BOARD CERTIFICATION EXAM STUDY GUIDES Lower Extremity Trauma
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Posted on August 2, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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CVS Health is eliminating about 5,000 jobs in an effort to reduce costs as it turns its focus to healthcare services, the company said Tuesday. The cuts represent less than 2% of the company’s total workforce, which comprised of roughly 300,000 employees at the end of 2022. The layoffs will affect “non-customer facing positions,” the company said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY.
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AT&T Inc.’s human resources chief, Angela Santone, will leave the company at the end of September, just as the telecommunications giant is eliminating thousands of jobs as part of a newly expanded $8 billion cost-reduction program. Chief Executive Officer John Stankey informed employees last week in an email that Santone was leaving. She is one of only three female top executives at AT&T.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended:
The S&P 500 Index was down 12.23 points (0.3%) at 4,576.73; the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up 71.15 points (0.2%) at 35,630.68; the NASDAQ Composite (COMP) was down 62.11 points (0.4%) at 14,283.91.
The 10-year Treasury note yield was up about 8 basis points at 4.037%.
Cboe’s Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.29 at 13.92.
Financials were among the weakest sectors Tuesday, with the KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) falling more than 1%.
Energy shares were also under pressure as crude oil futures pulled back from a recent rally.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) strengthened for a fourth consecutive day, rising to its highest level in about three weeks.
The 4% Rule is a practical rule of thumb that may be used by retirees to decide how much they should withdraw from their retirement funds each year; according to Investopedia.
The purpose of adopting the rule is to keep a steady income stream while maintaining an adequate overall account balance for future years. The withdrawals will consist primarily of interest and dividends on savings.
CHALLENGE: But, experts like Mike Kitces are divided on whether the 4% withdrawal rate is the best option. Many, including the creator of the rule, say that 5% is a better rule for all but the worst-case scenario.
Posted on August 1, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
What is the Dow Theory?
By Staff Reporters
Pioneered by Charles H. Dow, one of the founders of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones & Co., and the publisher of MarketWatch, the theory states that if two stock-market averages, most commonly the Dow industrials and transport gauges, reach notable new highs within the same short period, then the broader market is likely headed higher.
It also was one of the first theories that sought to codify a methodology for prognosticating where the market might be headed in the intermediate future. For more than a century, it’s been a staple in the repertoire of technical strategists, who aim to glean insights through analysis of stock-market charts and indicators.
Dow Theory has lost some of its luster in modern times, especially as the Dow has taken a backseat in recent years to the S&P 500 and high flying tech-heavy indexes like the NASDAQ Composite and NASDAQ-100 critics also have lambasted it as overly simplistic.
But proponents of the technical Dow Theory can still point to a wealth of historical data showing it generally works as a buy signal, especially if its broadened to include other indexes like the now-dominant S&P 500.
Posted on August 1, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
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Posted on August 1, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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This week executives from Pfizer, Moderna, AmerisourceBergen, Cigna, and other health companies are set to update investors on their latest financials and product offerings.
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Markets: Stocks ended the day in the green closing out a July where all three major indexes ticked up—the NASDAQ most of all. It was the S&P 500’s fifth-straight month of gains, giving the index its best streak since 2021.
Palantir became the latest company to get a big AI boost after one analyst dubbed it the “Messi of A.I.” because the software company is poised to become a major player.
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The Biden administration just announced it is forming a new Office of Long COVID Research and Practice to study the condition and help those who have been diagnosed with it. The office, which will be under the Department of Health and Human Services, “is charged with on-going coordination of the whole-of-government response to the longer-term effects of COVID-19,” according to a news release.
According to Paige Minemyer of Fierce Healthcare, the Joe Biden administration is proposing cuts to physician payments in its annual fee schedule, and doctors are not happy. Major industry groups have roundly called for Congress to step in to prevent the Medicare reimbursement changes from going through. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a 3.34% cut to the fee schedule’s conversion factor, which is used to calculate Medicare payouts to docs.
In a statement, the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) said that Medicare payments already fail to keep up with “the increasing cost of delivering healthcare,” and further cuts would only exacerbate that problem. “AMGA members cannot absorb this proposed payment cut,” said AMGA President and CEO Jerry Penso, MD.
“Their expenses are continuing to increase, and Congress needs to act to ensure Medicare’s reimbursement reflects the cost of delivering high-quality care to patients.”
Posted on July 31, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Darrell Pruitt DDS
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“Regardless whether you are a physician, dentist or optometrist, they are coming for your patients’ records, Doc.” Family Vision of Anderson Data Breach Leaks Social Security Numbers of Up to 62,631 Patients
On July 26, 2023, Family Vision of Anderson filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Maine after a ransomware attack exposed confidential patient information to unauthorized access. In this notice, Family Vision explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access patients’ sensitive information, which includes their first and last names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, genders, health insurance information, and protected health information.
Upon completing its investigation, Family Vision began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.
