KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com
TOP STORIES:
Disabled New Jersey Man Earns $15 Million Exposing Largest Medicaid Fraud In History - (www.businessinsider.com) Richard West was shocked when he went for some dental work and found his Medicaid benefits had maxed out. Pulling up his Medicaid record, he totaled the care he'd received, the bills submitted by his provider -- and found the problem. According to The Star-Ledger, West, 63, found the company arranging his nursing care, Maxim Healthcare, was over-billing the government for hundreds of hours of service from people he'd never seen. After calling several government hot-lines and receiving no help, he got a lawyer of his own. That phone call unraveled a fraud stretched across 40-states and resulted in a $150 million settlement -- the largest for healthcare fraud in history. Monday, Maxim agreed to return $121.5 million in state and federal claims; $8.4 million to the VA, and pay a $20 million fine. For exposing the fraud West will receive $15.4 million. He told the Ledger it wasn't tough figuring out the scam. "The hard part," he said, "was turning them in." Nine people, including three senior managers have pleaded guilty to felony charges, but no top executives have been charged. The whole story at The Star-Ledger is really worth checking out >
Greek bond investors face month’s wait - (www.ft.com) Anxious debt investors will have to wait until mid-October for the much-anticipated results of the Greek debt exchange offer, aimed at cutting Greece’s heavy public debt burden. The eventual offer will allow all holders of Greek debt to swap their Greek bonds maturing before 2020 for longer-dated paper, taking losses of about 21 per cent on their holdings in the process. If fewer than 90 per cent of eligible Greek bonds are tendered for the offer, the Hellenic Republic, after consulting with European authorities, has the option of cancelling the entire exchange if its debt sustainability targets are not met. But what is likely to be the world’s biggest ever liability management exercise, a type of debt restructuring often undertaken by companies, will proceed in a series of stages during the next month.
Pain Mounts for Europe Banks - (online.wsj.com) Europe's banks, burdened by concerns about exposure to ailing Greece, took a perilous turn on Monday despite efforts by the biggest of them to calm panicked investors. France's financial system was especially hard hit, with shares in its three largest banks all falling more than 10%, as concerns about Greek default continued to cascade across Europe. European banks are cutting back on dollar-denominated loans, a troublesome sign of credit contraction at a time when American and European economies can least afford it. Underscoring the pressure banks face, Societe Generale chairman and chief executive Frédéric Oudéa held a morning conference call on Monday to quell concerns and say that the bank was well funded. Still, the French bank said that in addition to reducing its dollar-denominated debts, it is laying off workers and will speed up the sale of some investments to free up cash. That wasn't enough to soothe investors. Shares of Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole all tumbled on Monday, and have seen their values fall by about half since July.
Merkel Eschews ‘Uncontrolled Greek Insolvency’ - (www.bloomberg.com) German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Greece is taking the right steps to get its next bailout payment, warning against allowing a Greek default because of the risk of contagion for other euro-area countries. Merkel, in a German radio interview broadcast today, said that an “uncontrolled insolvency” would further roil markets spooked by the prospect of a Greek default. The euro region currently has no system for “orderly” insolvency until the permanent rescue fund is established in 2013, she said. “The top priority is to avoid an uncontrolled insolvency, because that wouldn’t just hit Greece and the danger that it hits everyone, or at least a number of other countries, is very big,” Merkel told Berlin-based broadcaster Inforadio. “I have made my position very clear: that everything must be done to keep the euro area together politically, because we would very quickly face a domino effect.” Merkel’s comments are a rebuff to calls by members of her ruling coalition to consider allowing Greece’s insolvency and exit from the currency union as it struggles to satisfy the terms of its aid package. They also belie government plans to support German banks in the event that Greece goes into default.
A CRISIS FOR THE WORLD: Citi's Willem Buiter Warns What Happens If Greece Quits The Euro - (www.businessinsider.com) Citi's Willem Buiter is out with a new note firmly opposing all those who toy with the idea of a Greek exit from the eurozone. "The prospect of Greece exiting the euro area is seldom viewed with the proper degree of fear and trepidation," he writes. While Buiter admits that a Greek exit could have euro-positive implications in the long term, in the short term it would be an "economic disaster" for both Greece and the remaining 16 euro states with "severe economic and political implications" for the rest of the world. Here are a few of his main points:
- A Greek exit is still unlikely but has become a lot more possible in the last few weeks.
- While the Euro Area can't formally kick Greece out of the euro, denying it bailout funds or forcing it to adopt unfeasible austerity measures would virtually amount to booting the Greeks out. Buiter cites stalled negotiations (set to resume tomorrow) between Greek officials and ECB/EU/IMF troika inspectors as a bad sign that this not impossible. "For the sake of economic stability and growth in the euro area, the wider European Union and the global economy, we hope that this message is taken to heart by the European authorities."
- Buiter believes that the troika will continue to give Greece funding, but will probably force Greece to endure more austerity cuts and will be directly involved in designing the program.
Italy Sells $5.3 Billion of Bonds as Borrowing Costs Climb, Demand Drops - (www.bloomberg.com)
401(k) break at risk as policymakers mull retirement shift - (www.reuters.com)
Italy confirms China meeting as debt pressure mounts - (www.reuters.com)
German Leader Faces Key Choices on Rescuing Euro - (www.nytimes.com)
Wary Investors Start to Shun European Banks - (www.nytimes.com)
U.K. Inflation Accelerates to 4.5% in August - (www.bloomberg.com)
Russia Sees Stalling Economy, Plunging Ruble With $60 a Barrel Oil Price - (www.bloomberg.com)
French Inflation Advances to Highest in Almost Three Years - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dark Side of Brazil's Rise - (online.wsj.com)
Import Prices in U.S. Fall a Second Time in Three Months on Food, Oil Drop - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. motorists may spend a record $491 billion for gasoline this year - (www.latimes.com)
Insight: Succession questions swirl around Cisco's Chambers - (www.reuters.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment