‘Warm Bodies’ tops box office with $20.4 million

NEW YORK (AP) — The zombie romantic-comedy “Warm Bodies” topped the box office with a debut of $ 20.4 million.

The film for Lionsgate‘s Summit Entertainment proved a solid draw particularly for female teenagers on a weekend that Hollywood largely punts to football. The moviegoing business slows down considerably on Super Bowl Sunday.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. “Warm Bodies,” Lionsgate, $ 20,353,967, 3,009 locations, $ 6,764 average, $ 20,353,967, one week.

2. “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” Paramount, $ 9,423,274, 3,375 locations, $ 2,792 average, $ 34,676,068, two weeks.

3. “Silver Linings Playbook,” Weinstein Co., $ 7,738,058, 2,809 locations, $ 2,755 average, $ 80,002,616, 12 weeks.

4. “Mama,” Universal, $ 6,590,970, 2,781 locations, $ 2,370 average, $ 58,123,070, three weeks.

5. “Zero Dark Thirty,” Sony, $ 5,176,428, 2,871 locations, $ 1,803 average, $ 77,673,978, seven weeks.

6. “Bullet to the Head,” Warner Bros., $ 4,548,201, 2,404 locations, $ 1,892 average, $ 4,548,201, one week.

7. “Parker,” FilmDistrict, $ 3,202,415, 2,238 locations, $ 1,431 average, $ 12,527,297, two weeks.

8. “Django Unchained,” Weinstein Co., $ 3,002,769, 1,777 locations, $ 1,690 average, $ 150,942,958, six weeks.

9. “Les Miserables,” Universal, $ 2,420,885, 1,848 locations, $ 1,310 average, $ 141,504,130, six weeks.

10. “Lincoln,” Disney, $ 2,402,224, 1,756 locations, $ 1,368 average, $ 170,776,742, 13 weeks.

11. “Argo,” Warner Bros., $ 2,029,324, 935 locations, $ 2,170 average, $ 120,372,139, 17 weeks.

12. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” $ 1,901,164, 1,300 locations, $ 1,462 average, $ 296,193,684, eight weeks.

13. “Life of Pi,” Fox, $ 1,872,632, 902 locations,$ 2,076 average, $ 106,106,363, 11 weeks.

14. “Gangster Squad,” Warner Bros., $ 1,843,089, 1,625 locations, $ 1,134 average, $ 43,092,147, four weeks.

15. “Movie 43,” Relativity Media, $ 1,641,849, 2,023 locations, $ 812 average, $ 7,700,123, two weeks.

16. “A Haunted House,” Open Road Films, $ 1,522,116, 1,501 locations, $ 1,014 average, $ 37,756,019, four weeks.

17. “Stand Up Guys,” Lionsgate, $ 1,486,390, 659 locations, $ 2,256 average, $ 1,486,390, one week.

18. “Broken City,” Fox, $ 1,461,321, 1,786 locations, $ 818 average, $ 18,135,411, three weeks.

19. “Parental Guidance,” Fox, $ 1,450,000, 1,480 locations, $ 980 average, $ 72,900,590, six weeks.

20. “The Impossible,” Summit Entertainment, $ 1,305,464, 765 locations, $ 1,706 average, $ 15,214,095, seven weeks.

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: ‘Warm Bodies’ tops box office with $20.4 million
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/warm-bodies-tops-box-office-with-20-4-million/
Link To Post : ‘Warm Bodies’ tops box office with $20.4 million
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Stock futures indicate rebound from recent sell-off

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures advanced on Tuesday retracing ground lost the prior day, indicating that Wall Street would rebound off its worst daily session since November.

Major averages dropped about 1 percent on Monday, pressured by renewed worries over the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. While the day's decline pushed the S&P 500 into negative territory for February, equities have been strong performers of late, and the benchmark index is up 4.9 percent for 2013.

Wall Street has advanced on strong fourth-quarter earnings and signs of improved economic growth, suggesting the market's longer-term trend remains higher.

"Markets may have been slightly ahead of themselves, but investors recognize that earnings and data are both more positive than we previously thought, so no one should worry that yesterday was the start of anything bigger," said Oliver Purshe, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, New York.