“Twenty-one percent of organizations stated that ransomware is now specifically excluded from their policies, and those with cyber insurance saw changes in their last policy renewals: 74% saw increased premiums, 43% saw increased deductibles, 10% saw coverage benefits reduced.” From “Ransomware is being excluded from cyber insurance policies”
Posted on July 31, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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TESLA: A $10,000 investment in the EV maker’s shares placed in late July of 2015 would have, after two stock splits, grown to a monster pile of almost $2.25 million eight years later.
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The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations is rising this summer in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hospitalizations of people with the virus are up 10%, per CDC data — the sharpest increase since December 2022. More than 7,100 patients with COVID were hospitalized in the week of July 15th, up from 6,444 the prior week.
COVID-related emergency room visits are also on the rise, comprising 0.73% of visits as of July 21st, compared to 0.49% a month prior. “After roughly six, seven months of steady declines, things are starting to tick back up again,”Dr. Brendan Jackson, the CDC’s COVID-19 incident manager in Atlanta, Georgia, told NPR this week.
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Meanwhile, a Chinese-linked company was found running an unlicensed California bio-laboratory that contained at least 20 potentially infectious diseases, including corona virus, HIV, hepatitis, and herpes. The warehouse was discovered by local and federal agents in Fresno County. The illegal and unlicensed laboratory was full of lab mice, medical waste, and hazardous materials.
Federal agents interviewed a man named Xiuquin Yao who was running a company at the warehouse called “Prestige BioTech.” Yao served as president of the company.
Posted on July 31, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Health Capital Consultants, LLC
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As of the first quarter of 2022, 1,010 accountable care organizations (ACOs), comprising 1,760 private and public ACO contracts that covered 32 million beneficiaries, operated across the U.S. And, the majority of these ACOs were physician-led (41%), rather than hospital-led (26%) or jointly-led (27%) ACOs.
While the number of ACOs have steadily increased over the past several years, ACO growth has slowed, and even slightly decreased, in the past couple of years; this may be explained by shifts in federal government programs that are pushing all ACOs to take on downside risk at a faster pace. (Read more…)
Posted on July 30, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the US just rose to an eight-month high of $3.71, as per AAA. While that’s far below last summer’s peak of $5.02 per gallon, gas prices have been creeping up due to refineries going offline unexpectedly and higher demand for oil at a time when supply isn’t there to meet it.
Bloomberg Opinion’s oil guru, Javier Blas, notes that global oil consumption has likely reached a record high.
Posted on July 30, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The Fed’s favorite inflation measure fell. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a key data point for Jerome Powell and the FOMC, grew by only 3% last month compared to the previous June—its lowest annual rise since 2021.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the employment cost index, another favored gauge that tracks wages and benefits, also rose at its slowest rate in two years. Powell said earlier this week that central bankers will be watching the data to decide whether to raise rates again in September, and these are signs that things are moving in the direction the Federal Reserve wants.
Posted on July 29, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
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Posted on July 29, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Markets: Stocks entered the weekend on a high note yesterday, with rising tech stocks and falling inflation leading the way.
Stock spotlight: Tupperware kept climbing yesterday, after gaining more than 300% over the past month. Perhaps it has become the latest meme stock even though it warned in April that it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended for the day and week:
The S&P 500 Index was up 45 points (1%) at 4,582.23 and gained about 0.9% for the week; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 177 points (0.5%) at 35,459.29 and added 0.7% for the week; the NASDAQ Composite was up 267 points (1.9%) at 14,316.66 and gained nearly 1.5% for the week.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) fell about 5 points to 3.960%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 1.1 points to 13.29.
Posted on July 28, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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US gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a more-than-expected 2.4% annualized rate last quarter thanks to healthy consumer spending and businesses shelling out on investments. The latest figures show that not only is the US economy not spiraling into a recession due to interest rate hikes, it’s actually getting stronger as the year goes on.
In fact, underlying inflation rose at its slowest pace in two years. This could be a sign of the “soft landing” that FOMC Chair Jerome Powell seeks.
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The European Central Bank also took it a cue from the FOMC and raised interest rates to a 23-year high. Investors think it could be the ECB’s last rate hike this cycle.
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But, according to CNN, Japan’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged today despite rising inflation but hinted that it could gradually abandon years of cheap money, sending the yen soaring and stocks tumbling. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said it kept unchanged its short-term interest rate at minus 0.1% and maintained its target for the yield on 10-year government bond at around 0%.
But the central bank also said it would adopt a more flexible approach to controlling the yield on government bonds — which affects borrowing costs across the world’s third biggest economy,diluting a key pillar of its longstanding ultra-loose monetary policy.
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After a historic 13-day winning streak, the Dow—along with the other two major indexes—closed lower as its dizzying rise finally succumbed to gravity. There were some strong individual performances, however. Meta kept its impressive 2023 rolling after giving an optimistic earnings report.
Posted on July 28, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The Dow slipped on Thursday, snapping a 13-day winning streak. The blue-chip index fell 237 points after being on track to close higher for a 14th consecutive session. That would have marked the Dow’s longest run of consecutive gains since May 1897. If the Dow had closed higher Thursday and Friday, it would have notched 15 days of gains, its longest daily winning streak ever.
