New Obamacare survey shows users love it, but can they keep it?

As the U.S. Supreme Court deliberates on a case that may very well undermine a central plank of Obamacare, the vast majority of people who have gained health coverage under the controversial program are happy with it, a new survey finds.

A total of 86 percent of people who are newly insured through private Obamacare health plans or Medicaid are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their coverage, according to the Commonwealth Fund report. (Tweet this)

That report, issued last week, also reveals that almost 7 out of every 10 adults who are newly insured through either Obamacare private plans or Medicaid have actually used it to get health care.

And more than 60 percent of those said they would have been unable to get or pay for that treatment without that new coverage, according to the survey.

They really, really like it

"The Affordable Care Act's coverage expansions have been in place for nearly 18 months, and indications are that the newly insured are pleased with their coverage and are using it to get needed health care," said Dr. David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund.

Yet the findings come as many of the newly insured are at risk of losing their health plans because of a pending Supreme Court case that could lead to federal financial aid for Obamacare insurance premiums being barred in 34 states.

Via: CNBC

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Press Fails to Note That Weak First-Quarter Economies Have Been a Democrat Phenomenon

The business press has gotten really excited about the possibility — some of them are even treating it as a probability — that the first-quarter's recently reported annualized economic contraction of 0.7 percent will go positive if it gets revised for so-called "residual seasonality.

" "Residual seasonality" is "the manifestation of seasonal patterns in data that have already been seasonally adjusted." (Supposedly, the way to fix this is add more "seasoning.") On April 22, CNBC's Steve Liesman contended that it's been a chronic 30-year problem. As far as I can tell, no one in the press has followed up on that claim. If they had, they would have found that it has not been a 30-year "problem," and that it's a "problem" remarkably unique to the presence of Democratic Party presidential administrations and policies:

 There was virtually no net first-quarter GDP underperformance from 1985-1992, i.e., the first eight of the 30 years Liesman claimed the trend has been present. He certainly should not have included those years, which "just so happen" to have had GOP presidential administrations (Ronald Reagan from 1985-1988 and Bush 41 from 1989-1992). 

Via: Newsbusters

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Rick Santelli Rages Against Media Over ‘Manipulated’ Unemployment Data Allegations

On Tuesday morning, CNBC’s Rick Santelli raged against the American media in light of a New York Post report alleging that Census bureau employees have been caught “fabricating” some data that went into unemployment reports over the last several years, including possibly the controversial report revealed one month before the 2012 election.

The September 2012 jobs report showed a dip in unemployment from 8.1 to 7.8 percent, raising eyebrows among many business-oriented personalities, including former GE CEO Jack Welch and Santelli himself.

While these so-called “jobs truthers” alleged “ideological” motivation behind such data manipulations, the Post report indicates that if there was any widespread manipulation, it was due to Labor Department demands being so high that Census employees simply made up information to fulfill a quota.

Nevertheless, on Tuesday morning, Santelli felt vindicated by such reports indicating any level of manipulated data. During his “Santelli Exchange” monologue, the veteran Chicago-based reporter railed against his media colleagues for dismissing his suggestion that the pre-election numbers could have been incorrect.

“If we know now what we knew then,” the economy could be in a different place, he suggested. “If it turns out these claims are true… it wasn’t only about the economy, it was about healthcare, it wasn’t polling well. It was the reassurances about the unknown.”

Santelli seemingly suggested that if we had known back in September 2012 that the president’s “grandfather clause” on the Affordable Care Act would turn out to be a “lie,” the way the media treated that pre-election jobs report might have been different.

The CNBC reporter moved into a shout as he railed against how that potentially “fake” jobs report resulted in Federal Reserve undertaking monetary policies that drastically shifted the economy.

“All outcomes would have changed,” he concluded. Next time, he said, the media “must do better.”

Watch below, via CNBC:

Via: Mediaite.com

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Maria Bartiromo Leaving CNBC For FBN

Breaking: Maria Bartiromo is leaving CNBC to join Fox Business.

“After 20 years of groundbreaking work at CNBC, Maria Bartiromo will be leaving the company as her contract expires on November 24,” a CNBC spokesperson tells TVNewser. “Her contributions to CNBC are too numerous to list but we thank her for all of her hard work over the years and wish her the best.”

Drudge Report, which was first to report the news, says Bartiromo will anchor a daily FBN program during the market hours and also have a role on Fox News.

Bartiromo, who celebrated her 20th anniversary with CNBC last month, signed with CAA in May. We reported at the time that her contract was set to expire at the end of the year.

