Author: Serkadis

Warren Buffett’s ‘no’ vote against a Kraft (KFT) bid for Cadbury (CBY) has raised some eyebrows from anti-trust authorities.

He might be trying to protect his Mars candy business from Cadbury (which we has a major stake in), so goes the logic.

New York Post: “To the extent Kraft pays less [for Cadbury], it can be less aggressive in the marketplace” this person said.

Added an antitrust lawyer familiar with the workings of the US Federal Trade Commission: “I think the triggering event [for the FTC to investigate Buffett] could be if his attempt to muck up Kraft’s deal was done to protect his position in Mars.”

…

Some sources speculated about one reason behind Buffett’s rare decision to issue a tersely worded letter in opposition to Kraft selling more shares. They said if Kraft pays too much for Cadbury, the food giant would be under pressure to boost sales, and perhaps lower prices, in order to sell more candy. That, in turn, could potentially hurt Mars’ market share.

So wait, he should be forced to buy Cadbury at a higher price? Refusing to take action, refusing to spend money, isn’t a monopolistic act.

More importantly, even if Warren Buffett is a candy king, candy bars aren’t some kind of dire necessity. If people find candy bar prices too expensive, due to a supposed monopoly, they can simply stop buying them until companies offer a fair price. We’re not talking winter heating gas or water here.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Canadian Police In Furious Manhunt For The ‘Chinese Warren Buffett’
• Warren Buffett Accused Of Purposefully Sinking Cadbury Shares
• Whitney Tilson: Relax, Warren Buffett Didn’t Screw Up The Kraft-Cadbury Deal

Boeing (NYSE: BA) recorded 481 commercial airplane deliveries in 2009, matching the company guidance of 480-485 airplanes.

The Commercial Airplanes backlog remains strong at 3,375 airplanes.

Boeing registered 263 gross and 142 net commercial orders for the year as air travel and freight declined and carriers worldwide experienced severe economic challenges.

The Next-Generation 737 continued its reign as the industry workhorse with 372 deliveries. The airplane also topped Boeing’s order book with 197 gross orders as carriers chose the 737’s efficiency and versatility for future fleet needs.

The 777 led Boeing’s twin-aisle programs as operators chose the most reliable and efficient twin-aisle jet flying today.

The global recession presided as an oppressive market reality in 2009, driving many carriers to re-evaluate their near- and medium-term fleet requirements.

Program orders, deliveries and backlog at the end of 2009 were as follows:

             Gross Orders     Net Orders     Deliveries     Backlog Units
    737           197             178            372            2,076
    777            30              19             88              281
    747             5               2              8              108
    767             7               2             13               59
    787            24             -59            N/A              851

First flight of the 787 Dreamliner took place Dec. 15, with first delivery scheduled for fourth-quarter 2010. The 747-8 Freighter is slated for first flight early this year with first delivery planned for fourth-quarter 2010.

Delivery of the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger airplane is planned for fourth-quarter 2011.

“2009 was not without its challenges but it also was a year of exciting achievements for our company and our industry,” said Jim Albaugh, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive officer.

“With signs of economic recovery emerging in 2010, we look forward to better days ahead.”

Boeing expects to provide 2010 commercial airplane delivery guidance when the company releases year-end earnings Jan. 27.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes highlights in 2009 included:

• First flight of the 787 Dreamliner.
• 3,000th delivery of the Next-Generation 737.
• The first 777 Freighter delivered to launch customer Air France.
• Delivery of the 1,400th 747 as the program celebrated its 40th anniversary.
• Boeing and the U.S. Navy formally unveiled the P-8A Poseidon – a derivative of the Next-Generation 737 – for the service’s newest maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.
• Significant progress among Boeing and its partners in studying sustainable biofuels.
• Boeing Training & Flight Services (formerly Alteon) introduced its new name and branding to highlight its expanded capabilities.
• Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services expanded its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations with the opening of a new hangar at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport.
• The 737-700C (Convertible) became the first member of the Next-Generation 737 family to be offered in both an all-passenger and all-cargo layout.

