Healthcare

Healthcare shows U.S. not so un-European

25 Mar 2010

In terms of political rhetoric, the Atlantic is wide. But the economic structures of the proudly free market United States and equally proudly social democratic Europe are actually pretty close already and will be closer still after the Obama healthcare reforms.

Healthcare is still U.S. macroeconomic elephant

23 Mar 2010

Though officially projected to reduce U.S. deficits eventually, Obama s farreaching reforms increase government subsidies and overall spending on healthcare. That brings closer the day when medical expenses start doing major economic damage and something has to give.

Big pharma, the uninsured among healthcare winners

22 Mar 2010

President Barack Obama s reform plan is close to becoming law. For sure, Americans without health insurance will benefit, as will drug makers. Insurance companies are widely touted as likely to suffer. But there are myriad winners and losers from the sweeping bill.

Healthcare fix asks US creditors for leap of faith

19 Mar 2010

The plan edging towards law in Congress is supposed to cut future U.S. deficits. But it depends on politicians following through on cuts and taxes, a deficit commission imposing additional discipline, and reforms working as expected. Owners of Treasuries shouldn't bank on it.

Bad recession only dented quest for good looks

10 Mar 2010

Americans were ready to delay surgery to make breasts larger and waistlines smaller, but couldn t resist the lure of fuller lips and fewer wrinkles. The tough economy in 2009 only brought a 2 percent cut in cosmetic procedures. Vanity spending seems to have become a necessity.

Obama health plan travels further down wrong path

22 Feb 2010

It costs $75 bln more than the U.S. Senate proposal, limits a tax on highend plans and increases regulation by trying to limit price hikes. Worse, the president s bid to break a political impasse will further polarize Congress. A tactical win could become a strategic loss.

L’Oreal needs discipline after ditching EPS goal

16 Feb 2010

The French beauty group is scrapping its doubledigit EPS growth target, rightly saying the goal can distort strategy and curb investment. The risk is that L Oreal drifts into profligacy after two decades of discipline. A robust dividend policy should prevent that.

Buyout barons’ mega-deals may yet deliver

8 Feb 2010

A couple of giant boomera buyouts wiped investors out. But others on the top 20 list have scraped through the crisis. Investors in HCA now appear well in the money on paper. Woes at Freescale and even Clear Channel are waning. But private equity bosses still have work to do.

Carl Icahn needs to justify his Biogen escalation

28 Jan 2010

The veteran activist gave the biotech firm the shakeup it needed. He won two board seats, ousted the CEO and put the company on the block. Unless he has more, better ideas, his 6 pct stake doesn't merit the extra board representation he wants. If not, he should just buy Biogen.

New Novartis CEO inherits unfinished business

26 Jan 2010

Joe Jimenez has a big todo list at the Swiss drugs group. Shortterm, he must resolve the impasse with minorities at Alcon and raise $16 bln to pay for Nestle's stake in the eye care firm. The strategic challenge is even greater: maintaining growth as blockbuster patents expire.

US Senate turnover could force pro-market shift

26 Jan 2010

The Democrats' loss of the Kennedy seat in the Senate may just be the start. Republicans have a chance of retaking both houses of Congress in November's elections. As with the Clintonera Democratic implosion of 1994, Obama might have to adopt a more marketfriendly agenda.

Investors better off fixing, not flipping, Genzyme

15 Jan 2010

The $14 bln U.S. biotech is getting a muchneeded shakeup. Relational Investors is backing management for now. But Carl Icahn, with a history of forcing companies into auctions, hovers. A sale might book a quick gain but a smaller, more focused firm would be more valuable.

US health reform may cost investors

13 Jan 2010

Labor unions are balking at Obama s move to tax their health benefits to pay for reform. So Democrats are considering taxing investment income. That s a bad idea. Not only might it raise the cost of reform and worsen the deficit, it could politically doom the whole plan.

Obama rightly urges tax on gold-plated healthcare

7 Jan 2010

To the dismay of deficit worriers, U.S. healthcare reform has shifted focus from reducing costs to expanding insurance coverage. So the new White House push to tax pricey health plans is welcome. Though more needs to be done, this is the best costcontainment idea out there.

Healthcare reform could worsen US deficit

29 Dec 2009

Uncle Sam s creditors in Beijing and elsewhere have repeatedly questioned the budgetary impact of healthcare reform. Skepticism is merited. The justpassed Senate bill employs some Enronesque bookkeeping tricks to improve the fiscal picture.

U.S. healthcare bill won’t fix big inefficiencies

21 Dec 2009

The Senate version, now probably in nearfinal form, will bring health coverage to more people and usefully calls for things like insurance exchanges. However, it worsens the crosssubsidies built into the US healthcare system and risks adding yet more cost.

Market softens up CVS Caremark for US regulators

5 Nov 2009

The Federal Trade Commission fancies the drugs group as an antitrust target. Investors, meanwhile, gave its stock a beating after the company lost contracts worth billions in the latest quarter. The market is helping overworked officials by putting CVS Caremark on the back foot.

TPG patches together $5.2bn post-crisis buyout

5 Nov 2009

The private equity firm is leading a buyout of drugs market research company IMS. But oldstyle LBO financing is missing. The buyers are putting in a whopping 40% as equity. The rest is coming courtesy of Goldman and mostly from funds it manages, not its own balance sheet.

US healthcare bill twists already tangled system

13 Oct 2009

The bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee does increase healthcare coverage. But it adds complexity in areas like crosssubsidisation and fails to tackle widely recognised problems like lawsuits. It risks making the system even less economically efficient.

US healthcare debate descends into irrationality

10 Sep 2009

You lie! a congressman yelled, breaking decorum, over Obama s contention that reform won t benefit illegals. It s an odd choice to get worked up over when the proposal has explicit restrictions on benefits to foreigners and far richer targets, like its price tag.