Bartiromo will re-join Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, who first put her on the air when he ran CNBC. She will also be reunited with Lou Dobbs, who was her boss at CNN in the early 1990s. As Bartiromo recounted to TVNewser in 2011, Dobbs told her a move to CNBC would be a big career mistake:

But Lou Dobbs wanted to restructure the newsroom and I was on the assignment desk, so Lou promoted me to senior producer for the morning shows and I was upset, because it would put me on the overnights again, and take me out of the field. So after all my crying — I used to cry on the 22nd floor of CNN — I went back and put together my reel. Re-shooting the stories I’d produced. And I sent it to CNBC and Peter Sturtevant and Roger Ailes said “we want to put you on the air.” I went to Lou and I said, “Lou, I’m leaving.” And he said, “Maria, you’re making the biggest mistake of your life.”

Via: TVNewser
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Oil prices may plunge if Iran gets a nuclear deal

Oil futures bounced off an earlier four-month low on Friday, but analysts told CNBC that prices could plunge if an agreement on Iran's nuclear program is made this weekend.

Secretary of State John Kerry unexpectedly joined the ongoing negotiations in Geneva, sparking speculation that a preliminary deal could be reached soon. Iranian oil exports have been decimated by sanctions placed against the country's energy sector by the United States and Europe in response to its nuclear ambitions.

"I want to emphasize there is not an agreement at this point in time," Kerry told reporters in Geneva. "There are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved. It is important for those to be properly, thoroughly addressed."

(Read more: Kerry: Iran nuclear talks face 'important gaps')

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Geneva on Friday.

However, energy analysts said that Kerry's participation—along with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle—is a positive sign. The dignitaries are all expected to meet with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Friday.

"This news reinforces our existing expectation for an 'agreement in principle' or 'preliminary deal' or 'first step,'" analyst Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners said in a note to clients. "We reiterate our bearish bias for Brent crude.

Via: CNBC

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NBCUniversal’s Insurance Premiums to Rise Due to Obamacare

CNBC’s morning anchors were troubled by the news that their own insurance plans will become more costly under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

On Oct. 30’s “Squawk Box,” CNBC Senior Correspondent Scott Cohn revealed details of NBC’s open enrollment, brandishing an official fact book outlining the process. He quoted the document, revealing that the ACA would increase employee premiums.

Cohn observed “Some of these costs, when you look at this, are way up -- double digits.”

Aetna Chairman and CEO, Mark Bertolini explained that “Aetna alone will pass through to its customers over a billion dollars of taxes and fees associated with the Affordable Care Act.”

Ironically, NBC has worked hard to promote Obamacare. In the week before the exchanges opened, NBC launched their own week-long campaign, to “help Americans get the most out of the Affordable Care Act.” NBC affiliate MSNBC was even more blatant in touting Obamacare.

According to the new health plan, “federally mandated health care changes will require Comcast-NBCUniversal to pay new fees and implement plan design changes that will contribute to the increased cost of our plans.”

These plan changes would also affect other NBCUniversal outlets like NBC and MSNBC.

Via: Newsbusters
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Fitch puts US AAA rating on rating watch negative

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Fitch puts US credit rating on negative watch

Tuesday, 15 Oct 2013 | 4:46 PM ET

Fitch has put the U.S. credit rating on negative watch, reports CNBC's Dominic Chu.

Fitch Ratings put the US government's "AAA" credit rating on 'rating watch negative' Tuesday, saying that the standstill on the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations risks undermining the effectiveness of the country's government and political institutions.

U.S. stock index futures fell.

"Although Fitch continues to believe that the debt ceiling will be raised soon, the political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a U.S. default," the rating agency wrote in a statement.

S&P 500 futures fell 9.6 points while Dow Jones industrial average futures sank 60 points and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 7.5 points. 

A Treasury Department spokesperson said the Fitch move reflected an urgent need for Congress to act on the debt ceiling.

Earlier today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lashed out at House Republicans, shortly after the collapse of a rival GOP proposal.

He warned at the time that the U.S. credit ratings could be downgraded as soon as Tuesday night.

Via: CNBC

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New center: Why our nation isn't as divided as we think

AP

Silhouettes of people's heads are seen in front of an 2012 electoral U.S. Map.

It's the most conventional wisdom in Washington, the unchallenged idea that America is a divided nation, a country ripped into red and blue factions in perpetual conflict. The government shutdown this fall would seem like only the latest evidence of this political civil war. But is the idea of two Americas even true? Not according to a new Esquire-NBC News survey.