But the index’s run was at historic levels before it was cut short Thursday: On Wednesday it notched its 13th straight day of gains, its best winning streak since 1987 and its highest level since February 2022. The Dow, up roughly 6% for the year, has rallied in recent weeks as cooler-than-expected inflation data has investors more optimistic that a soft landing, or no recession, could be in the cards for the economy.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended for the day:
The S&P 500 Index was down 29 points (0.64%) at 4,537.41; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 237 points (0.67%) at 35,282.72; the NASDAQ Composite (COMP) was down 77 points (0.55%) at 14,050.11.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) rose about 14 points 4.002%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 5 points to at 13.32.
Dr. Michel Accad is a practicing cardiologist who blogs for a medical audience at alertandoriented.com
Conclusion
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Posted on July 27, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Whether we’ll see another interest rate increase soon depends on what happens between now and the Fed’s next meeting in September. Jerome Powell will be watching to see if consumer prices come down more than they already have, thanks to previous rate hikes.
There are some promising signs that the worst is behind us:
Tomorrow, when the government releases the latest personal consumption expenditures price index—the Fed’s preferred measure for tracking inflation—it’s expected to show the lowest inflation increase since the end of 2021. And last month, the consumer price index showed inflation fell to 3%, which is above the Fed’s 2% target but an improvement from last June’s 9.1%.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola—whose prices were 10% higher last quarter compared to Q2 2022—said it’s done marking up drinks for the year, and the CFO of Unilever said the packaged goods giant’s price inflation has peaked (though prices may still get higher).
But the FOMC wants more: Chairman Powell said that for inflation to be truly conquered, the job market, which currently boasts a low unemployment rate of 3.6%, will need to slow.
Posted on July 27, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate another 0.25% on Wednesday, reviving its inflation fight despite a significant cooldown of price increases in recent months. The rate hike brought the Fed’s benchmark interest rate to a 22-year high of between 5.25% and 5.5%. Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer, but remains at a level one percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
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The Dow on Wednesday rose for a 13th straight day, matching its longest winning streak since 1987. If it closes higher today, it would be a streak not seen since 1897 — about a year after the benchmark was created — when the Dow advanced for 14 sessions in a row. During this latest run, the Dow has outperformed, gaining 5%. That momentum hasn’t been seen in the broader S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite indexes, however. Both are up just 3% since the Dow’s streak began. The S&P 500 has fallen twice in that time, while the NASDAQ has posted three losing sessions
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended for the day:
The S&P 500 Index was down 0.02% at 4,566.75; the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up about 82 points (0.23%) at 35,520.12; the NASDAQ Composite was down 17 points (0.12%) at 14,127.28.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) edged down to 3.867%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 5 points to at 13.32.
Posted on July 27, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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President Joe Biden’s administration just announced new rules meant to push insurance companies to increase their coverage of mental health treatments.
The new regulations, which still need to go through a public comment period, would require insurers to study whether their customers have equal access to medical and mental health benefits and to take remedial action, if necessary.
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires that insurers provide the same level of coverage for both mental and physical health care — though the administration and advocates argue insurers’ policies restrict patient access.
Posted on July 26, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP
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(AP) — A federal lawsuit alleges that health insurance giant CIGNA used a computer algorithm to automatically reject hundreds of thousands of patient claims without examining them individually as required by California law.
The class-action lawsuit, just filed in federal court in Sacramento, says CIGNA Corp. and CIGNA Health and Life Insurance Co. rejected more than 300,000 payment claims in just two months last year.
The company used an algorithm called PXDX, shorthand for ”procedure-to-diagnosis,” to identify whether claims met certain requirements, spending an average of just 1.2 seconds on each review, according to the lawsuit.
Markets: The Dow is on a run for the ages, extending its winning streak to 12 days. But, Spotify revealing widening losses due to its failed podcasting investments and projected lower revenues. And its stock plunge came despite adding a record number of new subscribers.
Economy: All eyes are on the FOMC today: With another rate hike pretty much a lock, investors will seek Jerome Powell’s comments to see whether the Fed is considering any more increases.
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Alphabet, which declared a “code red” for Google Search late last year as rivals like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s AI-equipped Bing came on the scene, is chugging right along. Google’s search advertising sales grew to a better-than-expected $42.6 billion. And, most people haven’t made ChatGPT their default search engine.
Microsoft beat expectations on its top- and bottom lines and told investors that it had spent, and would continue spending, gobs of money to build out AI infrastructure.
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Snap. The social media platform just rolled out an AI chatbot, My AI, and boasted that 150+ million users have sent over 10 billion messages to it. But, still fighting against the likes of TikTok for ad spending in a sluggish market, Snap’s sales dropped for the second straight quarter, causing shares to plummet 19% after-hours.
Conference calls: Meta reports earnings today, and Amazon and Apple report next week.