A detailed report of Boeing Commercial Airplanes orders and deliveries is available on the Orders and Deliveries Web site.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Media Relations, +1 206-766-2910
Boeing Commercial Airplanes

I’ll say it: the S-5BD looks ferocious. It’s a Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player and a 5.1-channel audiophile grade surround sound receiver, all packed into an oooooo shiny design.

The S-5BD has 1080p/24p video output, DVD scaling up to 1080p, and all the interconnective goodness that comes along with Blu-ray 2.0 and BD Live. The audio receiver supports Dolby Pro Logic IIz and is 7.1 channel capable, with preouts for Surround Back or Front Height Channels.

It’s a lot of punch packed into one box, and the price reflects it: the S-5BD will be released in March for $1,799. But if you think of it as a buying a top-grade Blu-ray 2.0 player and 5.1 receiver at the same time, that actually may not be such a stretch.

DENON® INTRODUCES GROUNDBREAKING S-5BD BD/RECEIVER:
INTEGRATED PROFILE 2.0 BLU-RAY PLAYER AND 5.1-CHANNEL RECEIVER

— Award-Winning S-5BD BD/ Receiver Offers Superior Audio and Video Performance, High-Impact Surround Sound, Plus Convenience and Flexibility of Multi-Room A/V Networking —

LAS VEGAS, NV, January 7, 2010 – Denon Electronics, one of the world’s premier manufacturers of high-quality home entertainment components, today introduced the S-5BD BD/Receiver, an innovative single-component home entertainment solution that elegantly combines an audiophile grade 5.1-channel surround sound receiver with an advanced Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player featuring BD Live connectivity. Named an International CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree, the Denon S-5BD BD/Receiver is scheduled for availability in March 2010 with a suggested retail price of $1,799.

With its 5.1-channel surround sound receiver featuring 2-source, 2-zone distribution capabilities and advanced Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player featuring BD Live connectivity, the S-5BD BD/Receiver allows discriminating consumers to enjoy the very best in audio and video performance, including high-impact surround sound and state-of-the-art high-definition video, with the convenience and flexibility of multi-room audio/video. Notably, the S-5BD is one of the first products announced to feature HDMI 1.4 with support of Audio Return Channel.

Phil Cohn, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Denon Electronics, noted: “The S-5BD brings together the finest of audio/video source components with 21st century connectivity and advanced surround sound processing to solve many of today’s home entertainment challenges. It is ideal for discriminating space-conscious consumers who want to enjoy superior audio and video home entertainment without any “component clutter.” Notably, in addition to being an audiophile-grade surround sound receiver, the S-5BD also has many of the same leading-edge technologies, breakthrough network interconnectivity and features as our revolutionary Model DVD-A1UDCI Blu-ray player at a significantly more affordable price.”

Interconnectivity, Interactivity…and Total Ease-of-Use
Several technological advancements define the state-of-the-art S-5BD. The built-in Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Disc Player delivers video and audio perfection, with 1080p/24p video output, DVD video scaling up to 1080p, plus network interconnectivity and advanced interactivity with BD-Live. Denon engineers made connectivity a top priority in designing the S-5BD. The unit features convenient front-panel HDMI (3 inputs/1 output, all certified for HDMI 1.4) and SD card inputs, as well as iPodâ direct connectivity via the USB port (with connectivity for Denon’s Networked Control Dock for iPod as well). For total ease of use, it provides Plug ‘n Play convenience (iPod/USB/Blu-ray/DVD/CD) as well as automatic sound mode, auto setup and an advanced GUI.