At the center of national sentiment there's no longer a chasm but a common ground where a diverse and growing majority - 51% - is bound by a surprising set of shared ideas.

"Just because Washington is polarized doesn't mean America is," says Robert Blizzard, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies, the lead pollster for Mitt Romney in 2012. His firm co-created the survey with the Benenson Strategy Group, pollsters for President Obama, and the result is a nation in eight distinct segments: two on the far right ("The Righteous Right" and "The Talk Radio Heads"), two on the far left ("The Bleeding Hearts" and "The Gospel Left"), and four in the middle that represent nothing less than a new American center ("Minivan Moderates," "The MBA Middle," "The Pick-up Populists, and "The #WhateverMan.")

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Political theater takes center stage on Capitol Hill

Lawrence Lindsey, The Lindsey Group CEO, shares his thoughts on the looming government shutdown and why he would have a different kind of "transparency" at the Fed.

The people of the center are patriotic and proud, with a strong majority (66 percent) saying that America is still the greatest country in the world, and most (54 percent) calling it a model that other countries should emulate. But the center is also very nervous about the future, overwhelmingly saying that America can no longer afford to spend money on foreign aid (81 percent) when we need to build up our own country.

Pluralities believe that the political system is broken (49 percent), and the economy is bad (50 percent) and likely to stay that way a while (41 percent). Majorities fear another 9/11 or Boston-style bombing is likely (70 percent), and that their children's lives will be more difficult than their own (62 percent), which are either stuck in place or getting worse (84 percent) — while the rich keep getting richer at the expense of everyone else (70 percent).

Via: CNBC

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Stocks spike 2%, log 2nd best gains of 2013 amid debt deal hopes; Dow skyrockets 300 points

Stocks closed out the session with a sharp bang Thursday, with major averages rallying more than 2 percent across the board, as lawmakers seemed to move closer to a deal to resolve the political stalemate in Washington.

Major averages logged their second-best gains this year.

(Read more: Government standoff shakes trust in US debt)

"No one's going to get in the way of this move—we've been up more than 200 points all day so you're going to be hard pressed to find someone on the other side of the trade," said Art Hogan, managing director of Lazard Capital Markets. "This is clearly the light at the end of the tunnel that everyone wants."

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Stocks have 2nd best day of the year

CNBC's Bob Pisani looks at the day's market action after the closing bell. Materials and financials are among the sectors up more than 2 percent today.

	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Jones Industrial Average	15126.07		323.09	2.18%
S&P 500	S&P 500 Index	1692.56		36.16	2.18%
NASDAQ	Nasdaq Composite Index	3760.75		82.97	2.26%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average catapulted 323.09 points, or 2.18 percent, to close at 15,126.07. All 30 components in positive territory, propelled by Boeing and UnitedHealth.

Via: CNBC

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99% of Obamacare applications hit a wall

It's a batting average that won't land the federal marketplace for Obamacare into the Healthcare Hall of Fame.

As few as 1 in 100 applications on the federal exchange contains enough information to enroll the applicant in a plan, several insurance industry sources told CNBC on Friday. Some of the problems involve how the exchange's software collects and verifies an applicant's data.

"It is extraordinary that these systems weren't ready," said Sumit Nijhawan, CEO of Infogix, which handles data integrity issues for major insurers including WellPointand Cigna, as well as multiple Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates.

Experts said that if Healthcare.gov's success rate doesn't improve within the next month or so, federal officials could face a situation in January in which relatively large numbers of people believe they have coverage starting that month, but whose enrollment applications are have not been processed.

"It could be public relations nightmare," said Nijhawan. Insurers have told his company that just "1 in 100" enrollment applicants being sent from the federal marketplace have provided sufficient, verified information.

Via: CNBC

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Obama to Wall Street: This time be worried

Wall Street needs to be genuinely worried about what is going on in Washington, President Barack Obama told CNBC in a White House interview Wednesday.

While gridlock in D.C. is nothing new, "this time I think Wall Street should be concerned," Obama said.

CNBC

CNBC's John Harwood speaks with President Barack Obama on the government shutdown and stalemate in Congress.

"When you have a situation in which a faction is willing to default on U.S. obligations, then we are in trouble," Obama said.

U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street Thursday. Click here to get the latest futures action.

(Read more: Wall Street wonders: Does Obama want a selloff?)

Late Wednesday, Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell told CNBC's "The Kudlow Report" that Washington is still far from resolving its differences over the fight to reopen the government. 

