EU-DIGEST: Profits

Showing posts with label Profits. Show all posts

4/5/23

EU: high corporate profits during bad economic times are bad for consumers

When major oil companies announced record earnings in February, even US President Joe Biden was appalled. The White House said it was "outrageous" that ExxonMobil had raked in a profit of $56 billion (€51 billion) in 2022 as consumers were grappling with inflation rates not seen in decades.

Top policymakers in Europe have also weighed in on the issue, imposing windfall taxes on energy firms. Even though price pressures have eased lately from their record levels, the eurozone is still reeling from elevated inflation levels. Consumer prices in the common currency area rose 6.9% in March from a year earlier, keeping inflation at more than three times the European Central Bank's target of 2%.

7/30/22

The Pharmaceutical Cartel: Drug firms poised to make billions of dollars from Covid booster jabs

Drug firms poised to make billions of dollars from Covid booster jabs | Pharmaceuticals industry | The Guardian

8/14/20

US health insurers doubled profits in second quarter amid pandemic

The enormous medical response in America to the coronavirus pandemic has not put a drain on US health insurers, which doubled profits in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the same time last year.

The US fight against the virus has been marked by overwhelmed hospitals, testing delays and personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, but the high profits reported by some insurers have underlined concerns about America’s for-profit healthcare model.

Read more at:
US health insurers doubled profits in second quarter amid pandemic | US news | The Guardian

9/25/19

The Netherlands - healthcare: profits skyrocket at 85 Dutch Healthcare firms

7/30/19

USA: What is “Medicare for All”? – by William Wayland

Fifty-four years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law, the overwhelmingly popular program that provides health care and supports the economic security for more than 58 million seniors.

Yet, despite Medicare’s overwhelming success, we continue to face a serious health care crisis in our country, especially for those without Medicare or other government-sponsored health care. Millions remain uninsured or underinsured, and many others who have health coverage are just one serious health issue away from bankruptcy. While the United States spends the most on health care per capita in the world, we have some of the lowest health outcomes among developed nations.

That’s because the health care industry – insurance companies, pharmaceutical giants, device manufacturers, hospital groups, private equity, and Wall Street and their well-paid lobbyists – are raking in billions off the backs of sick people and spending millions to keep their profits flowing. Republicans and even some Democrats are all-too-happy to oblige.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Progressives lawmakers in Congress, policy experts, health care professionals and others who demand a bold solution to fix this for-profit health care fiasco have a commonsense, popular alternative, and you’ve probably heard about it. It’s called “Medicare for All” – a plan to expand Medicare to everyone to ensure all Americans have health coverage provided by the government.

What exactly is Medicare for All, how would it work and why are Republicans and many in the health care industry so opposed to it?

What is Medicare for All?

Health care is a basic human right, not a luxury for just those who can afford it. Medicare for All ensures that all Americans have access to health care provided by the government.
It’s a single, national health plan that makes sure everyone can see a doctor when they’re sick.

Medicare for All would replace the greedy, for-profit leeches that drive up costs without making us any healthier and would result in more health care coverage and better outcomes while reducing overall medical costs. Medicare for All would also improve the program for today’s seniors by including younger people and adding dental and hearing coverage into Medicare.

Here are more details about Medicare for All and an FAQ that dispels many of the misconceptions about single-payer health care from the Physicians for a National Health Program.

Who supports Medicare for All?

Medicare for All is extremely popular. Polling consistently shows that the American public supports a single-payer, Medicare for All system. In fact, a recent poll shows that 70% of Americans support Medicare for All, including 52% of Republicans. National Nurses United, a 150,000-member labor union, supports Medicare for All. More than 100 members of Congress support Medicare for All, and at least a dozen 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls support some version of Medicare for All.

In 2018, CREDO, along with many of our progressive allies including Healthcare-NOW, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America, Daily Kos, Justice Democrats, MoveOn and Public Citizen, delivered more than 1 million petition signatures urging Congress to take action to pass Medicare for All.

Is there legislation in Congress to pass Medicare for All?

Yes, and CREDO actively supports these bills.

Sen. Bernie Sanders recently re-introduced his comprehensive Medicare for All legislation in the Senate, and Rep. Pramilla Jayapal introduced an incredibly detailed, 125+ page Medicare for All version in the House of Representatives.

In May, CREDO Action Co-Director Josh Nelson visited Rep. Jayapal’s office to host a great panel with Alex Lawson of Social Security Works where they discussed why profit has no place in our health care system and why Medicare for All is the best plan to ensure all people have health care. You can watch the full livestream here:

What’s stopping Medicare for All from being enacted?

Simply put: greed.

CREDO needs your help to show tremendous grassroots support for Medicare for All. While conservative Democrats resist the plan and some presidential candidates float proposals that fall short of expanding Medicare to everyone, we believe that bold, progressive ideas deserve support.

