When the Treasury Department bailed out AIG and said two years ago that it was likely to lose only about $5 billion on the bailout, Neil Barofsky, a former official of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) declared that the number was “manipulated” as part of a “publicity campaign” to boost the positive aspects ahead… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Accounting Principles
The Unbanked
According to a new Federal report, more Americans are limiting or have no interaction with banks. Instead they rely on check cashers and payday lenders to manage their finances. Questions: 1. What are the costs and benefit of avoiding banks? 2. What percentage of U.S. households are “unbanked”? What are the demographics of this group?… Read more »
Do I have to take the course? Will I go to jail?
More than 300 district attorneys’ offices allow debt collectors to use their letterhead to send letters to people across the country who have written bad checks. These letters threaten them with jail if they do not pay up. In return, the companies try to collect not only the unpaid check, but also high fees from… Read more »
Debt for Life?
Here are the facts. Four-year college graduates’ pay advantage over high school grads has doubled over the past 30 years. However, in 2010, student debt exceeded credit-card debt for the first time and in 2011, it surpassed auto loans. In March 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that student debt had passed $1 trillion… Read more »
Money Market Funds: A Safe Bet?
Should we risk another 2008 financial meltdown? The answer is no. However, late last month the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) abandoned efforts to impose new regulations on money market funds intended to prevent another panic like the one that occurred then. Because money market funds are typically invested in short-term, low-risk assets (like United… Read more »
Outlasting Resources: Unchartered Medicaid Territory
The presidential election may decide the fate of Medicaid’s future. Faced with rising Medicaid costs and budget deficits, many states are already trying to cut the cost of long-term care by significantly changing Medicaid coverage, through the use of federal waivers. To be eligible for Medicaid, a person must spend down so that they have… Read more »
The Business Model of Overstating Benefits: How Harmful or Ethical?
It is estimated that between 50,000 to 100,000 patients died or had a heart attack as a result of taking the drug Advandia. For seven years, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) failed to report data that indicated Advandia increases the risk of heart attack by 40%. As we reported back in July, in the biggest health care fraud… Read more »
Are you Suspicious? Maybe you should be!
A few years ago, Todd Rutherford was part of the marketing department at a company that provided services to self-published writers. These services included persuading traditional media and blogs to review the books. Then he realized that there were not enough reviewers to go around. So he started a website, GettingBookReviews.com, which eventually earned him… Read more »
Private Equity Firms and A Tax Strategy Investigation
Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, is investigating abusive tax strategies at some of the nation’s largest private equity firms. As part of these efforts, last week, he subpoenaed documents from more than a dozen firms hoping to uncover conversion of certain management fees collected from their investors into fund investments, which are taxed… Read more »
Coming to a store near you: What are the cost and benefits of good health?
Hy-Vee is the only grocery chain in the country that posts a registered dietitian in almost every one of its 235 stores. In rural areas, some of its more than 190 dietitians serve a cluster of stores. By doing this it capitalizes on growing consumer awareness of the role food plays in health and wellness… Read more »
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