Yearly Archives: 2013

A Christian Alternative to Health Insurance (ObamaCare Exempt)

"As nonprofits, health care sharing ministries aren't required to follow the same state and federal regulations as health insurance companies. The Affordable Care Act has a section that exempts members of health care sharing ministries from purchasing insurance. The Amish, Mennonite, and Indian tribe communities also are exempt from the penalty that will be incurred on Americans who fail to purchase health insurance by 2014. Since the law was passed in 2010, membership for Medi-Share and Samaritan Ministries has risen by about 40 percent. Christian health sharing ministries are largely unregulated, except by themselves." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Christian Alternative to Health Insurance (ObamaCare Exempt)

Insurers predict 100% to 400% Obamacare rate explosion

"Internal cost estimates from 17 of the nation's largest insurance companies indicate that health insurance premiums will grow an average of 100 percent under Obamacare, and that some will soar more than 400 percent, crushing the administration's goal of affordability. New regulations, policies, taxes, fees and mandates are the reason for the unexpected 'rate shock,' according to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which released a report Monday based on internal documents provided by the insurance companies. The 17 companies include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Kaiser Foundation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInsurers predict 100% to 400% Obamacare rate explosion

Insurers predict 100% to 400% Obamacare rate explosion

"Internal cost estimates from 17 of the nation's largest insurance companies indicate that health insurance premiums will grow an average of 100 percent under Obamacare, and that some will soar more than 400 percent, crushing the administration's goal of affordability. New regulations, policies, taxes, fees and mandates are the reason for the unexpected 'rate shock,' according to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which released a report Monday based on internal documents provided by the insurance companies. The 17 companies include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Kaiser Foundation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInsurers predict 100% to 400% Obamacare rate explosion

Dutch firm Eliantie offers staff holiday pay in bitcoins

"An ICT recruitment firm based in the Netherlands is offering its employees holiday pay in the form of bitcoins, according to Dutch news sources. Eliantie announced in a press release today that staff members will receive their vacation pay in bitcoins, the news site NU reported. The company has reportedly been mining bitcoins since 2010, and has now amassed enough of the digital currency to begin using it for holiday pay. Eliantie employees were initially reluctant to accept bitcoins, reported the Dutch-language publication Automation Guide. Following several informational meetings, however, 'they are almost all convinced of the benefits,' it reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDutch firm Eliantie offers staff holiday pay in bitcoins

Bitcoin Hardware Wallet: Alpha Software Demonstration

"This is a demonstration of the alpha version of my Bitcoin Hardware Wallet, code-named the Bitcoin Titan. All of the necessary features are implemented and working correctly. The software is undergoing final polish and testing. The first board spin is underway. Obviously, excuse the crude graphics and wonky font; those will be cleaned up during the polishing." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: This is not a normal economy at all

"'Normal' is what you get when you don't experiment. So, how can you get to 'normal' from a 'Great Experiment?' We will leave that for the philosophers of tomorrow. Today, we'll merely suggest that maybe this economy isn't so normal. What's normal about an economy where the major financial institutions can borrow money at zero real cost? What's normal about an economy in which people who have run their businesses so recklessly that they had to be bailed out by the government are still running their businesses...and can now borrow at lower rates than good businesses?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: This is not a normal economy at all

Japan stocks and consumer spending storm back on weak yen

"Growth jumped to a 3.5pc rate in the first quarter, vindicating the government’s efforts to break Japan’s deflation psychology and lift the country out of its 20-year ice age. 'Abe’s kickstart appears to have succeeded,' said Flemming Nielsen from Danske Bank. Retail sales are soaring as a 'wealth shock' electrifies the economy. The Nikkei index has risen has 70pc since November, with foreign hedge funds among the first to jump on the bandwagon. The weaker yen is already delivering a powerful punch, accounting for almost half the growth. The currency has dropped 30pc against the dollar and China’s yuan since August, and 37pc against the euro." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan stocks and consumer spending storm back on weak yen

Another Amazing Fat Tuesday on Wall Street

"The Dow Jones Industrial average closed Tuesday at a new all-time high with a triple-digit surge of 123 points. And it’s fitting that the Dow hit a new high of 15,215 on a Tuesday because it’s the 18th straight Tuesday that the industrials have finished the day higher than where they began. This 18 for 18 streak started all the way back on January 15. The Dow since then is up more than 1700 points. And according to the statistical gurus at Bespoke Investment Group over 1400 of the 1700 plus points gained since then on the Dow have come on, you guessed it, Tuesday. That’s 83 percent of all the gains in stocks since then coming on this one day of the week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother Amazing Fat Tuesday on Wall Street

Forget Too Big to Fail Banks — It’s Time to Break Up the Fed

"St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard recently laid out four criteria that a bank needs to be split up — namely, if its assets are too voluminous, if it's too leveraged, if it has too much short-term funding of longer term assets and if it creates too much systemic risk. Alex Pollock said of the Fed: It's too big, with over $3.3 trillion in assets, it's too leveraged at 60 to 1, it's extremely short-funded and it's 'a frequent contributor through its interest rate and money-printing action of gigantic systemic risk.' 'Therefore, it follows pretty clearly from the same logic that we should break up the Fed,' said Pollock, a former bank CEO." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingForget Too Big to Fail Banks — It’s Time to Break Up the Fed