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Tackling homelessness can help Medicaid save money

  In a growing number of states, Medicaid directors have come to believe they could save money by housing the homeless. The federal government is providing money to find out if they’re right. There’s good reason to think this is an experiment worth trying. The idea arose from two developments. First, Obamacare’s drastic expansion of eligibility for Medicaid coverage has ...

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UAE’s carbon capture project commendable

  The UAE is stepping up use of innovative technologies to bring about reduction in its carbon footprint. On Saturday, it started a carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project that will take out 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The technology will not just capture CO2, but also enhance oil recovery and liberate gas. This facility is one ...

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High Court doesn’t care if the people want Brexit

  Striking a blow against popular sovereignty by referendum, the U.K. High Court of Justice held on Thursday that Britain can’t leave the European Union without an act of Parliament. Because British constitutional thought is so different from its U.S. and European equivalents, the decision will be difficult for the U.K.’s Supreme Court to overturn. It’s now much more likely ...

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Anonymous trolls are what’s crippling Twitter

I love Twitter. I use it every day. I’ve made a number of friends using the service, and often have interesting exchanges with an even larger number of colleagues and smart people. It has been essential to my career; it’s hard to imagine doing my job without Twitter or some similar tool for connecting with the public. But Twitter Inc. ...

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This bull market has room to keep on running

  Barry Ritholtz Are we in a short-term cyclical bull market, one that is already long in the tooth and coming to an end? Or are we in the early years of a secular bull market, one that might last a decade or more? The answer could have a significant impact on how your portfolios perform during the next few ...

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Zombie banks stalk Africa with mergers one way to limit risk

  Bloomberg Africa’s many small and under-capitalized banks, laden with bad debt, are inflicting more pain on already embattled economies. Regulators may have no choice but to force lenders to consolidate or close. A third of Nigeria’s 21 banks may be under-capitalized. Much smaller Uganda has 25 banks and last month suffered one collapse. Kenya has had three failures since ...

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IMF knocks on doors in quest for intelligence on Chinese banks

  Bloomberg As part of the International Monetary Fund’s biggest review of China’s banking system in half a decade, a top official recently did some detective work that didn’t involve an Excel spreadsheet. On a trip to the mega-city of Chongqing in the nation’s interior, Ratna Sahay, acting director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, visited a property ...

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BOE’s Carney focuses on inflation amid uncertainty

  Bloomberg Mark Carney says he’s staying at the Bank of England (BOE). He’s just not saying what he’s going to do. With his forecasting record proving patchy, the governor’s latest message is that the next move could be to tighten or loosen policy. A few months ago, policy makers foresaw a second interest-rate cut after the Brexit vote, while ...

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Newly floated Egyptian pound moves little as interbank trading begins

  CAIRO / Reuters Egypt’s pound was almost steady early on Sunday as banks began trading freely for the first time since authorities ditched the currency’s peg in a policy shift designed to crush a black market and clinch an International Monetary Fund loan. Interbank trading began at 1030 a.m. (0830 GMT) but activity was extremely slow because banks were ...

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EU wants global bank regulator to soften capital standards

  Bloomberg The European Union is raising the pressure on global banking regulators to ease proposed capital rules in an effort to protect lenders and the economy from major new costs. The European Parliament will add its voice next week to a chorus of resistance from EU regulators and policy makers including German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. Lawmakers plan a ...

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