The S-5BD includes support for Dolby Pro Logic IIz, featuring Front Height Effects Channels, as well as Dolby TrueHD/ DTS-HD Master audio support for decoding the multi-channel recordings featured on Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs. The unit is 7.1 channel capable with preouts for Surround Back or Front Height Channels. For unrivaled audio quality, the unit features Denon’s AL24 Processing, a high-grade analog waveform reproduction technology that dramatically enhances the music listening experience by improving the player’s ability to reproduce moments when music quietly fades away or starts following complete silence. Other audio-enhancing technologies include strictly selected sound parts and Denon custom made OFC winding coil for improving.

Multi-Zone System Building, Ideal for Custom Installations
The unit provides a variety of high-performance options for multi-zone system building. For example, thanks to advanced Power Amplifier assignment for multi zone applications, users can enjoy a 3.1-channel main system and power up zone 2, or use the zone preamp output and still enjoy 7.1-channel surround on their main system.

The S-5BD is engineered specifically for use in today’s advanced custom installation systems. Among its many custom installation-friendly features are RS-232 for 3rd Party control and assignable high current DC trigger outputs, as well as front-panel lockout and IR lockout. Additionally, in the event of future firmware updates and possible upgrades, owners of the S-5BD can download them directly via its Ethernet port.*

For total ease and accuracy of set-up, the unit features Audyssey MultEQ Auto Setup and Calibration. In addition, Audyssey Dynamic Volume, a volume leveling technology, frees listeners from the disruptive changes in volume levels when broadcast material changes between television shows and commercials or even while watching a movie. Coupled with Audyssey Dynamic Volume is Audyssey Dynamic EQ, a loudness correction technology that enhances the overall entertainment experience even further. At a lower playback volume, voices tend to change, bass disappears, and the surround soundstage becomes less enveloping. By selecting the correct frequency response and surround volume levels moment-by-moment, Dynamic EQ lets users enjoy the full palette of original rich sound at any volume.
*A home network is required for firmware updates and upgrade via the Ethernet port.

In one of Top Gear’s more infamous (and yet informative) vehicle tests, Jeremy Clarkson pitted a Toyota Prius against a BMW M3 to see which car could get better gas mileage. The catch was, the Prius had to drive as fast as it could, while all the M3 had to do was keep up with the hybrid. The end result was the Prius got 17.2 mpg, while the M3 got 19.4 mpg. The point, according to Clarkson, is that it isn’t what you drive, but how you drive.

Now we can debate the merits of the video (posted below) all we want. But the point is, you can get decent mileage if you drive, well, gingerly. It isn’t easy, but Garmin, maker of GPS devices, has come up with a device called the ecoRoute hd. This device plugs into your car and calculates just how green you are driving, no matter what you are driving. It’s pretty cool, in a green, Big Brother sort of way.

Read more of this story »

An anonymous reader sent over yet another example of copyright being abused for monopolist reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with “promoting the progress,” and actually represent a serious healthcare issue. I had no idea, but apparently the various “codes” used by doctors to classify every visit are actually covered by a copyright held by the American Medical Association, which refuses to allow any free or open distribution of the codes (known as Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)). That’s because the AMA makes about $70 million per year “licensing” the codes.

I’m having serious trouble figuring out what about the codes could actually be covered by copyright, however. They’re numbers corresponding to a particular medical service. As the post above notes, it’s things like “90801 Psychiatric Diagnostic Interview.” It’s difficult to see what the creative component of such a listing is that would allow it to be granted any sort of copyright protection. A simple database of codes by itself shouldn’t really qualify, should it? However, the real issue seems to be that Medicare and Medicaid have required the use of these codes, meaning that pretty much everyone needs to use them… and then has to pay up for them. While a court did find that this arrangement clearly involved the AMA misusing its copyright and noted that “the adverse effects of the licensing agreement are apparent,” the AMA did some legal tap dancing to get around the issue and keep things effectively the same.