Posted on July 26, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Google Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat will become president and chief investment officer of parent company Alphabet, ending an eight-year run during which she helped pitch the company to Wall Street.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended yesterday:
The S&P 500 Index was up about 13 points (0.28%) at 4,567.46; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up about 27 points (0.08%) at 35,438.07; the NASDAQ Composite was up 86 points (0.61%) at 14,144.56.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was little changed at 3.883%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.09 at 14.00.
Posted on July 25, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The IRS will not come to the front / back door
The tax agency will no longer make unannounced visits to taxpayers’ homes or businesses to collect payments due (in most cases). The IRS said it was halting the controversial practice, which has been around since at least the 1950s, to protect its agents’ safety.
Instead, the agency will send letters requesting that the taxpayer schedule an appointment. In specific cases, such as to deliver a summons or subpoena or seize assets, an unannounced visit may still occur, but there are only a few hundred of those each year compared to tens of thousands of the more routine visits, according to Reuters.
Posted on July 25, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By StaffReporters
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Recession: Last October, economists surveyed by Bloomberg were predicting a 100% chance of a Recession. But currently, the Dow is riding a 10-day winning streak, and the S&P 500 is just over 5% away from its all-time high. This week, Wall Street will be glued to the Fed’s interest rate announcement and a heavy slate of earnings.
Final Fed rate hike? The Federal Reserve will likely announce another interest rate increase this week, but this could be the final hike in its 16-month quest to bring down inflation. If the Fed hikes 25 basis points as expected, interest rates would be at their highest level since 2001.
Earnings galore: Corporate America’s A-list will report Q2 earnings this week, including Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Exxon Mobil. In all, about one-third of companies in the S&P 500 will give financial updates over the next five days, so we should get a good look into the health of a bunch of different industries.
Posted on July 25, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The good news continued for the Dow, which notched its 11th straight day of gains yesterday—its best streak since February 2017. But there is much coming that could impact the markets this week, from Big Tech earnings (Microsoft and Alphabet report today) to a likely rate hike from the Fed tomorrow.
Stocks spotlight: Mattel, IMAX, and AMC (boosted from a recent ruling blocking a planned stock conversion) were all up.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended yesterday:
The S&P 500 Index was up 18 points (0.4%) at 4,554.64; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 184 points (0.5%) at 35,411.24; the NASDAQ Composite was up 26 points (0.2%) at 14,058.87.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was up about 3 basis points at 3.870%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.29 at 13.89.
Energy was the strongest sector as crude oil futures added to their recent rally with another 2.3% rise to end near $79 per barrel. Financials were also higher, while utilities and health care lagged.
Posted on July 24, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The NASDAQ 100 is Getting Re-Balanced
Before the market opening today, NASDAQ shuffled the weighting of its NASDAQ 100 Index so that the biggest tech companies have less sway.
The issue is that the market caps of tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia have gotten so big recently that when we refer to “the NASDAQ,” we’re actually just talking about a few companies that hold outsized influence (even after the changes, Apple and Microsoft will account for 22% of the index’s weighting).
The re-balancing isn’t expected to have a meaningful impact on stock prices.
Posted on July 24, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
Philip Morris International Inc. abandoned a goal to get at least $1 billion of revenue from healthcare and wellness products next year following setbacks at companies it has acquired in the sector.
The tobacco company has built a health and wellness unit around the purchases of UK inhaler maker Vectura Group Plc and Fertin Pharma, the producer of a smoking-cessation aid. PMI just took a $680 million impairment charge after unsuccessful clinical trials for an inhalable aspirin product as well as slower-than-expected development of other products.
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PMI paid more than $1 billion for Vectura and about $820 million for Fertin in 2021. Vectura scientists faced a backlash after the acquisition, with the company getting kicked out of a medical conference due to its link to the tobacco industry.
Posted on July 24, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Elon Musk said he plans to make Twitter’s signature blue bird fly away. In a series of tweets early yesterday, the billionaire owner of Twitter said the social media company would soon switch its longtime logo—the silhouette of a jovial blue bird—to an “X.”
“If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make [it] go live worldwide tomorrow,” Musk wrote minutes after midnight EST Sunday. The billionaire owner of Twitter also posted an image of a flickering “X.”
Posted on July 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
By Staff Reporters
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A large orthopedic practice in Atlanta notified patients last week of a data breach. In a letter to patients, Peachtree Orthopedics warns personal information may have been exposed during an incident in April, 2023.
From April 14th to April 20th an unauthorized party gained access to the company’s network, and that information potentially impacted included patients’ “address, date of birth, driver’s license number, Social Security number, medical treatment/ diagnosis information, treatment cost and other financial and related information
This is the third hack Peachtree Orthopedics has reported to the U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services (HHS) in the last seven years, according to federal data. According to HHS, this breach is impacting 34,691 patients.
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Posted on July 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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ChatGPT (ChatGenerative Pre-Trained Transformer) is an artificial intelligencechatbot developed by OpenAI and launched on November 30, 2022. It is notable for enabling users to refine and steer a conversation towards a desired length, format, style, level of detail, and language used. Successive prompts and replies are taken into account at each stage of the conversation as a context.
