Price Gouging....

In a heated exchange on CNBC, Andrew Left, a short seller, founder and executive editor of Citron Research, took on Mallinckrodt's CEO, Mark Trudeau, about the value of his pharmaceutical company and how it differs from Valeant.

Left, who called the decline in Valeant  [$264 to $28], said Mallinckrodt makes Valeant look like a "choirboy" by comparison. He said that the company's drug Acthar, which is used to treat seizures in babies, is the "poster child" of price gouging.

Skeptics have focused on Mallinckrodt's acquisition of Questcor in August 2014, which makes Acthar, which is a drug whose pricing was raised from $40 to more than $28,000 a vial over a decade. Left offers one million dollars for a proof that the Acthar works... It doesn't.

Shares of the Dublin-based Mallinckrodt are down more than 50 percent.  

Trudeau noted that Acthar represents less than one-third of the company's business, and it's growing at about 8 percent per year.

Shame, Shame, Shame on the legislators who know how to eliminate the rippoff and look the other way.        Just a thought.

Cruise's Danger

Samantha Broberg, 33, was reported missing by her travel companions. A ship-wide search was conducted and the ships camera footage was reviewed, Carnival said.

The video shows that she fell into the Gulf of Mexico from the 10th deck of the ship at approximately 2 a.m. Friday, but the Coast Guard was not contacted until 5 p.m. Friday, when her disappearance had been confirmed.  By then the search by the US Coast Guard is delayed for 15 hrs and the night is closing in.

The Coast Guard said aircrews searched through the day and into the evening Saturday, and after stopping the search for the night when darkness fell Saturday, planned to resume at first light Sunday.

"Based on the video analysis, it appears she climbed up and sat on a deck railing and subsequently fell backwards," Carnival spokeswoman said.

Carnival Liberty departed from Galveston, Texas, on a four-day Mexico cruise on Thursday. 

A mystery that happens more often  and the information is not clear.  Just a thought.

Ride...*!

John Caltabiano claimed he couldn’t drive, cook for himself, exercise at the gym, move around his house or even shave without help.      He had lost his sight in a workplace accident at a cement company in 2006 and, since then, he bumps into things and hurts himself at home.

Investigators had caught Caltabiano on video appearing to be reading something, driving a vehicle and then braking in time to avoid hitting a woman and child in the street.

The investigation found that Caltabiano did lose sight in one eye in a workplace incident, but there was no indication that his other eye was affected.

He was sentenced to 5 years in prison.  Just a thought.

Walk... ?

 

Two years ago, Marc Mezvinsky and his partners made a big bet on Greece. Mezvinsky, who is married to Chelsea Clinton, raised $25 million for the Eaglevale Hellenic Opportunity fund, which bought Greek bank stocks and government debt, as investors hoped the nation’s economy would recover and deliver dividends in spades.

That didn’t pan out.   And so Eaglevale’s wager on Greece’s resurrection flopped, and the fund is now shutting down after losing 90 percent of its value, according to The New York Times.

Mezvinsky, who spent eight years at Goldman Sachs before founding Eaglevale Partners with two other former Goldman-ites, manages about $330 million, according to the Times. The boutique hedge fund makes macroeconomic bets based on geopolitical and global economic events.

 

If things don’t pick up, perhaps Mezvinsky could walk away from Wall Street for good and stay home with his growing family. He and Chelsea are expecting their second child. Sure, their expenses would quickly add up with that lavish apartment and expensive SoulCycle habit. But given what his wife reportedly charges for speaking fees, they should be just fine.            Just a thought.

The Business of Conflict???

The protesters in the green zone  were chanting anti-Iranian slogans,  they and the process of toppling this government are all very satisfactory to the Mullahs in Iran.  