Archer Daniels Midland , Walt Disney Co and Kellogg Co are among the companies on tap to report on Tuesday. According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 256 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings thus far, 68.4 percent have beaten profit expectations, compared with the 62 percent average since 1994 and the 65 percent average over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 4.4 percent, according to the data. That estimate is above the 1.9 percent forecast at the start of earnings season, but well below the 9.9 percent forecast on October 1.

S&P 500 futures rose 7.2 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 69 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 11.5 points.

At current levels, the S&P is about 5.4 percent away from its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09, reached in October 2011.

Investors will also be looking to the Institute for Supply Management's January non-manufacturing index, due at 10 a.m. Economists forecast a reading of 55.2, versus 55.7 in December.

Last week, the ISM's manufacturing index for January showed the pace of growth in manufacturing picked up to its highest level in nine months.

In company news, McGraw-Hill will be in focus a day after news the U.S. Justice Department plans to sue the company's Standard & Poor's unit over its mortgage bond ratings. The action would mark the first such federal action against a credit rating agency related to the recent financial crisis.

The stock plummeted almost 14 percent in Monday's session, its worst daily losses since the October 1987 market crash.

U.S. shares of BP Plc rose 1.9 percent to $44.49 before the bell after the company reported earnings that beat expectations and said underlying financial momentum would be "strongly evident" by 2014.

Dell Inc may also be volatile as the company moved closer to a nearly $24 billion buyout deal to take the company private. The stock rose 1.1 percent to $13.42 in light premarket trading.

U.S. stocks slid on Monday as worries about Europe caused the market to pull back from recent gains.

(Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

Read More..

Niners have better chance than Ravens to be back

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens carried off the Lombardi Trophy. Their beaten opponent has a better chance of doing it next season.

San Francisco running back Frank Gore insisted the 49ers were the more talented team even after losing 34-31 to the Ravens in Sunday's Super Bowl. The scoreboard said otherwise, but when the conference champions meet at the Meadowlands next February — yes, outdoors in the dead of winter for the NFL crown — the Niners easily could represent the NFC.

Again.

"I'd say we've got a great group of guys in the locker room, great warriors," Gore said, "and I'm not going to promise anything next year, but we're going to fight to get back here."

The toughest fight might be in their own division with Seattle and rapidly improving St. Louis. The Seahawks were the only team to allow fewer points than the 49ers, and their rivalry — including the semi-feud between coaches Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll — adds spice to the NFC West.

But the 49ers have to be the NFC favorite after losing in overtime to the Giants for the conference title last year, then barely falling to the Ravens on Sunday night.

"This is kind of tough, to get this far and let everything slip away through your hands," said Ahmad Brooks, part of the best linebacking corps in the league, along with All-Pros Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith and NaVorro Bowman. "The funny thing about it is, within the next few months, we're going to start trying to get back to the same place that we're at right now."

As will the Ravens, but their challenge is more imposing.

Unlike the 49ers, who figure to lose virtually no important parts — receiver Randy Moss, perhaps, but he was a marginal player in 2012 — the Ravens have bid adieu to their greatest player, linebacker Ray Lewis. Not only will they miss his performances on the field and his presence in the locker room, but he was the emotional engine in Baltimore.

The leadership burden will fall on two players whose contracts have expired but likely will be back with the Ravens: Super Bowl MVP quarterback Joe Flacco and veteran safety Ed Reed.

Flacco almost certainly will get the franchise tag at more than $14 million if he can't agree to a long-term deal. But in the current NFL, winning without a top-level QB is impossible, and there can be no arguing now about Flacco belonging in that class.

Reed wants to return and the Ravens recognize how unwise it would be to let both Lewis and Reed leave at the same time — even after winning their second Super Bowl in 12 seasons.

"I always said when I came into the league and got drafted that I didn't want to be one of those guys jumping from team to team," Reed said during Super Bowl week.

Regardless, the Ravens will be a force — odds makers have placed them behind New England and Denver in the AFC next season — and one of the NFL's most prolific offensive teams.

Flacco throwing to the superb trio of wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith and tight end Dennis Pitta, plus the versatility of running back Ray Rice and a stud backup in Bernard Pierce says so. Flacco's protection from the line and All-Pro fullback Vonta Leach was impeccable in the postseason, helping Flacco throw for a record-tying 11 TDs with no interceptions.