However, the accuracy of OpenAI’s generative language model appears to have declined much this Spring.
A not-yet-peer-reviewed study by Stanford and Berkeley researchers of ChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-3.5 found a huge difference in the chatbot’s answers between March and June of this year—often for the worse, something people were already reporting anecdotally online.
GPT-4 went from 97.6% accuracy in identifying prime numbers a few months ago to only…2.4% in June.
The newer version of the language model got better at fending off problematic prompts, like coming up with illegal money-making schemes. But rather than explaining why queries are troublesome, it’s now more likely to simply say something like, “Sorry, but I can’t assist with that.”
When asked to create computer code, GPT-4 generated functional work 52% of the time in March and only 10% of the time in June. The lines of code it provided weren’t wrong, but they started to be accompanied by non-usable text, which could create headaches for companies trying to integrate ChatGPT into programming workflows.
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Additionally, the FTC is looking into ChatGPT. The commission seeks to understand whether OpenAI has broken any consumer protection laws. OpenAI received a 20-page demand letter highlighting the commission’s concerns over its data security practices. Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard is likely to be affected if OpenAI is found in the wrong.
Posted on July 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House just launched an office to prepare for and respond to potential pandemics, to be led by Paul Friedrichs, a military combat surgeon and retired Air Force major general who helped lead the Pentagon’s COVID response. The new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy will also take over the duties of President Joe Biden’s current COVID-19 and m-pox response teams, the White House said. The office will be a charged with
“leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats or pathogens that could lead to a pandemic or to significant public health-related disruptions in the United States,” its statement said.
‘Threads’ was an attempt by Mark Zuckerberg to pull away traffic from Elon Musk and Twitter, as Zuckerberg and Musk have started a nasty feud. But, it appears that Zuckerberg’s attempt to steal traffic from Twitter is going horribly wrong. Reports released yesterday claim that the number of users on ‘Threads’ has decreased 70% since its July 7th launch. Vice ran a hilarious headline about the failed app, saying, “Threads is All The Worst Parts of Twitter And Instagram in One Very Bad App”
CITE: TheWrap reports on the 70% decrease in users ….
Posted on July 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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A report published by Becker’s Hospital Review highlights a large number of job elimination efforts that have been announced or already implemented across 66 hospitals, including the following:
As an organizational redesign measure, Oklahoma University (OU) Health has eliminated around 100 positions.
200 healthcare jobs were cut by Oklahoma City-based Integris Health to curb expenses.
ProMedica in Toledo, Ohio, announced plans to lay off 262 employees in March.
337 employees of New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are likely to be laid off shortly.
112 employees of Pikeville Medical Center in Kentucky were laid-off at the end of 2022.
Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas has already notified its workers that 970 jobs will be lost as it transitions to an emergency department.
California-based Kaweah Health in Visalia is likely to eliminate 94 positions.
These healthcare worker layoffs only reveal a part of the crisis because the complete closure of numerous hospitals is also on the horizon.
While the closure rate is faster for rural hospitals, urban hospitals are not safe either. In November 2022, Atlanta Medical Center (AMC) in Atlanta Georgia, announced its closure, leaving hundreds of workers jobless. This closure also had a severe adverse impact on the availability of trauma care in Atlanta. In 2019, the city council in Washington D.C. voted in favor of closing United Medical Center prior to COVID, leaving a healthcare gap during the pandemic.
NOTE:The current trend of hospital closures and healthcare job cuts not only affects the healthcare workers and their families but also poses serious questions about the quality of healthcare in the country. Last year, McKinsey & Company predicted that by the end of 2025, the US healthcare system may face a shortage of up to 450,000 registered nurses [RNs].
Posted on July 22, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Regulators fined Deutsche Bank $186 million for not fixing anti-money laundering, due diligence, and sanctions controls. This is the third time since 2015 that the Federal Reserve has fined the troubled bank for internal control failures. (CNN Business)
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Under the YouTube Health Initiative, the company partnered with several healthcare organizations, including traditional health systems like Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Mass General Brigham in Boston, as well as online health education platforms like Osmosis and Psych Hub. Other partners include the medical journal the New England Journal of Medicine, the World Health Organization, and the American Public Health Association.
These health organizations created videos on a range of health topics, which YouTube curates in what it calls “carousels” and labels to indicate that the information comes from reputable sources. If someone searches for information on diabetes, for example, they’ll get a carousel of videos from the health partners on diabetes.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended yesterday and for the week:
The S&P 500 Index was up 1.47 points at 4,536.34, up 0.7% for the week and the benchmark’s eighth weekly gain in the past 10; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.51 points at 35,227.69, up 2.1% for the week; the NASDAQ Composite was down 30.50 points (0.2%) at 14,032.81, down 0.6% for the week.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was down about 2 basis points at 3.837%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.39 at 13.60.