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12/20/17

USA Pharmaceutical Prices all over the map: Want cheaper prescription drugs? You better shop around

The American Health-Care System rated worst in the Western World

Consumer Reports found that in the US cash prices for several common generic medications like Cymbalta could vary greatly from pharmacy to pharmacy, even in one zip code.

Desiree Bercilla's life was jolted in May when her boyfriend was diagnosed with Bell's palsy. She received another surprise when she phoned her local pharmacy and found the drug he needed, the antiviral Valtrex, would cost nearly $600.

That was the price for the brand-name version but even the generic was more than $200. Bercilla continued to make calls until Costco, the warehouse chain, quoted her a price of less than $39 for the generic.

"My initial reaction was shock," Bercilla said. "Because I can't believe that in order for me to get the best price from the pharmacy, I have to shop around."

Bercilla, a 37-year-old with a 3-year-old daughter, got similar results when NBC News asked her to check the cash price — the amount paid by someone not using insurance — of Valtrex in her area again last month.

Prices ranged from a high of $596 at Walmart to $473 at Costco for the brand-name prescription. For the generic, Walgreens had the highest price at almost $242 while the cheapest was at Costco, selling for just under $39.

Experts say the disparity Bercilla encountered isn't a fluke. Lisa Gill, prescription drug editor at Consumer Reports, told NBC News that prices vary wildly from pharmacy to pharmacy, even in the same region.

A new Consumer Reports survey of 1,200 adults on prescription medication found 22 percent — which would translate into about 27 million Americans — saw a price hike for at least one drug. For one in three of those consumers, the hike cost them at least $50 extra per month.

That's why shopping around can really pay for consumers, many of whom don't even realize how much they can save.

"When we look at retail prices across the country we see — for the same drug, for the same dose, for the same quantity, everything the same — incredible price differences even within the same zip code," Gill said.

"It can be up to 10 times bigger," Gill said.

Read more: Want cheaper prescription drugs? You better shop around | Euronews

11/29/17

U.S. Economic Forecast: Growth of the economy to continue through 2018

For the first time since the middle of 2014, the US economy has sustained 3 percent growth for two consecutive quarters, providing strong momentum into next year. The current Conference Board forecast calls for 2.8 percent growth during the final quarter of 2017 and 2.5 percent growth in 2018.

This would represent the economy’s best 2-year run since 2005.

Business investment has awakened from the doldrums this year, rising by more than 4 percent after falling into negative territory in 2016. Confidence in the manufacturing sector has been especially strong.

The composition of growth supports a long-term improvement in productivity. Capital equipment has risen at an 8.7 percent annual rate during the past two quarters, while investment in warehouse structures is up more than 20 percent since the end of last year. These investments demonstrate a renewed firm commitment to increased efficiency.

Consumer spending eased a bit in the third quarter, but with The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index still strong and housing prices rising, expect a robust holiday season.

One encouraging sign was the pickup in motor vehicle spending thanks to renewed demand following the two hurricanes. Should employment growth rebound quickly from last month’s storm related decline, tighter labor markets should translate into a renewed wage acceleration which could boost spending late this year or into 2018. The possibility of federal income tax cuts could do the same.

The economy enters 2018 in good position to maintain strong growth from 2017.

Current Fed chair Janet Yellen and new Fed chair nominee Jerome Powell may raise rates slightly faster as a result. These expectations have led long-term rates to rise modestly.

The dollar has also started strengthening since early September after weakening through much of 2017, creating less favorable terms of trade. Higher capital costs and the possibility of a less supportive external environment for growth have not rattled the market yet.

With growth prospects strong for 2018, profits should grow robustly as well, rewarding those businesses that increase investment levels.

Read more: U.S. Forecast | The Conference Board

5/21/17

Saudi Arabia - US relations: 110 Billion dollar arms deal

The US Secretary of State proudly stated the huge multi-billion dollar arms sales agreements will help Saudi Arabia deal with 'malign Iranian influence and create thousands of new jobs in the US.

Unfortunately, it will also mean hundreds of thousands of people killed by these weapons.

The question, obviously, which should have been asked in this case: "wouldn't a ban on all weapons sales to the war ravaged Middle East have been a far better way to go?: "Maybe less profitable for the US Weapons Industry, but certainly a more moral way of action".

Specially for a country which prides itself to be a "champion for peac".

EU-Digest

4/19/16

TTIP: U.S. Trade Policy: Populist Anger or Out-of-Touch Elites? - by Jeff Faux,

Nobody wants it except the
Corporate and Government elites

The presidential primary campaigns of both political parties have exposed widespread voter anger over U.S. global trade policies. In response, hardly a day has recently gone by without the New York Times, the Washington Post and other defenders of the status quo lecturing their readers on why unregulated foreign trade is good for them.