The defense, oddly enough considering Baltimore's reputation, needs some work. But linebacker Terrell Suggs will be even healthier — he came back quickly from a torn Achilles tendon — and top cornerback Lardarius Webb returns from a knee injury.

Just like the 49ers, the Ravens have a tough task in their division. Cincinnati is young, but has made the playoffs the last two years. Pittsburgh never remains dormant for long.

Should these two clubs make it to the first outdoor Super Bowl at a cold-weather site, would Baltimore have the edge because it's used to such conditions? And because it's a three-hour drive from MetLife Stadium, will Ravens fans be out in force even more than they were in the Big Easy?

Or would the 49ers' immense talent base be overwhelming?

Food for thought over the next 11 months.

"We've got to look at this as a blessing because we didn't have to be here, but we made it," tight end Vernon Davis said. "We've always got next year; we've got next season. We might as well look forward to next season, keep our hopes high and continue to climb."

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Read More..

'Stop whining about right-wing media'

Former Vice President Al Gore exaggerates the role of right-wing media in blocking progressive policies, Howard Kurtz says.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Al Gore says right-wing media help account for resistance to Democrats' policies


• President Barack Obama said media coverage could determine future of bipartisanship


• Howard Kurtz: Fox News, Rush Limbaugh have influence, but White House has bigger voice


• He says conservative media gained support because of belief established media leaned left

Editor's note: Howard Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and is Newsweek's Washington bureau chief. He is also a contributor to the website Daily Download.

(CNN) -- I never realized that the conservative media were so eye-poppingly powerful.

So mighty, in fact, that liberal politicians can't seem to stop talking about how they are running roughshod over the country.

Howard Kurtz

My response: Can we please stop the whining?

The latest to rant about the right is Al Gore. The former vice president told Charlie Rose that President Barack Obama had been cautious, and when the CBS anchor asked whether there was "a very hostile environment for progressive ideas," Gore had his culprit ready:

"Fox News and right-wing talk radio. In Tennessee there's an old saying if you see a turtle on a fence post you can be pretty sure it didn't get there by itself. And the fact that we have 24/7 propaganda masquerading as news, it does have an impact."

Watch: Why Geraldo Rivera's Senate hopes are an empty vault

OK, Gore doesn't like Fox. So he started what he hoped would be a liberal counterweight in Current TV, spent millions on such stars as Keith Olbermann, and ... the channel flopped. It was such a failure that he just sold it to Al Jazeera for an estimated personal take of $100 million.

Leave aside the obvious contradiction of a climate change crusader selling to a network largely financed by the petrodollar kingdom of Qatar. Whatever you think of Fox, Rupert Murdoch's network has been a financial success and Current TV was anything but. Isn't that the free market at work?

Watch: The media's gushing send-off for Hillary Clinton

Obama often invokes the conservative media, most recently in an interview with The New Republic. Asked about working with Republicans in his second term, the president said: "One of the biggest factors is going to be how the media shapes debates. If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you'll see more of them doing it."

Now it's true that Fox or Limbaugh can boost or batter any lawmaker, and that they can help drive a controversy into the broader mainstream media. But we're talking here about the president of the United States. He has an army, a navy and a bunch of nuclear weapons, not to mention an ability to command the airwaves at a moment's notice. And he's complaining about a cable channel and a radio talk-show host?

Limbaugh later offered this response: "If Fox News and I are the only thing keeping the Republicans from caving to Barack Obama on every issue, I'm not paid enough."

Watch: Does Sarah Palin have a future after Fox?

I have been through this before. It was on my "Reliable Sources" program, in the fall of 2009, that the White House declared war on Fox News. Anita Dunn, then the White House communications director, called Fox "the communications arm of the Republican Party" and said, "It is not really a news network anymore."

The resulting furor gave Fox months of fodder and was widely judged a tactical misstep that if anything elevated the network's role.

There are times when many Fox programs, including in the nonopinion hours, appear to be on a jihad against the administration. And these days, MSNBC can be counted on to defend the Democrats almost around the clock.

But let's face it: These are cable channels with relatively modest audiences, and their impact is sometimes exaggerated inside the Beltway echo chamber. After all, Obama handily won re-election despite the best efforts of Sean Hannity and Limbaugh.