Utility and health care shares were among the strongest performers Friday, which may reflect investors rotating into more “defensive” sectors, which haven’t participated as much in this year’s rally and may be seen as a “relative value” or “catch-up” play.
Energy stocks were also strong as crude oil futures jumped over 2% and posted a fourth straight weekly gain. Regional banks and communication services were among the weakest sectors, while the small-cap-focused Russell 2000 (RUT) fell slightly.
Almost 2 decades ago, Fortune magazine carried the headline “When Six Figured Incomes Aren’t Enough. Now Doctors Want a Union.” To the man in the street, it was just a matter of the rich getting richer.
The sentiment was more precisely quantified, according to health economist and financial advisor Dr. David E. Marcinko MBACMP™, in the March 31, 2005 issue of Physician’sMoney Digest, who with Editor Gregory Kelly reported that a 47-year-old doctor with $184,000 in annual income would need about $5.5 million dollars for retirement at age 65.
Of course, physicians were not complaining back then under the traditional fee-for-service system; the imbroglio only began when managed care adversely impacted income, or when the stock market crashed in 2008; or with passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PP-ACA] in 2010 or its’ full implementation in 2014.
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Posted on July 21, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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According to Morning Brew, the US banking system is about to speed up, potentially eliminating those frustrating waiting days it can take for money to hit your account. The Fed is launching its FedNow instant payment service later this month. The new system will enable banks to send each other cash instantly, 24/7, as an alternative to the existing system that runs only during regular business hours and often takes days to move money.
FedNow could put America’s banking system on track to catch up to countries like India and Nigeria, where high-speed payments are as common. The US does already have an instant payments system, but it’s private rather than government-backed, and it hasn’t been widely adopted. It’s mostly only used by big banks, and only 1.4% of US transactions happen in real time, according to payment systems company ACI Worldwide.
FedNow enabled services will soon likely appear at the 41 banks that have been certified to participate so far.
People moving money between banks or paying bills could complete their transactions in seconds without the need to plan payments days in advance.
Businesses will be able to access customer payments immediately and to send workers payments more frequently with instant direct deposit rather than the usual payroll cycle.
BUT … Faster payments could mean faster bank runs, too!
Some experts worry that allowing people to drain their bank accounts instantaneously could make SVB-style bank runs more likely. Smaller banks struggling with liquidity would have even less time to react to customer panic and get collateral for emergency government loans to cover fleeing cash.
But there are safeguards built in. FedNow has a transaction limit of $500,000, and banks can set their own ceilings to ensure that customers don’t pull their deposits.
Posted on July 21, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
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HEALTH DICTIONARY SERIES
ByAnn Miller RN MHA
[An Internet WIKI CROWD-SOURCED Curation Project]*
To keep up with the ever-changing healthcare industrial complex, we must learn new definitions and re-learn old terminology in order to correctly apply it to practice. By aggregating the most up-to-date abbreviations, acronyms, definitions and terms, the Health DictionarySeries offers a wealth of information to help understand the ever-changing terms-of-art in healthcare today.
Each 10,000 item handbook is essential for doctors, nurses, benefits managers and insurance agents, CPAs, and administrators; as well as graduate and under graduate students and professors. Our goal to for each dictionary to be designated as a Doody’s Core Title.
Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care
With more than 8,000 definitions, 4,000 abbreviations and acronyms, and a 3,000 item oeuvre of resources, readings, and nomenclature derivatives, this dictionary covers the Medicare, managed care and Medicaid, private insurance, Veteran’s Administration and PP-ACA language of the entire health and long-term care insurance sector.
Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance
Health economics and finance is an integral component of the health care industrial complex. Its language is a diverse and broad-based concept covering many other industries: accounting, mathematics, the actuarial sciences, stochastics and statistics, salary reimbursements, physician payments, compensation and forecasting are all commingled arenas.
Dictionary of Health Information Technology Security
There is a myth that all healthcare stakeholders understand the meaning of information technology jargon. In truth, the vernacular of contemporary systems is unique, and often misused or misunderstood. Moreover, emerging Heath Information Technology (HIT) thru the HITECG initiatives; in the guise of terms, definitions, acronyms, abbreviations and standards; often puts the non-expert in a position of maximum uncertainty and minimum productivity.
*NOTE: A wiki website allows users to add or update content using their browser thru a hosted server created by the collaborative effort of site visitors. The Hawaiian term “wiki wiki” means “super fast.”
Posted on July 21, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The S&P 500 and NASDAQ fell on Thursday, weighed down by drops in Tesla and Netflix following their quarterly results, but the Dow advanced for a ninth straight day thanks to gains in Johnson & Johnson following a strong annual forecast.
Here is where the major market benchmarks ended:
The S&P 500 Index was down 30.85 points (0.7%) at 4,534.87; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 163.97 points (0.5%) at 35,225.18; the NASDAQ Composite was down 294.71 points (2.1%) at 14,063.31.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was up about 11 basis points at 3.846%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.22 at 13.98.