The ultimate conclusion is always the same – that voters should leave complicated issues like this to those intellectually better qualified to deal with them. So much for democracy.

Trade experts, according to Binyamin Appelbaum of the Times have been “surprised” at the popular discontent over this issue. Their surprise only shows how disconnected the elite and the policy class that supports it is from the way most people actually experience the national economy.

The United States has always been a trading nation. But until the 1994 North American Trade Agreement, trade policy was primarily an instrument to support domestic economic welfare and development.

Starting with NAFTA, pushed through not by a Republican president, but by the Bill Clinton in 1994, it became a series of deals in which profit opportunities for American investors were opened up elsewhere in the world in exchange for opening up U.S. labor markets to fierce foreign competition.

As Jorge Castañeda, who later became Mexico’s foreign minister, put it, NAFTA was “an agreement for the rich and powerful in the United States, Mexico and Canada, an agreement effectively excluding ordinary people in all three societies.”

For 20 years, leaders of both parties have assured Americans that each new NAFTA-style deal would bring more jobs and higher wages for workers, and trade surpluses for their country. It was, they were told, an iron law of economics.

What actually followed were outsourced jobs, wage declines, shrunken opportunities and rising trade deficits. The result has been a dramatic weakening of the bargaining power of American workers.

So it should come as no surprise when the large parts of the U.S. workforce now conclude that these trade deals may have had something to do with the redistribution of income from their pockets to the bank accounts of the top 1% who own and manage large multinational corporations.

Read more: U.S. Trade Policy: Populist Anger or Out-of-Touch Elites? - The Globalist

7/17/15

European Automobile Industry: European car sales show a tentative recovery - by Holly Ellyatt

European car sales bounced back in the first half of the year and rose almost 15 percent in June alone – even in Greece, according to new car sales data, signalling a tentative rise in consumer confidence over the regions' economic recovery.

New car sales in the European Union (EU) rose 8.2 percent in the first half of the year, according to data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association on Thursday, surpassing 7 million units (7,169,984).

All major markets posted growth, contributing to the overall upturn of the EU market over the period, the EAMA said.

In June alone, new passenger car registrations in the region rose 14.6 percent from the same month a year ago, continuing an upward trend that started 22 months ago "and marking the largest over-the-month increase since December 2009," the association added.

Read more: European car sales show a tentative recovery

2/11/15

Soft Drink Industry: Coke’s bubbly US sales not enough to offset profit plunge

Coca-Cola has reported a not so sweet 55 percent plunge in quarterly profit.

The strength of the bubbly dollar hit its revenue from sales outside of the United States for the world’s largest beverage maker.

That was partly offset by the fact that it did make more in North America, its biggest market, in the final three months of the year.

Through most of last year sales there were flat or weaker as US consumers opt for healthier drinks, shifting away from diet sodas due to concerns over artificial sweeteners.

Analysts said Americans are still drinking less soda but are paying higher prices for it.

Read more: Coke’s bubbly US sales not enough to offset profit plunge | euronews, corporate

2/1/15

The Super Bowl: Things you need you know about the Super Bowl that have nothing to do with football

Tens of thousands of people are expected to descend upon Glendale, Arizona for Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, but one of America’s most popular events has become much more than a simple sports game.

While the main attractions remain the football game, the halftime show, and the millions of dollars spent on creative commercials, not everything about the event is as fun to digest as a plate of fried food and ice-cold beer.

With some 60,000 people packing into the University of Phoenix Stadium and tens of thousands of others visiting the Glendale and Phoenix area, the Super Bowl has become a genuine security concern for the American government. At the same time, serious questions have been raised about everything from the use of taxpayer funds to a potential spike in sex trafficking.

None of these security measures come cheap, however. Although it’s hard to say exactly how much it costs taxpayers to secure the Super Bowl area, it easily requires millions of dollars. According to NJ.com, estimates put the price tag for last year’s event in New Jersey at $36.9 million in taxpayer funds. That money went towards security and transportation, and it’s likely Arizona will pay a hefty price as well.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers estimates the city itself will spend $3 million hosting the Super Bowl – cash that won’t be reimbursed by the NFL or offset by the $1 million-plus expected in tax revenues. Proponents of the Super Bowl say the event boosts local economies by packing hotels, restaurants and bars, but these benefits may very well be overstated.

In 2008 – the last time Glendale hosted the big game – the city lost $1.6 million overall.
Frustration with the NFL – listed as a non-profit organization – has resulted in a set of proposals aimed at stripping away that status. A new bill in Congress and the New York State Assembly would remove its non-profit status and subject the organization to more taxes.

