Новости за 01.02.2017

The Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges have become too risky for major health insurers, and that's creating further doubt about coverage options consumers might have next year. Swedish told Wall Street analysts during a conference call that if Anthem doesn't see stability in the exchanges heading into next year, "then we will begin making some very conscious decisions with respect to extracting ourselves." The losses that insurers have taken from coverage sold on these state-based exchanges... Читать дальше...

Story by Kendall Jones, via Washington Beer Blog. Story by Kendall Jones, via Washington Beer Blog. The 4th annual Washington Hop Mob kicks off tomorrow at Brouwer’s Cafe in The post Hop Mob events across Western Washington for the next 11 days appeared first on Washington Beer Blog.

News reports emerged Tuesday indicating the confessed shooter outside a lecture by a Breitbart News editor at the University of Washington on Inauguration Day is an enrolled student at the college.

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 100 retailers including Wal-Mart and Target as well as key trade associations are launching a new coalition aimed at fighting a Republican proposal on how imports get taxed, a measure they believe would harm their businesses. The National Retail Federation, along with the American International Automobile Dealers Association, the National Grocers Association and others are joining forces to form Americans for Affordable Products, which will run a campaign to educate consumers... Читать дальше...

A day before Amazon's latest earnings report, it's not up for debate whether the company has behemoth status in the online retail market.

A comparison of the Federal Reserve's statements from its two-day meeting that ended Wednesday and its meeting Dec. 13-14: OPTIMISM IMPROVES: Now: "Measures of consumer and business sentiment have improved of late." Then: This sentence wasn't included in December, and likely reflects postelection increases in confidence. INFLATION WILL RISE: January: Fed policymakers are more confident about inflation. They expect that "with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy ... and inflation will... Читать дальше...

The Committee expects that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, economic activity will expand at a moderate pace, labor market conditions will strengthen somewhat further, and inflation will rise to 2 percent over the medium term. In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1/2 to 3/4 percent. In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fed leaves key rate unchanged at time of solid economic gains but heightened uncertainty.

The University of Washington announced it's 2017 recruiting class as high school players across the country signed their letters of intent (LOI) on national signing day. Head coach Chris Petersen's latest class features five players listed in ESPN's ranking of the top 300 players in the country after signing just seven ESPN 300 players in his first three classes at UW.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel, with no Democrats present, approved President Donald Trump's choice of financier Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary. In a printed statement, Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the panel, said it was deeply troubling that Republicans had chosen to "break the rules in the face of strong evidence of two nominees' serious ethical problems." A liberal group, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said it would continue running television ads in a number of states... Читать дальше...

January is typically the weakest month of the year for U.S. auto sales, and last month appeared to live up to that reputation. Consumer confidence is strong, gas prices are low and there are good deals on new vehicles with cool technology. Promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending could increase demand for new vehicles. Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for the LMC Automotive consulting firm, said automakers also offered hefty deals in November and December, pulling January sales forward. Читать дальше...

With Republicans working on legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, people who traded a full-time job for entrepreneurship are concerned that new insurance policies may be too expensive or not available at all — and possibly force them to find new jobs that offer cheaper and more comprehensive group plans. "From a safety and stability standpoint, I have to look for a job now," says Michael Duffield, owner of Fruition, a marketing business based in Palm Springs, California, that he started in 2011. Читать дальше...

Hundreds of people gathered outside a City Council Finance Committee meeting Wednesday morning, to support Councilmember Kshama Sawant's motion to divest from Wells Fargo, a major funder of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Pittsburgh Public School officials say all schools will reopen Thursday after problems with the city's water supply forced 22 schools and two early childhood centers to close Wednesday. City officials say they've now opened 15 supply centers across the city where residents can obtain bottled water or fill jugs from metal water buffalo tanks. The city's water authority issued a boil-water advisory to 100,000 customers late Tuesday after state environmental tests showed insufficient chlorine in water being drawn from one city reservoir system.

Technology stocks are up after Apple said iPhone sales improved in its last quarter, which sent its stock to its highest price in more than a year. The big gains for Apple, the world's most valuable publicly-traded company, took technology stocks higher. The hiring was greater than expected, and the construction, manufacturing, health care and shipping industries all adding jobs at a solid pace. Investors reacted to the hiring report by selling government bonds, which are relatively safe investments... Читать дальше...

DARLINGTON, England (AP) — British journalist Julia Breen's scoop about racism at her local police force didn't just get her on the front page, it got her put under surveillance. A minority officer, Sultan Alam, was awarded 800,000 pounds in 2012 (then worth $1.26 million) after allegedly being framed by colleagues in retaliation for a discrimination lawsuit. Britain's wiretapping watchdog — the Interception of Communications Commissioner's Office — revealed in 2015 that 82 journalists' communications... Читать дальше...

Apple jumped 5.6 percent to its highest price in more than a year after saying that its iPhone sales improved in its last quarter, breaking a slump. Encouraging news on hiring and a strong earnings report from Apple helped send U.S. stocks higher in early trading. Apple jumped 5 percent early Wednesday, the biggest gain in the Dow Jones industrial average, after reporting a day earlier that the iPhone snapped out of the first sales slump in its history. In economic news, payroll provider ADP reported... Читать дальше...

How a new savings account for people with disabilities works A new type of savings vehicle, known as an ABLE account, is allowing people with disabilities to save more money for the first time. The accounts are run by states and are similar to 529 college savings plans. U.S. citizens, or legal residents, who had a disability before their 26th birthday. Parents can open the account for their children, but the person with a disability must be the account owner. The ABLE National Resource Center's website... Читать дальше...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Insufficient chlorine in Pittsburgh's public water supply led to the closure Wednesday of nearly two dozen grade schools and a boil-water advisory in neighborhoods that include the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority said the advisory applied to 100,000 customers in the city of more than 305,000 residents, but officials also stressed that the advisory was only a precautionary measure and no public health problems have been reported. Читать дальше...

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $1.2 billion in buybacks and compensation to settle claims from U.S. owners of cars with larger diesel engines that the company rigged to cheat on emissions tests. The proposed settlement filed late Tuesday before Judge Charles R. Breyer in U.S. District Court in San Francisco covers owners of some 78,000 Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche cars with 3.0-liter diesel engines. VW also has settled a U.S. criminal investigation by agreeing to pay $4.3 billion... Читать дальше...

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a research note that ISM's January numbers are "consistent with a clear and robust acceleration in manufacturing output." Factories have been expanding despite a strong U.S. dollar, which makes American products more expensive in overseas markets. Overall, Labor reported that factories cut 45,000 jobs in 2016, the first annual drop in manufacturing employment since the recession year 2009.

Financial markets have pushed stock prices to record highs, reflecting in part enthusiasm over the stimulus program being pushed by President Donald Trump. The Obama administration had tried for a number of years to get Congress to approve higher infrastructure spending, but he was blocked by opposition from Republicans who complained that the projects would increase budget deficits. Democrats in Congress have already expressed support for Trump's proposals to boost construction spending but his... Читать дальше...

Orangutans in a Dutch zoo may get a high-tech helping hand thanks to a research project that is being likened to a Tinder dating app for apes. The research at the Apenheul primate park, on the outskirts of the Dutch city of Apeldoorn, is investigating the emotional responses of orangutans and bonobos to images of the same species they are shown on a touch screen.

First of all, thank you to everyone who sent a message about the birth of my daughter. Sasha arrived on Sunday and joins Henry, my three-year-old son. I look forward to taking them both to Seattle one day. We do a watch-list review every couple of months. With the Senior Bowl complete, it’s time for […]