Consumer Discretionary stocks, which are considered to have greater exposure to recession than other companies, were among the weakest performers Thursday. Technology stocks also struggled, with the NASDAQ posting its lowest close since July 12th and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) tumbling over 3%.
Health care and utilities, generally considered more recession-proof, were the strongest performers.
Posted on July 20, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The healthcare industry cut 97% more jobs in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to a July 6 report from executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, & Christmas.
The report mentioned an unnamed hospital that closed last month due to a cyberattack, which likely contributed to the healthcare job cuts. In June, St. Margaret’s Health in Spring Valley, Illinois, closed, and was the first hospital to publicly attribute a cyberattack to its closure, NBC News reported.
Market and economic conditions were cited as the reasons for the majority of job cuts across all US industries; the report didn’t detail the reasons for healthcare job cuts specifically, except for the NBC News Report.
Posted on July 20, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
Elon Musk underlined the astounding scale of Microsoft and Nvidia’s combined market-value surge on Tuesday with a two-word tweet: “Crazy times.” While Musk didn’t spell out whether he views Microsoft or Nvidia as overvalued, his strong reaction could be a red flag for stock market investors.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended yesterday:
The S&P 500 Index was up 10.74 points (0.2%) at 4,565.72; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 109.28 points (0.3%) at 35,061.21; the NASDAQ Composite was up 4.38 points at 14,358.02.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was down about 4 basis points at 3.744%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.44 at 13.74.
Posted on July 19, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Cash is king, especially in this tough interest rate environment. That’s proving true in the mergers and acquisitions market this year, according to PwC’sUS Deals 2023 midyear outlook, which says companies and private equity with cash in hand are making deals happen. There are “opportunities for corporates with strong balance sheets. Private equity sponsors with large amounts of dry powder also have been getting deals done,” according to PwC.
Deal makers need cash because lending has become tougher and more expensive to obtain. Additionally, “the IPO market has remained quiet for over a year.”
Even the private equity market, which often leans heavily on debt financing, is reaching for other ways to get deals done: “Some PE sponsors have turned to more creative financing solutions, including higher equity contribution, seller’s notes, paid in-kind financing and the private credit markets.”
The challenging market is also impacting deal size. PwC found that deal makers are eschewing big deals in favor of smaller opportunities. However, although the deals appear to be smaller, the volume of M&A activity is “relatively strong compared to” COVID pre-pandemic levels.
Posted on July 19, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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(Bloomberg) — Novartis AG raised its profit outlook and announced plans to buy back as much as $15 billion in shares as it prepares to spin off its Sandoz generics unit. Operating profit excluding some items will likely grow by low double digits this year, the Swiss drug maker said in a statement, raising its forecast for a second time from a prior estimate of high single-digits gains. The stock rose as much as 4% in Zurich trading.
Shares of U.S. telecom giantVerizon (NYSE: VZ) fell 7.5% in trading on Monday after a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal highlighted the lead in cable sheathing that telecom companies used decades ago. Some analysts downgraded the stock, but the market sold before more details were available from the company.
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Here is where the major market benchmarks ended:
U.S. stocks extended a rally as better-than-expected bank results boosted the S&P 500 and NASDAQ to fresh 15-month highs.
The S&P 500 Index was up 32.19 points (0.7%) at 4,554.98; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 366.58 points (1.1%) at 34,951.93; the NASDAQ Composite was up 108.69 points (0.8%) at 14,353.64.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was little changed at 3.793%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.16 at 13.32.
Financial stocks were among the strongest performers Tuesday, sending the KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) up over 4%. Oilfield services shares were also strong as crude oil futures gained over 2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 (RUT) gained over 1% and posted a five-month high.
Posted on July 19, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
FINALLY?
By Staff Reporters
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Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard cleared for landing
A federal judge rejected the FTC’s attempt to stop Microsoft from buying the video game publisher Activision Blizzard, paving the way for the $69 billion deal to close as soon as this month.
The FTC argued that the takeover would result in less competition in the video game industry and limit access to Activision’s blockbuster games, but the judge disagreed, saying, “To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.”
While the deal still needs UK regulators’ approval, they also signaled yesterday they would let it proceed.
Posted on July 18, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Earnings season picks up: The Q2 reports will come fast and furious this week from companies including Bank of America, Tesla, major airlines, and American Express. But the most tea is expected to be spilled by Netflix, which will give an update on its password-sharing crackdown and discuss how the Hollywood strikes are impacting its business.
A new study reports Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug slowed cognitive and functional decline for people with early stages of the disease. The data, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found the experimental drug Donanemab slowed decline by 35% compared to a placebo group based on a measure of daily activities such as driving, managing finances and talking about current events. Researchers also shared the data at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam.
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Lilly said it submitted an application for traditional Food and Drug Administration approval earlier this year and expects the agency will act before the end of the year.
