The following is a rundown of the day’s news drawn from other media sources with topics curated just for Money and Markets readers: Obamacare, personal security and freedom, business and finance!
Obamacare
Health Site Is Improving But Likely to Miss Deadline
Users say the site looks better, pages load faster, and more people are getting through to sign up for health plans. But technical problems still affect HealthCare.gov’s ability to verify users’ identities and transmit accurate enrollment data to insurers, officials say.
Obamacare Website Crashes When CNN Tests Upgraded Version
A really funny thing happened Sunday morning when the folks at CNN’s New Day tried to open a health-insurance account at the newly upgraded Obamacare website: It crashed.
Is President Obama a Lame Duck Already?
His success may well depend on two things: Whether efforts to get HealthCare.gov working by the end of the month are successful, and the 2014 midterm elections — where Democrats’ fortunes are tied to the health-care law.
Obamacare ‘Will Work Really Well’ by 2017
“It may take until 2017 when this president leaves office. You’re going to see almost every state in this country running their own exchanges eventually and expanding Medicaid.”
Inside the Race to Rescue a Health-Care Site — and Obama
The story of how the administration confronted one of the most perilous moments in Obama’s presidency reveals an insular White House that did not initially appreciate the magnitude of its self-inflicted wounds, and sought help from trusted insiders as it scrambled to protect Obama’s image.
Personal security and freedom
Media Attacks Obama’s ‘Soviet-Style’ Publicity Policy
“As surely as they were placing a hand over a journalist’s camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the executive branch of government.”
Australian Spy Agency Offered to Share Data About Ordinary Citizens
The document shows the partners discussing whether or not to share “medical, legal or religious information,” and increases concern that the agency could be operating outside its legal mandate.
Talking to God Boosts Self-Control and Emotional Stability
People turn to prayer “as a coping response to the high demands in life” and are rewarded with increased strength and ability to resist temptation, study says.
Company Unveils Robot Security Guards
The night watchman of the future is 5 feet tall, weighs 300 pounds and looks a lot like R2-D2 — without the whimsy. And will work for $6.25 an hour.
FBI Warns About Americans Joining Islamic Fighters in Syria
Two dozen Americans may be fighting with al Qaeda-linked groups against the Syrian government. FBI officials worry they may become radicalized and carry out attacks in the U.S.
Business and finance
Nobel Prize Economist Warns of U.S. Stock Market Bubble
An American who won this year’s Nobel Prize for economics believes sharp rises in equity and property prices could lead to a dangerous financial bubble and may end badly, he told a German magazine.
Opec’s Hold Over Oil Prices Comes Under Threat
Talk of an oil-supply revolution begins in the U.S. America is producing more crude than it is importing for the first time since the 1990s. Within a few years it is expected to be the world’s largest oil producer.
Silicon Valley Catches Bitcoin Fever
Prominent investors who have been drawn to the field include Jim Breyer, a partner at Accel and early backer of Facebook, as well as Google’s venture-capital arm, which has invested in Ripple and Buttercoin, a Bitcoin exchange.
New York City Mayor-Elect Will Face Immediate Fiscal Crisis
The Democrat will contend with soaring worker health-care costs, a still-fragile recovery from the recession and potentially a reduction in aid supplied by the state and federal governments.
More and More U.S. Baby Boomers Retiring in Latin America
Inexpensive but good quality medical care is a major reason many retirees are settling in parts of Latin America. Many talk of trips to the doctor that cost only $15 and of medical treatments that cost one-third of what they do in the U.S.
Best wishes,
The Money and Markets Team