Watch: New York Times censors company's vulgar name

What liberals sometimes forget is that the conservative media took root because many Americans felt the fourth estate was too left-wing. ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, The New York Times and The Washington Post all strive for fairness, in my view, but there is little question that they have a social and cultural outlook that leans to the left. Collectively, they have far more weight than Fox, talk radio and The Wall Street Journal editorial page.

Right-wing pundits make a convenient foil, but at times Obama seems to magnify their importance. After all, he's got the biggest bully pulpit of all.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Howard Kurtz.

Read More..

Ex-Israeli security chiefs speak out in Oscar documentary nominee

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Oscar-nominated documentary “The Gatekeepers” focuses on Israel, but its director says that all countries can gain insight about the risks that arise if secretive security agencies operate without adequate restraints.

In “The Gatekeepers,” six former heads of Israeli internal security and intelligence agency Shin Bet reflect on their failures and successes in gathering information on state enemies, orchestrating secret operations and tracking militants. They also offer some unexpected perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I found myself more attracted to those who doubt, those who ask themselves questions,” director Dror Moreh told Reuters. “I am always afraid of people who don’t have questions, who don’t doubt.”

The English- and Hebrew-language film opened in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, and premieres in the UK in April, following a brief run at the end of 2012 that qualified it for its Oscar nomination for best documentary feature.

The film will compete at the February 24 Oscar ceremony with “5 Broken Cameras,” a view of the Middle East conflict seen through Palestinian eyes, AIDS documentary “How to Survive a Plague,” military rape film “The Invisible War,” and “Searching for Sugar Man” about a U.S. folk singer who becomes a South African pop icon.

Beginning with Avraham Shalom, who oversaw the Shin Bet from 1980 to 1986, “The Gatekeepers” covers the period through Yuval Diskin, whose tenure ended in 2011.

The former security chiefs discuss events such as the agency-ordered killing of two Palestinian bus hijackers, a plot by Jewish extremists to blow up the Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem, the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and the role the agency plays in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

DEFINING TORTURE

Always present is a struggle to balance security with ethics and politics, and several of the men discuss the scandals the agency faced over the use of what Shin Bet terms “exceptional practices” in interrogations.

Moreh draws parallels between Israel’s debates about ethical security practices and the United States’ struggle to define torture and regulate its own practices in its war on terrorism.

“I think at the end of the day any organization that has so much power like those clandestine organizations – Shin Bet, CIA, FBI, Mossad – has to have the law above it giving guidelines,” he said.

“When there was no oversight of the judicial system on those organizations, they acted as if there was no law, in terms of interrogating people, torturing, killing.”

He blames what he calls murky or non-existent regulations for practices that have sparked public anger worldwide, from the use of waterboarding to the abuse of prisoners by American soldiers at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison.

“They were stupid Americans who the system gave absolute power over other human beings,” Moreh said. “They weren’t trained to deal with that, they weren’t trained in interrogating, and this is what led to what happened in Abu Ghraib.”

The former security chiefs’ reflections are a mixture of affirmation and regret, but all six agree that the only way for their country to achieve peace is to work with Palestinians instead of against them.

They criticize Israeli politicians for turning a blind eye to settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, and for sometimes dealing lightly with Jewish extremists.

Ami Ayalon, who headed Shin Bet from 1996 to 2000, summed up their collective thoughts, saying, “We win every battle, but lose the war.”

Moreh believes that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the most important issue facing Israel and hopes U.S. President Barack Obama will take a more active role in diplomatic efforts in his second term.

“I think this is like two kindergarten children – the Palestinians and the Israelis – who need the kindergarten caretaker to help them,” he said. “They need a grown-up to tell them, ‘Enough! Israel, Palestine, this is what you need to do, do it.’”

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Peter Cooney)

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Ex-Israeli security chiefs speak out in Oscar documentary nominee
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/ex-israeli-security-chiefs-speak-out-in-oscar-documentary-nominee/
Link To Post : Ex-Israeli security chiefs speak out in Oscar documentary nominee
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Markets subdued as Dow remains in focus

LONDON (AP) — Markets were subdued Monday following a stellar finish to last week, when many stock indexes around the world hit multiyear highs following encouraging U.S. economic figures.

