1. DOCTOR-OWNED HOSPITALS THRIVING UNDER OBAMACARE
Despite measures in ObamaCare aimed at stifling doctor-owned hospitals, many of the roughly 275 privately owned facilities across the country are doing just fine under the new law. By adopting certain strategies — including expanding hours, increasing procedures in ways that are not restricted by the law, and in some cases rejecting Medicare patients — doctor-owned hospitals have experienced 20 to 35 percent profit growth, compared to just 7 percent growth in community hospitals. [Wall Street Journal]
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2. BILLIONAIRE HEDGE FUND MANAGER CALLS FOR SONY TO BREAK UP
Outspoken hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb is pressuring Sony to spin off its entertainment division, which includes Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment. Loeb's hedge fund Third Point LLC owns a 6.5 percent stake in the company, worth about $1.1 billion. Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai has repeatedly said the entertainment arm is not for sale, but Loeb seems up for a fight. Shares of Sony have collapsed by nearly 85 percent over the last 13 years. [New York Times]
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3. U.S. HOUSEHOLD DEBT AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2006
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S. households reduced their debt by 1 percent, or $110 billion, to $11.2 trillion in the first quarter, its lowest level since 2006. Delinquency rates on credit cards fell to 10.2 percent, from 10.6, and on mortgages to 5.4 percent, from 5.6 percent. "We’ll look to see if this pace of debt reduction and delinquency improvements will persist," the bank said in a statement. Student debt, however, rose to a record $986 billion. [Bloomberg]
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4. EHARMONY EXPANDS INTO JOB SERVICES
EHarmony, one of the Internet's top dating websites, is developing a career service that connects employees and employers. The service will determine personal qualities that aren't included on the average resume, asking whether prospective employees prefer "a structured environment or a freewheeling one," or if they tend to work "slowly and thoughtfully or quickly and instinctively." "It seems like there’s a social problem here that needs fixing, much in the same that when we started with relationship matching," said Grant Langston, eHarmony's vice president of customer experience. [Washington Post]
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5. WALMART AND GAP PASS ON WORKER SAFETY AGREEMENT FOR BANGLADESH
In the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster that killed 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh, H&M, C&A of the Netherlands, and Inditex, owner of Zara, have all signed agreements to help improve worker safety. However, a few other companies — Walmart, Sears, Gap, and JC Penney among them — have yet to pledge their support. While Gap and Walmart didn't have contracts with the factories at Rana Plaza, the companies have been linked to recent factory fires in Bangladesh. Gap says it won't sign because of language that makes the agreement legally binding in U.S. courts. [Wall Street Journal]