So why is this bad for pretty much everyone outside of the AMA? It makes it that much more difficult to comparison shop between doctor’s services, since publishing such info can run afoul of the copyrights. One of the biggest problems in healthcare today is the fact that the true costs of pretty much everything are hidden from the consumer through a convoluted insurance system. The end result of any economic situation where the true costs are hidden from the buyers is that the market is woefully inefficient. But, so long as that inefficiency lets the AMA collect $70 million per year (double what the AMA makes from membership dues), it doesn’t seem to care.

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Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage has been traced, there were five bodies been found. But right now YSR dead body photos have not been leaked at any site.
Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage has been traced, there were five bodies been found. But right now YSR dead body photos have not been leaked at any site.
All the five bodies including CM’s body have been recovered from the ruins of helicopter. Bodies are burned and Reddy belonged to the Congress Party who had become the chief minister of his state for the second consecutive time earlier this year. As he announced several government schemes for the welfare of the poor people living in villages and remote areas, he was a popular leader. He will surly missed by us!!!

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1. Ysr Death Mystery 2010 Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage…
2. Ysr Dead Body Photos Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s…
3. Ysr Death Conspiracy Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage…

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When you can’t find anything to match that sexy animal print skirt, try picking up a pair of JVC’s earbuds that will be available next month in four popular animal print patterns: Dalmatian, leopard, zebra stripe and pink zebra stripe.  A thoughtful touch is the various sized silicon earpieces: medium, small and extra-small, reflecting the smaller average size of women’s ears.  It is also a pretty good insurance that the guys around the house won’t be “borrowing” them.

Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage has been traced, there were five bodies been found. But right now YSR dead body photos have not been leaked at any site.
All the five bodies including CM’s body have been recovered from the ruins of helicopter. Bodies are burned and Reddy belonged to the Congress Party who had become the chief minister of his state for the second consecutive time earlier this year. As he announced several government schemes for the welfare of the poor people living in villages and remote areas, he was a popular leader. He will surly missed by us!!!

Related posts:

1. Ysr Death Conspiracy Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage…
2. Ysr Death Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage…
3. Ysr Murdered, Ysr Murdered Photos Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage…

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China has expressed displeasure with Japanese plans to build a port on the Okinotorishima atoll, according to Reuters.

Previously, China had argued that the Pacific landmass, which Japan owns, did not meet the U.N.’s criteria for an island because it was uninhabitable.

If Okinotorishima was recognized as an island, then Japan would have indisputable claim to an exclusive economic zone around the atoll. In other words, special rights to marine resources and passages in up to 400,000 square kilometers of adjacent ocean.

The construction of a port would make the atoll habitable and, presumably, an island.

But China’s foreign ministry has already attacked this idea, releasing a statement that “building facilities on it would not change the atoll’s legal status.”

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Here’s The Real Reason Japan’s Finance Minister Resigned
• It’s Time For Japan And China To Team Up And Form A Trading Bloc
• Phew, We’re Doing WAY Better Than Japan

Do you have more Rock Band drum kits than USB ports to plug them into on your PS3 Slim? Well, Nyko is here to double your USB capacity.

For $20, the Media Hub Slim snaps onto the bottom of the PS3 and adds all the ports you need. In addition to USB, it’s got an SD card/Memory Stick reader and a remote control for basic menu surfing. Look for it to hit stores in April.

Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage has been traced, there were five bodies been found. But right now YSR dead body photos have not been leaked at any site.
All the five bodies including CM’s body have been recovered from the ruins of helicopter. Bodies are burned and Reddy belonged to the Congress Party who had become the chief minister of his state for the second consecutive time earlier this year. As he announced several government schemes for the welfare of the poor people living in villages and remote areas, he was a popular leader. He will surly missed by us!!!

Related posts:

1. Ysr Death Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s wreckage…
2. Ysr Dead Body Photos Where Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy’s BEL-430 Chopper’s…
3. Ysr Murdered All the five bodies including CM’s body have been recovered…

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The new Boxee Box and Remote Control from D-Link gets a hans-on from Dave Zatz at CES.