U.S. stocks are particularly in focus as the Dow jones industrial average closed above 14,000 on Friday for the first time in over five years. It’s now not far off its all-time high.

Hopes over the U.S. economy have helped fuel the optimism across financial markets this year, which has also seen the euro pick up a head of steam and oil prices approach the $ 100 a barrel mark.

However, with a dearth of scheduled economic news Monday, many think markets will struggle for direction and some investors may use the opportunity to book some gains.

“In recent weeks the mantra seems to have been very much one of buying regardless, but now that the major indices have retested those levels not seen since 2007, now may well be the time to take something of a reality check,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist at GFT Markets.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.3 percent at 6,325 while Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 percent to 7,821. The CAC-40 in France was also 0.2 percent lower at 3,766.

Wall Street was poised for very modest gains at the open, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.1 percent.

The focus won’t just remain on the U.S. this week. European matters will garner attention, not least in Italy, where the upcoming election is proving to be a closer race than many people had thought. Spain is also generating concern as the government is increasingly embroiled in a corruption scandal. Both countries are seen to have made progress in their struggles over their public finances.

The European Central Bank is meeting this week as well. Though no change in policy is expected, many investors will be interested to hear what its president, Mario Draghi, thinks about the strength of the euro. Though its advance in recent weeks is a sign of optimism over the currency’s future following a seeming easing in financial market worries over Europe’s debt crisis, it potentially makes life more difficult for the eurozone’s exporters and that could delay a recovery from recession.

On Monday, the euro edged 0.4 percent lower at $ 13583.

Earlier in Asia, Japanese stocks continued to gain ground alongside the falling yen, which is expected to help the country’s big exporters. The Nikkei 225 closed 0.6 percent higher at 11,260.35.

The yen has been falling over the past few weeks as the new government focuses on getting a moribund economy going again. As part of that drive it has asked the Bank of Japan to do more and that’s probably going to mean an expansion of the money supply.

“The ongoing shift to more aggressive monetary easing by the BoJ has helped accelerate the sell off for yen,” said Lee Hardman, currency strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

The dollar was up a further 0.4 percent against the yen on Monday, to 93.16 yen.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent to 23,685.01 while South Korea’s Kospi edged down 0.2 percent to 1,953.21.

Oil prices drifted lower with the benchmark New York rate down 46 cents at $ 97.31 a barrel.

Economy News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Markets subdued as Dow remains in focus
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/markets-subdued-as-dow-remains-in-focus/
Link To Post : Markets subdued as Dow remains in focus
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Out of network? Don’t be out a lot of money

Stepping outside your health insurance company’s preferred providers list could take a toll on your bank account. Though there are certain circumstances where an insurance company will pay all or a portion of out-of-network costs, policyholders need to tread carefully. You can easily find yourself on the hook for massive bills. Here’s what you need to know.

How health care networks work

Doctors, hospitals and other health care providers “give health insurance companies discounts on care in order to increase their volume by attracting plan members,” explains health care economist Adam C. Powell, president of the consulting firm Payer+Provider Syndicate, in Boston. “When a health plan member goes out of network, the health insurance company is typically stuck paying retail prices rather than wholesale prices.”

And those higher prices can be passed along to the patient.

Robin Gelburd, president of Fair Health Inc., a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing the amount of transparency in health insurance, adds that insurance networks can be complicated. There may be multiple payment tiers or fee structures that can make it difficult for policyholders to understand their costs. Also, hospitals or other health care facilities may be included in an insurance company’s network, but specific physicians, specialists or labs may not be.

“Oftentimes, consumers don’t think about all the elements in the care,” Gelburd says, adding that it’s possible for a mother to deliver a baby in a hospital that’s in-network but receive an epidural from a specialist who’s not, or for someone to undergo a colonoscopy from an in-network gastroenterologist but receive anesthesia from an out-of-network doctor.

Out of network: Costlier in multiple ways

The complexities of health insurance networks mean that it’s crucial for policyholders to understand exactly what facilities and which doctors are included in their network before seeking services. Venture out of network and the results could be costly, says Joe Mondy, spokesman for Cigna HealthCare in Bloomfield, Conn.

