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:
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Obamacare Approval Drops to Record Low
The drop in support indicated in the poll could be particularly troubling to the Obama administration because almost all of it came from women, whose opposition rose from 54 percent to 60 percent in a month.
The PR Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue
“While the holiday surprises have become commonplace, the latest extension is another disappointment for the ‘most transparent administration in history.’ As we celebrate Christmas and prepare to ring in the New Year, we continue to ask, ‘what’s next?'”
Obama Has Signed Up for Insurance Under Obamacare
In what an official acknowledged is a “symbolic” move since the president gets his medical care from the military, Obama selected a low-cost bronze plan through the District of Columbia exchange. He made the pick over the weekend while vacationing in Hawaii.
Obamacare Site Sees Traffic Surge on Eve of Enrollment Deadline
The Obama administration had long predicted a crush of interest in the days and hours leading up to enrollment deadlines, and is now hoping for an eleventh-hour surge to make up for lost time.
Obamacare Cutoff Pushed to Christmas Eve
Monday was supposed to be the last day to sign up for coverage that starts Jan. 1, but an administration official said people who have started the enrollment process will have until Christmas Eve to complete it.
Personal security and freedom:
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Edward Snowden, After Months of NSA Revelations, Says His Mission’s Accomplished
“All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed,” he said. “That is a milestone we left a long time ago. Right now, all we are looking at are stretch goals.”
Israeli Mossad Spy Agency Trained Young Mandela
The newly published Israeli documents, released weeks after Mandela’s death on Dec. 5, highlight Israeli officials’ voices against apartheid and their attempts to stop the 1964 Rivonia Trial, in which Mandela would be sentenced to life in prison.
Santa Found Dead, Hog-Tied in Russia…
The man had been at a business holiday party and threatened two fellow party-goers with a knife, RIA Novosti reported. Others managed to subdue the man outside, tying his hands and feet with a rope, investigators said.
New Armored Tank for Town Police Sparks Fear
“That vehicle is made for war. Do not use my safety to justify that vehicle,” one wrote. “The Salinas Police Department is just a bunch of cowards that want to use that vehicle as intimidation and to terrorize the citizens of this city.”
Authoritarian Liberals Declare Duck Dynasty Christian Views “Hate Speech”
Political pundits are now flooding the airwaves to not just disagree with Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson but to also declare that he is engaging in “hate speech” — setting a precedent for a future chilling effect on non-establishment viewpoints.
Business and finance:
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Stocks Finish Higher in Extending Record-Breaking Santa Rally
The combination of the Federal Reserve’s ‘taper-lite,’ a two-year budget deal, and better-than-expected U.S. economic data could support the seasonal pattern of abnormally strong market returns during the holidays.
Huffington Post Still Not Making a Profit?
The Brand Group, which includes The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Moviefone and Patch, reported an adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $4.6 million for the nine months ending in September. For the same period in 2012, it reported a loss of $41.6 million.
Japanese Stocks Touch Six-Year Peak
Japanese shares closed at a six-year high Tuesday, propelled steadily upward as investors look to developed Asia for returns and show growing faith in Japan’s reform agenda.
Boston Scientific Plans China Expansion
Boston Scientific Corp. is boosting staff, opening surgeon-training centers and eyeing acquisitions in China as it aims to offset sluggish medical-device sales back home in the U.S.
Electricity Price Index at All-Time High in U.S.
Turning on the Christmas lights on a house or a Christmas tree this November cost Americans more on average than it has before, as the seasonally adjusted electricity price index hit an all-time high in the United States in November.
Best wishes,
The Money and Markets Team