Dave addresses man of the questions we had about the box and remote.  Zatz says the Media Player/Extender:

“should ship sometime in the next few months for under $200. (I’ll guess $199.) The unit looks more sophisticated and sexy than the fine renders we saw last month with a polished front face, that was next to impossible to photograph.”

                   Photo via ZatzNotFunny!

Dave said the remote looks great and the possibility of inadvertent key presses is pretty remote (pardon the pun).  The keys are chicklet-style and recessed so it should work on a tabletop.  Best of all the remote will also sell separately with a USB dongle for use on computers running Boxee.  I might have to pick one up to see if I can get it working with SageTV and MediaCenter as well!

No official word on pricing but the word is sub-$200.

Read more at ZatzNotFunny!

Strategic partnership will make medical necessity compliance and denials/appeals management available to all UHC members

The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and Executive Health Resources, Inc. (EHR) today announced the signing of a strategic partnership that will make EHR’s expert Physician Advisor solutions available to all UHC members.

With this agreement, UHC’s 107 academic medical centers and 220 affiliate hospitals can leverage EHR’s comprehensive suite of solutions, which includes Concurrent Medicare Medical Necessity Compliance, Medicaid Medical Necessity Compliance, Retrospective Governmental Payor Appeals Solutions (including Comprehensive RAC, MAC, MIC, and QIO denial management), Managed Care/Commercial Payor Appeals, and Expert Advisory Services.

In addition, UHC and EHR will collaborate in analyzing hospital member-level data to identify specific areas for improvement and develop customized plans for concurrent medical necessity compliance and denials management services at hospital facilities.

Once this work is complete, EHR can provide a comprehensive, on-site implementation program to educate the member’s case management staff on using EHR processes and services.

UHC members can also benefit from EHR’s ongoing compliance warranty program, which provides protection beyond the initial concurrent medical necessity review and certification.

Finally, all UHC members can have complimentary access to exclusive, ongoing educational programming provided by EHR to help them stay abreast of the latest compliance news, strategies, regulatory updates, and guidance on current government auditing initiatives and other industry topics.

“In today’s environment of increasing regulatory scrutiny, it is critical that hospitals mitigate risk exposure by implementing proactive measures to ensure compliance 100% of the time,” explained Robert R. Corrato, MD, MBA, president and chief executive officer, EHR.

“Through this strategic partnership, UHC is demonstrating its commitment to its members to help them in overcoming this difficult challenge. We are honored to work with such a prestigious health care organization.”

To date, EHR’s Physician Advisors have successfully performed more than 1.2 million medical necessity reviews, conducted hundreds of audits at client hospital facilities, and successfully identified and reversed thousands of RAC medical necessity denials at all levels of appeal.

EHR’s depth and breadth of experience was a contributing factor in its selection as UHC’s preferred partner.

“This strategic partnership with EHR will offer UHC members not only specialized pricing but also services that include customized improvement insights.

In essence, members will receive the added benefit of a specific plan for concurrent medical necessity compliance and denials management,” said Tom Robertson, vice president, Business Strategies and Tactics, UHC.

EHR currently works with more than 900 hospitals and health systems across the United States.

Prior to the signing of this strategic partnership, EHR was already providing a broad range of services to a large number of UHC members.

About University HealthSystem Consortium

UHC is based in Oak Brook, Ill, a Chicago suburb, and has 107 academic medical centers and 220 of their affiliated hospitals as members, representing more than 90% of the nation’s nonprofit academic medical centers.

UHC provides data products and services to members to support clinical, operational, financial, and supply chain improvement.

UHC’s Patient Safety Net® serves as the patient safety system for UHC’s Clinical Practice Advancement Center, which was one of the first 10 Patient Safety Organizations named by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2008.

About Executive Health Resources

Executive Health Resources (EHR), The Physician Advisor Company(TM), is the leading provider of real-time, point-of-care, expert Physician Advisor solutions to more than 900 hospitals and health systems across the country.

