The looming bankruptcy that could paralyze
transit - (www.cnbc.com) A
real budget crisis is festering that could make the fiscal cliff seem like a
molehill. It will paralyze the nation's bridge, highway and mass transit
construction this summer and potentially set back many state economies. Yet, it
has received scant attention from Congress, at least until now. The federal
highway trust fund that finances more than $50 billion annually in highway and
bridge construction is running out of cash and will be bankrupt by late July or
early August, at the height of the construction season, according to Department
of Transportation (DOT) projections. Coming off one of the worst winters in
memory, some state and local governments have already begun pulling back on
plans for filling potholes and paving highways. Things could get much worse if
Congress and the Obama administration allow a four-year transportation funding
authorization law to expire this fall without a replacement.
Coldwater
Creek Files Bankruptcy After Apparel Sales Fall - (www.bloomberg.com) Coldwater Creek Inc. (CWTR), a women’s clothing retailer that hasn’t
posted an annual profit since 2007, filed for bankruptcy protection with a plan to start
going-out-of-business sales in time for Mother’s Day. Coldwater, founded as a
catalog business 30 years ago, said it intends to start liquidating inventory
just before the May 11 holiday, a peak sales period for the retailer. The
company listed assets of $278.5 million and debt of $361.3 million in Chapter 11
papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. The chain said revenue peaked at $1.1 billion
in 2006. It expanded from 198 stores in 2005 to 336 locations in 2007 before
the global economic downturn stunted its financial success and triggered a
series of management changes, according to court filings. Sales at stores open
at least a year plunged 17 percent in the quarter ended Nov. 2. The company
joins women’s clothing chains Dots LLC and Ashley Stewart Holdings Inc. in
bankruptcy. Dots, with 400 stores, shut down after filing in January. Ashley
Stewart, with 168 stores in 24 states, sought Chapter 11 protection on March
10. A drop in mall traffic also has helped to drive pizza seller Sbarro LLC,
toasted-sandwich chain Quiznos and the owner of Hot Dog on a Stick to seek
court protection since February
7
doctors got more than $10M from Medicare in 2012 - (www.usatoday.com) hey
are the $10 million men of Medicare. In 2012, seven physicians in the country
received more than $10 million in reimbursements for services billed to
Medicare, according to newly released federal data. They range from
ophthalmologists who submitted claims for specialized, high-cost drug
treatments to pathologists who billed the program for thousands of clinical
tests performed by their labs. Some built large, successful practices; others
face investigations for fraudulent billing. The doctor with the highest
reimbursement total is enmeshed in a criminal inquiry involving a U.S. senator.
It's the first time since the 1970s that Medicare, the public insurance program
for seniors, has provided claims and payment figures for individual providers.
Among the 880,644 health care practitioners who billed Medicare for services in
2012, the average reimbursement for the year was $87,883. Yet more than 2,000
of those providers broke $2 million in Medicare receipts.
US 'hostile' environment for business: Langone - (www.cnbc.com) Excessive
regulation has created a "hostile" environment for business owners in
the United States, curbing liquidity and putting a drag on the economy,
billionaire investment banker and business magnate Ken Langone said Friday on
CNBC. "We are in a period of intense and unreasonable regulation and we're
seeing the fruits of that environment," said Langone, co-founder of Home Depot, on "Squawk on
the Street."
"We have to accept the fact that what's going on today doesn't come
without cost and the cost is economic growth." To Langone, heavy
regulation has spooked business owners from investing in their companies. So
instead of spending excess cash or taking out a loan to hire more employees or
update equipment, Langone said many CEOs are choosing to return that capital to
shareholders by way of a stock re-purchase or dividend increase.
Detroit settlement approved—at what cost? - (www.cnbc.com) Detroit,
like many other cities, was sold the swaps as a way to guard against rising
interest rates. At the time, in 2005 and 2006, a fixed rate of 6 percent seemed
like a good bet. The deals also allowed the city to skirt state borrowing caps
and shore up its pension funds. Then, interest rates plunged and the city was
stuck paying the higher rate. In 2009, already teetering on the brink of
default, the city pledged revenue from its casinos as collateral. Without those
funds for city services, Detroit hurtled toward the largest municipal
bankruptcy in U.S. history last year. In rejecting the previous settlements,
Rhodes suggested the city could have sued the banks to declare the swaps illegal.
That gave Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr the leverage to push the banks
for a better deal. The city will pay the banks in monthly installments. In
return, the banks will eventually give up their claims to the casino revenue.
Dennis Gartman: Avoid stocks
for a month or more - (www.cnbc.com)
Gundlach: Global economy could see 'deflationary scare' - (www.reuters.com)
Gundlach: Global economy could see 'deflationary scare' - (www.reuters.com)
Turkish
Lira Drops With Bonds as Moody’s Lowers Rating Outlook - (www.bloomberg.com)
Exclusive: SEC eyes test that may lead to shift away from 'dark pools' - (www.reuters.com)
Exclusive: SEC eyes test that may lead to shift away from 'dark pools' - (www.reuters.com)
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