Back in the current kerfuffle, Sadr himself is of mixed Iraqi/Iranian descent and has spent plenty of time in Iran. The fact that his supporters are complaining about Iranian influence does not mean they aren’t acting in accordance with the wishes of their neighbor.   This  may actually turn out worse for ISIS. The Shiite militias hate ISIS and they have already been getting some sectarian slaughtering in during the retaking of Ramadi.  The Iranian-backed militias really hate the Sunni civilians where ISIS operates. So let’s stop trying to cobble together three groups that hate each other: Shia, Sunni and Kurd.  The Kurds already have a state in everything other than recognition; the Shiites are perfectly happy with their Iranian friends; and the wild card is the Sunni regions where ISIS is entrenched. The tribes who live there are the same ones who allied with the U.S. in 2006 to kill the ISIS precursor al Qaeda in Iraq.

Four parties hate each other and all of them hates USA's intervention. Two are fighting today, tomorrow the other two will try to eliminate each other.        Just a thought.

Glock...!?

For more than 20 years Reverend Robert Schenck has been a leading opponent of abortion, a fighter on the frontlines of the culture wars.

"How can evangelicals be pro-life AND pro-gun? Who will ultimately save us? Christ or a Glock?"
"A man or a woman who wants to defend his or her family legally owns a firearm in case someone comes into their home. How is that un-Christian?"

"Well, first of all you're making an immediate decision that if someone invades your home, they are going to die," Rev. Schenck replied. "So you are ready to kill another human being in your home.
What about "love your enemies."

"Even a potential intruder? Someone who's been coming into your home to hurt you?"
"Absolutely. Is it always God's will that I survive a violent confrontation with another human being? 

Rev. Schenck can be full of surprises. He was raised Jewish, which is why he says he's pro-life.
At 17 he converted to Christianity, and by the early nineties was a conservative evangelical minister.

"I'm haunted, not just by the murder of Dr. Slepian [Abortion doctor], but by the other murders committed in the name of the pro-life cause,"  Rev. Schenck. "

In 2013 a gunman killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard right in Schenck's neighborhood.
"For me, the most powerful part of it is the conscience. And that's the heart, and that's the mind. And that's where I'm going right now."        Just a thought.

The Tangerine Tornado...

 

A simple message.
Let us not conclude that any candidate won the election yet. No one is the definite next president of the United States of America yet. It is too early.

Feel the Burn is still in the race. He has a very good agenda that matters to the whole segment of population. It attracted me personally. Millions are inspired with his message. Minimum Wage, College Education, Wall street, Foreign wars, Criminal Justice Reform, Tax Reform, Healthcare. Bernie's agenda will be adopted by the next President.

Crooked is still being investigated for something related to the emails. It could be "creating her own server" is also a problem.
Her message is "I am a woman" and this guy doesn't respect women. About Borders, Immigration, Foreign policy, Criminal Justice reform, Big Banks, Healthcare, Medication cost, ... etc. nothing.

Same message of those who said "I am conservative".. and Trump isn't.

Trump is called the Tangerine Tornado by the Church Lady at the SNL. see the sketch.

Whoever becomes the president will have to follow the agenda mentioned earlier. Millions of Bernie's are committed to it. Just a thought.

Canada's Wild-Fire

Some of the 80,000 residents who had fled Fort McMurray to Anzac after a mandatory evacuation notice were told just after midnight that they would have to move again.

"Buses are being assembled," authorities said in a statement, adding they were "going door to door " and urging people to "remain calm."

Six reception centers were operating within the province, officials said at a news conference.

More than 250 firefighters, helicopters and air tankers were fighting the fires that have extended over more than 24,000 acres. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced that a "Memorandum of Understanding" has been signed with the Canadian Armed Forces for air support to assist with transportation as needed.

Residents were advised by the Rural Municipality of  the changing weather patterns.

In the latest official estimates for Fort McMurray, the Beaconhill neighborhood has lost 70 percent of homes, Abasand 50 percent, Waterways lost 90 percent and around 30 houses were lost in Wood Buffalo. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.

Sad story. Let us be thankful as we celebrate Mother's Day.  Just a thought.

Yawn...

Cruz is out so is Kasich. Now what? Big Yawn for a week.   Just a thought.

Happy Easter

كل سنةوانتم جميعا بصحة وسلام