(Read more: Sen. McConnell: White House meeting 'unproductive')

Boehner said Obama reiterated in the meeting with congressional leaders that he would not negotiate. The speaker said he hoped Obama and Democrats in the Senate would have a serious discussion about resolving their differences very soon.

Via: CNBC

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No taper brings back talk of currency war

The Federal Reserve's shocking decision not to taper, despite broad expectations for a $10-20 billion reduction of its monthly asset purchases, has reignited talk of a global currency war.

Risk-on currencies like the Australian dollar, the euro and the British poundsoared in response, while the greenback dropped across the board. Now some analysts say the Fed's decision could prompt other central banks to devalue their currencies in an attempt to retain a competitive edge.

"We are on the verge [of a currency war]... especially if the Fed does not taper in October or December..." said Boris Schlossberg, MD of BK Asset Management.

(Read more: Where has the talk of currency wars gone?)

The other G10 countries will have to react and the only thing they can do is provide "even more accommodative policies in order to try and equalize all these currency differentials," he added.

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How will central banks react to the Fed?

Boris Schlossberg, Managing Director at BK Asset Management believes the rest of G10 central banks will have to enforce accommodative policies to combat the lack of Fed tapering.

Speculation over the onset of a global currency war first came to a head at the start of the year when dramatic falls in the Japanese yenprompted widespread criticism from other world economies, amid concerns the yen's weakness would put Japan's exporters at an unfair advantage. However, the rhetoric abated after Japan was given the go-ahead to pursue its radical policies at a G20 meeting in April.

But the Fed's decision on Thursday has reignited talk of a currency war, after thedollar index, which measures the greenback's value against other major currencies slid to levels not seen since February at 80.06 on Wednesday.

Risk-on currencies got a boost; the Australian dollar rallied above the $0.95 handle in Asia on Thursday, a high not seen since mid-June, while the sterling surged to around $1.61, its highest level since January, and the euro reached highs not seen since February of around $1.35.

Via: CNBC

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[VIDEO] Santelli on Market Rally after Jobs Report: ‘What Are We, A Banana Republic?’

The August Jobs Report showed 169,000 jobs were added, less than many had predicted and revisions from previous months even included a drop of 74,000 jobs. So the jobs total for the month was really just 95,000.

The stock market continued to rally, but CNBC’s Rick Santelli, who covers the Chicago Board of Trade, said that such a contrast was upsetting. “What are we, a banana republic?” Santelli asked. “I just think it’s absolutely horrible that we’re in a marketplace where we get a lousy report. 35 years since we’ve seen these participation rates, and listen: you can’t hide the spread of four to four-and-a-half percent between the advertised unemployment rate and what it would be if you would go back a few years on that participation rate,” he explained.

Santelli, whose Feb. 9, 2009, rant helped give rise to the Tea Party, also said that this latest jobs report was a bad sign for the nation’s future. “See, those people aren’t working. They’re not buying houses, they’re not buying cars. They’re using services, they may be using entitlements or welfare. You can’t hide those millions of people forever. So we wonder why we see our costs to take care of people who are in between jobs rising faster than other areas, less improvement in the economy, not good GDP, that’s why. You can’t play this three card monte game for long. And to see the stock market rally on crappy data to me is just a horrible dynamic. What are we, a banana republic?” he asked.

Via: Newsbusters

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[VIDEO] The 5% recovery: Why most are still in recession

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What housing recovery?

Shari Olefson, author of "Foreclosure Nation," and Tanya Marchiol, CEO of Team Investments, discuss the decline in recent housing data and what it indicates about the recovery.

How strong the economic recovery has been since the Great Recession ended in 2009 probably depends on viewpoint.

For those in the top 5 percent, the recovery has been pretty good.

As for the other 95 percent, well ... maybe not so much.

Post-financial crisis wealth disparity has been well-chronicled.

Federal Reserve Gov. Sarah B. Raskin drew widespread attention with this speech in April that showed how poorly the lower income levels have fared during the recovery, particularly because those demographics have their wealth concentrated in housing and are hit far more severely by falling prices.

The unemployed in lower-income groups also take a hit because they have a more difficult time finding jobs that pay at a rate commensurate with the positions they lost.

(Read more: Jobless picture is worse than you think: Gallup)

Finally, history has shown that highly accommodative monetary policy widens income disparity by awarding speculators and penalizing savers. While the S&P 500is up nearly 150 percent since the March 2009 lows, that's most helped those heavily invested in stocks.

Via: CNBC

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