If your insurance company covers out-of-network care at all, those services or procedures will probably cost more since they won’t be eligible for your provider’s negotiated rates. And not only will the overall charges be bigger, but policyholders will also be responsible for a larger portion, says Mondy.

“If you go out of network, in most cases, the health plan will continue to cover you but there will be a difference in terms of the deductible,” he explains. “It will be a separate deductible and perhaps a higher deductible.”

And, once policyholders have satisfied the out-of-network deductible, their plan most likely will cover a smaller percentage of medical costs above the deductible mark. While many insurance policies cover 90 percent of all in-network costs beyond a policyholder’s deductible, a plan might pick up just 50 percent of those costs when you seek treatment out of network, Mondy adds.

Out-of-network pricing exceptions

“Sometimes, certain types of out-of-network costs such as emergency care are covered” even by plans that generally don’t pay for out-of-network care, says Powell.

Certain health plans include built-in coverage for out-of-network emergency services. Also, patients who go to an emergency room outside their network are given some protection by the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law signed by President Barack Obama. It bars insurers from hitting policyholders with higher out-of-pocket costs when they go outside the network in an emergency. This provision currently applies only to health insurance plans created or issued after March 23, 2010.

However, an out-of-network hospital or other provider might bill the patient directly for additional charges, in a practice called “balance billing.”

Another time when health insurance may cover out-of-network services is when you need to see a specialist and an in-network doctor isn’t available in your area, Mondy says. Once again, the Affordable Care Act can come into play because it requires that newer health plans cover a long list of preventive care screenings, including colonoscopies and mammograms, and some of these may be administered by specialists.

If an in-network specialist isn’t available in your area, “you should contact your health care plan,” Mondy says. “Oftentimes, if there’s an opportunity to, the health plan will reach out to local doctors who may be out of network to get an agreement with them to put them in network.”

You can dicker — or dispute

If you feel there’s no way of avoiding charges for out-of-network care, doctors and health care providers outside your plan may be open to negotiating their fees on specific procedures if you do so in advance, says Gelburd. Make sure to get it all in writing.

The best way to avoid unexpected out-of-network costs is to know your policy. That includes understanding what’s included in your plan’s network, how out-of-network costs are calculated, which procedures require prior approval, and what costs count toward your deductible, Gelburd adds.

When you do find yourself with surprise out-of-network or other expenses that you thought would be covered, dispute the charges with your health insurer. If your appeal is rejected and you’re in a plan created after March 23, 2010, health care reform gives you the right to submit your dispute to an independent review organization, which has the power to overrule the health insurance company.

More From Bankrate.com

Yahoo! Finance – Personal Finance

Title Post: Out of network? Don’t be out a lot of money
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/out-of-network-dont-be-out-a-lot-of-money/
Link To Post : Out of network? Don’t be out a lot of money
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Analysis: New miner wants in on the chummy global potash club

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Potash miner Prospect Global Resources Inc won't open its first mine until at least 2015, but the American upstart is already upsetting the multibillion-dollar fertilizer industry where a few players control a crucial ingredient in the global food chain.

China, with an insatiable appetite for fertilizer to help feed its growing population, has long been dependent on Canpotex, the Canadian sales agency that supplies a third of the world's potash.

But in December, Canpotex reluctantly agreed to a six-month supply contract with China at $400 per tonne, a $70 per tonne discount from its last contract price and a steeper cut than expected.

China got the cheaper price partly because it used as leverage a separate 10-year agreement inked last October with Prospect.

While macroeconomic and local factors - from economic growth to weather and production issues - do influence the contracts, Prospect's arrival is chipping away at Canpotex's near-monopoly. The stakes are high in a business that typically has profit margins of around 50 percent.

"We think Prospect Global is the best potash investment opportunity in North America," said Steven Sugarman of COR Capital, a private equity firm that is the company's fifth-largest shareholder. "We like the geology, we like the location and the team they've put together."

With demand for corn and other commodities booming around the world - and potash prices up roughly 150 percent in the past decade - food and fertilizer are hot commodities. Prices have cooled recently, but are still at decade-highs.

BlackRock Inc , Apollo Global Management LLC, and Ted Waitt, the co-founder of computer company Gateway, have taken note. They invested in Prospect - which went public last year - largely as a bet on a shake-up of the fertilizer industry.