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Finally, technology shares were among the strongest performers yesterday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) surging over 2% to its highest level since January 2022. Smaller companies also performed well, with the small-cap focused Russell 2000 (RUT) up over 1% to end at a five-month high. Financial shares remained robust following mostly better-than-expected results from big banks last week. Here is where the major benchmarks ended:
The S&P 500 Index was up 17.37 points (0.4%) at 4,522.79; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 76.32 points (0.2%) at 34,585.35; and the NASDAQ Composite was up 131.25 points (0.9%) at 14,244.95.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was down about 2 basis points at 3.805%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.14 at 13.48.
Posted on July 17, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Markets: Stocks are rolling following a week that showed our inflation emergency seems to be ending, and big banks are still raking in big profits. The Fed’s so-called “soft landing” scenario—getting inflation down without tipping the economy into a recession—is a distinct possibility, as long as corporate finances don’t end up being shockingly bad this earnings season.
Global economy: While the US economy is chugging along, the same can’t be said for China. Growth in the world’s No. 2 economy hardly budged between the first and second quarters, while youth unemployment hit a record last month. Expect President Xi Jinping to make moves to juice China’s stagnating GDP.
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Curiously, Cathie Wood’s flagship exchange-traded fund has rallied more than 50% this year. Investors are using that as an opportunity to get out.
They have pulled a net $717 million from the ARK Innovation ETF over the past 12 months, according to FactSet. That exodus marks a notable shift for a fund that had consistently drawn investor cash since its 2014 inception. Once the largest actively managed ETF with nearly $30 billion in assets under management, the fund has shrunk to roughly $9 billion, mostly due to investment losses.
Known by its ticker symbol ARKK, Wood’s fund became an investor darling shortly after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic with hugely successful bets on unprofitable and “disruptive” technology companies. It took in huge amounts of investor money, culminating with a $6.5 billion inflow in the first quarter of 2021, when its share price peaked.
Then, the Federal Reserve’s fastest interest-rate hiking campaign in decades crushed the valuations of unprofitable growth companies, which often attract investors when interest rates are low and returns on safer investments such as CDs are minimal. Shares of ARKK plunged 67% in 2022, but its investors largely held on or bought the dip.
Now, analysts say they expect some of those investors are getting out for good?
Posted on July 17, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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A near-$10 trillion rally for global stocks this year will face a make-or-break moment as hundreds of companies report earnings over the next few weeks.
S&P 500 firms are expected to post a 9% drop in profits in the second quarter, making it the worst season since 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.
In Europe, it may be even worse, with a projected 12% slump. But with the bar already low — and some indicators suggesting an earnings recovery next year — strategists are split on how the markets will react.
Posted on July 16, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
Supplemental Security Income
By Staff Reporters
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Stocks popped 2% this week, as investors expect the Fed to soon pause or dial back interest rates after the release of the June inflation report. Central bankers have raised rates from zero to over 5% since March of last year, a move that led the S&P 500 to shed 20% in 2022.
And yet, No SSI for you!
DEFINITION: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested program that provides cash payments to disabled children, disabled adults, and individuals aged 65 or older who are citizens or nationals of the USA. SSI was created by the Social Security Amendments of 1972 and is incorporated in Title 16 of the Social Security Act The program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and began operations in 1974.
Individuals or their helpers may start the application for SSI benefits by completing a short form on SSA’s website. SSA staff will schedule an appointment for the individual or helper within 1–2 weeks and complete the process.
SSI was created to replace federal-state adult assistance programs that served the same purpose, but were administered by the state agencies and received criticism for lacking consistent eligibility criteria. The restructuring of these programs was intended to standardize the eligibility requirements and level of benefits. Although administered by SSA, SSI is funded from the U.S. Treasury general funds, not the SS Trust Fund. As of July 2022, the program provides benefits to approximately five million Americans.
The Social Security Administration gives, and the Social Security Administration takes away — at least when it comes to beneficiaries who qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments.
July is one of the months when the agency doesn’t issue an SSI check. Because of a quirk in the payment schedule, SSI beneficiaries get two payments in March, June, September and December, while no payments are deposited in January, April, July and October.
Posted on July 15, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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The biggest U.S. banks presented a picture of a resilient economy on Friday, with consumers and businesses continuing to spend and borrow even after a lightning-fast rise in interest rates.
JPMorgan Chase’s profit soared 67% in the second quarter from a year earlier and Wells Fargo’s jumped 57%, lifted by the income they earned lending out money at higher rates. Citigroup’s net interest income was a bright spot, though profit fell 36%. All three banks beat analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended:
The S&P 500 Index was down 4.62 points (0.1%) at 4,505.42, up 2.4% for the week; the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up 113.89 points (0.3%) at 34,509.03, up 2.3% for the week; the NASDAQ Composite was down 24.87 points (0.2%) at 14,113.70, up 3.3% for the week.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was up about 7 basis points at 3.828%.
CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.29 at 13.32.
Energy shares were among the weakest performers Friday after crude oil futures retreated nearly 2% from 2½-month highs posted Thursday. Regional banks were also lower despite stronger-than-expected quarterly results from their larger peers.
Health care and Consumer Staples were among the strongest performers. The U.S. dollar gained slightly but remained near a 17-month low against the euro.
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