EHR’s comprehensive solutions include Concurrent Medicare and Medicaid Medical Necessity Compliance Management (including Inpatient and Observation Review and Certification, Cardiac Procedure Review and Certification, Readmission Review and Certification, Continued Stay Review); Retrospective Governmental Payor Appeals Management (including RAC, MAC, MIC, and QIO denials); Managed Care/Commercial Payor Appeals Management (including Concurrent and Retrospective); and Expert Advisory Services.

EHR is the only company in the country both to be endorsed by the American Hospital Association and to have Peer Reviewed designation by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Learn more about EHR at ehrdocs.com and theRACcure.com.

After getting flamed all over the internet “as a maniacal crackpot mom” for writing that video games are from Satan (qjnet/news/game-developer-of-the-millenium-satan.html), Frumpy Mom Marla Jo Fisher did some thinking that maybe she went overboard. She writes again,

It’s cold out there.

By “out there,” we mean pretty much anywhere in the U.S. north of Brownsville, Texas. Check out the U.S. weather map. Temperatures range from a chilly-for-Florida 49 degrees in Miami and a “This isn’t why we moved to Texas” 23 degrees in Dallas, down to a “Do we even have a weather map color for this?” 27 degrees below zero up in Montana. Now that’s cold.

While we’re all freezing, natural-gas investors are cheering (or perhaps doing cartwheels). Gas prices closed above $6 per million BTUs yesterday for the first time in a year as all that frigid weather drives up demand for gas, which heats more than half of U.S. homes.

This morning, government data showed that the U.S. pulled 153 billion cubic feet of gas out of storage last week, triple the draw down in the same week last year. Expect an even bigger number next week, which will reflect this week’s brutal cold.

So is it time to toss out the “gas glut” commentary along with the Christmas tree? Not so fast. For one thing, storage levels remain 11% higher than normal for this time of year, and a couple cold weeks aren’t going to do much to change that.

Moreover, as cold weather pushes up gas prices, that will actually surpress demand for non-heating uses of gas. At $6 per million British thermal units, gas no longer looks cheap compared to coal, the way it did when prices dropped below $3 in September. Jefferies analyst Subash Chandra figures natural gas has given back all of the 3 billion cubic feet of daily demand that it took away from coal earlier this year. That helps explain why gas prices are actually trading down a few pennies this morning.

Of course, that’s nothing more than the law of supply and demand—not exactly a new principle. But it’s not the way natural gas markets have worked in recent years. Instead, prices tended to spike whenever demand picked up due to supply fears, as producers struggled to pump enough gas. They would catch up just in time for demand to fall, flooding the market and driving prices back down. The result was a price roller coaster, with frequent spikes and plunges.

The huge gas discoveries of the past few years have changed all that. Now there’s plenty of gas, and producers can quickly ramp up and down drilling in response to shifts in demand. The result, at least in theory: price stability. Gas has spent most of the past year bouncing between $3 and $6 per million BTUs—a tame year compared to the $5.50 to $13.50 swings of 2008.
Will it last? More and more market-watchers are saying “yes”. Of course, those same experts once predicted $200 a barrel oil. So buyer beware.

Well, I’m guessing that. Anyway, solar power – woo! It’s the future aspazzarently – is what you need when you’re a doofus like me who’s forgotten to charge her car kit. Er, hang on. I don’t have a car.

So, what’s IOGEAR’s $69.95 kit got? Well, there’s a solar-powered Bluetooth speakerphone which you can mount either on the windshield or visor. There’s multi-point connection, enabling you to switch between two phones. There’s echo cancellation and noise reduction, a volume and mute button (surely all car kits have these as standard?), and a micro-USB cable and one of those adapters you stick in the cigarette lighter. One charge will give you 11 to 13 hours’ continuous talk time.

And if anyone dares tell me I’m just phoning in my work these days, I’ll run you over.