Read more: Things you need you know about the Super Bowl that have nothing to do with football — RT USA

1/7/15

Aircraft Industry: Boeing Plane Deliveries Hit Record; Airbus Wins On Orders

Airbus 380 escorted by Eurofighters

Boeing said on Tuesday that it delivered 723 jetliners in 2014, hitting its own target, setting .
an industry record and retaining its title as the world's biggest plane maker, beating rival Airbus Group.

Boeing set company records by booking 1,550 gross orders and 1,432 net orders worth $232.7 billion at list prices in 2014. Net orders, which account for cancellations, rose 6 percent from the prior year.

Airbus is expected to announce next week that it was ahead ofBoeing on both gross orders and net orders, according to the person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified.

Airbus is expecting "one of the best years ever" in orders, according to a source at the European plane maker, speaking earlier on Tuesday. In 2013, the company booked 1,619 gross orders and 1,503 net orders.

While investors closely watch orders, deliveries measure the ability to convert orders into cash, since the bulk of aircraft payments come when airlines fly them away from the factory.

Boeing's report suggested stable or growing production rates and also showed its progress in selling end-of-production jets as it transitions to newer models.

The company delivered 126 of its 737s in the fourth quarter, for example, precisely hitting its target of 42 planes a month. In 2014, it delivered 485 of the jets, a record.

Meanwhile, Boeing delivered its 787 at a rate of nearly 12 a month in the final quarter, up from about nine a month in the rest of the year, when production problems slowed output.

That is above the current production rate of 10 a month.

Read More: Boeing Plane Deliveries Hit Record; Airbus Wins On Orders

1/9/14

USA: Insurance Industry Making Out Like Bandits On Obamacare-Premiums Worth More Than $90 Billion - by Value Penguin

The Affordable Care Act will push the over 45 million uninsured in the United States to find health care coverage. The largest portion of this group will find coverage through the health insurance marketplaces set up by the state and federal exchanges. Consumers purchasing through the exchanges will receive coverage through private insurance companies, with many receiving federal tax credits to help pay for policies. While the consumer may not be paying the full price of the policy, the insurance companies will still receive the full premium.

Based on our estimates the uninsured are worth a potential $92+ billion in annual premiums to the insurance companies. The Affordable Care Act requires that 80% of the value of the premiums be used to service health care costs, leaving a little over $18.4 billion to be spread across employees, marketing, overhead and profits. Insurance companies we've looked at could expect anywhere from 2-4% of all premiums to come in the form of profits. This would amount to $1.8-$3.6 billion dollars annually.

Read more Obamacare Could Be Worth More Than $90 Billion to the Insurance Industry - DailyFinance

10/30/13

Cruise Industry: Norwegian posts improved third-quarter profits -by Hannah Sampson

Buoyed by the performance of its newest ship, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings reported higher revenues and profits for the third quarter Monday afternoon.

The positive earnings report provided more good news for the cruise industry, which has faced rough waters since early last year. Last week, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. posted results for the quarter that were better than expected.

Norwegian, with a fleet of 12 ships, reported revenue of nearly $798 million, an 18 percent increase over the third quarter of 2012. Net income increased more than 33 percent to nearly $171 million.

Net yields, or the net revenue per capacity day, increased 4.1 percent thanks to higher cruise fares and increased passenger spending on board.

Capacity days increased by nearly 15 percent compared to the previous year with the addition of the 4,028-passenger Norwegian Breakaway, which launched in May. Sister ship Norwegian Getaway starts sailing year-round from Miami in February.

Read more: Norwegian posts improved third-quarter profits - Tourism & Cruises - MiamiHerald.com

1/20/13

USA, Inc: Forecast: Top three Inc's with the higest profits: Apple, Exxon and Microsoft - by Douglas A. McIntyre

Each January, 24/7 Wall St. forecasts the publicly traded U.S. companies that will have the highest profits in the year ahead.

This year, Apple (AAPL) almost certainly will keep first place, well ahead of No. 2 Exxon (XOM), as the most profitable corporation in America. It already passed the oil giant in market capitalization.

However, while the market appears to anticipate continued rapid growth from Apple, its prospects have dimmed somewhat. After reaching all-time highs last year, Apple's stock advance has stopped and shares have sold off recently.

The list of most profitable companies is still dominated by oil companies, banks and big tech. A look back at profits over the past five years shows that this trend has continued. Some of these companies have not grown much on the top line of revenue for several years. But they continue to be earnings machines because of their long-time sales success, which will help them produce higher profits in the foreseeable future.

Microsoft (MFST) is the best example of this. The software company is no longer considered a leader in the tech world, a position taken by public corporations like Google (GOOG) . Yet, Microsoft's Windows and business franchises still have huge profit margins. Microsoft's net income is greater than that of almost all other tech firms.

Read more: Forecast: 10 most profitable U.S. companies in 2013

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