payments in December 2007, the officials said, as protests over the deadly shootings in Nisour Square stoked long-simmering anger inside Iraq about reckless practices by the security company’s employees. American and Iraqi investigators had already concluded that the shootings were unjustified, top Iraqi officials were calling for Blackwater’s ouster from the country, and company officials feared that Blackwater might be refused an operating license it would need to retain its contracts with the State Department and private clients, worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually."
.........
"The Nisour Square shooting was the bloodiest and most controversial episode involving Blackwater in the Iraq war. At midday on Sept. 16, 2007, a Blackwater convoy opened fire on Iraqi civilians in the crowded intersection, spraying automatic weapons fire in ways that investigators later claimed was indiscriminate, and even launching grenades into a nearby school. Seventeen Iraqis were killed and dozens more were wounded."
Blackwater Said to Approve $1 Million in Iraqi Bribes After Shootings - NYTimes.com: "Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials.
Blackwater approved the cash payments in December 2007, the officials said, as protests over the deadly shootings in Nisour Square stoked long-simmering anger inside Iraq about reckless practices by the security company’s employees. American and Iraqi investigators had already concluded that the shootings were unjustified, top Iraqi officials were calling for Blackwater’s ouster from the country, and company officials feared that Blackwater might be refused an operating license it would need to retain its contracts with the State Department and private clients, worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually."
.........
"The Nisour Square shooting was the bloodiest and most controversial episode involving Blackwater in the Iraq war. At midday on Sept. 16, 2007, a Blackwater convoy opened fire on Iraqi civilians in the crowded intersection, spraying automatic weapons fire in ways that investigators later claimed was indiscriminate, and even launching grenades into a nearby school. Seventeen Iraqis were killed and dozens more were wounded."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Report: 237 millionaires in Congress - Erika Lovley - POLITICO.com
Regardless of what they told you in school, this is hardly a representative government. Members of Congress do NOT represent the people. They represent themselves. They represent the corporations who support them. Most of all, they represent Wall Street. Anybody disagree? Please show me some evidence. I would love to be convinced otherwise.
Report: 237 millionaires in Congress - Erika Lovley - POLITICO.com: "As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.
Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall."
Report: 237 millionaires in Congress - Erika Lovley - POLITICO.com: "As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.
Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall."
"Some lawmakers have profited from investments in companies that have received federal bailouts; dozens of lawmakers are invested in Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.
Among executive branch officials, CRP says the richest is Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary L. Schapiro, with a net worth estimated at $26 million."
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