Prospect is also helmed by some big names in the fertilizer industry. James Dietz, a Prospect board member, was Potash Corp's chief operating officer for more than 10 years, and Patrick Avery, Prospect's chief executive, previously ran Intrepid Potash Inc , which has mines in New Mexico.

Prospect finds itself an unwelcome new kid on the block, with rivals quick to cast doubt on its ability to hang tough amid the fertilizer industry's highs and lows.

"I don't take it seriously whatsoever," said Jim Prokopanko, chief executive of much-larger rival Mosaic Co , which owns Canada's Esterhazy, the world's largest potash mine.

"It'll be a small producer if it ever sees the light of day," he said in an interview.

That view is being tested as Canpotex, which is controlled by Mosaic, Potash Corp and Agrium Inc , negotiates a supply deal with India. Most analysts expect that contract price to be lower than its predecessor.

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

Prospect is the largest of three companies developing a potash reserve in Holbrook, Arizona, an arid, flat scruff of land in the state's northeast corner.

Passport Potash Inc and privately held Hunt Consolidated Inc are exploring other parts of the reserve, though Prospect is farthest along in terms of development and funding.

Despite a BNSF train depot and several large tourist attractions - a meteorite exploded over Holbrook 100 years ago, attracting rock collectors - the town's unemployment rate is 13.5 percent. Mining promises to change that.

Arizona's potash deposit was quietly forgotten after a small geological expedition uncovered it in the 1960s. The deposit started to get more attention in 2008, as potash prices started to climb high enough to justify the more than $1 billion needed to develop a mine.

To exploit the land, Avery and other executives initially drew in BlackRock and other high-profile debt and equity investors. The group bought a publicly listed shell company to allow them to quickly become a listed company in June 2012 without going through the normal process of an initial public offering.

Several stock offerings since the firm became listed have diluted shares and pushed Prospect's stock down 40 percent in the past six months. More capital may be needed, a step that could further dent the share price.

"We are talking to other groups about more equity stakes to help us get started on drilling," Avery said.

Apollo is finalizing a $100 million debt financing deal, and BlackRock is the company's third-largest stockholder, with more than 5 million shares.

Top shareholders, many of whom invested before the firm went public, have said they believe the company is a long-term investment that will radically alter the fertilizer market.

If fully developed, Holbrook's fertilizer deposit would nearly double annual U.S. production of potash, one of the most-important nutrients that farmers apply to boost harvests.

Russia and Canada have the world's largest potash reserves, each with more than 3 billion tonnes compared with 130 million tonnes in the United States. The grade of Holbrook's potash deposit, at 11 percent to 13 percent, is roughly half the industry average.

But Prospect's production costs will be lower than those of its rivals because of milder weather and less digging required to reach the deposits, boosting margins.

Canpotex and Russian rivals operate primarily in colder climates and have potash reserves about 3,700 feet deep. Mosaic had to freeze an underground lake just to reach Saskatchewan's Esterhazy mine.

Prospect's Arizona potash deposit, by contrast, is roughly 1,000 feet deep in a year-round warm climate and closer to key West Coast ports than Canpotex facilities in Canada.

"A lot of these positive issues offset the lower grade reports," said Steven Rauzi of the Arizona Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, which oversees potash drilling in the state.

Prospect expects it will only cost about $112 per tonne to produce potash at its Arizona mine. The industry average is roughly $135 per tonne. That makes profit margins especially high, with market prices for potash above $400 per tonne.

China is taking 25 percent of Prospect's forecast 2 million tonnes of annual potash production, or 500,000 tonnes a year, an amount that will still make China the largest importer of American potash. The rest, if sold abroad, will only further roil Prospect's rivals when it hits the global market as competition intensifies to feed a growing population.

Canpotex will supply 1 million tonnes to China under a six-month supply contract that expires in June. But the fact that China was able to cut part of its dependence on Canadian potash showed that the world's second-largest economy is getting creative to feed its people.

For every $10 per tonne drop in the price of potash, Potash Corp's earnings slip by 7 cents per share, according to Credit Agricole.

That's not lost on Potash Corp analysts and investors, who peppered CEO Bill Doyle about Prospect in an earnings call last fall. Doyle played down the threat.

"If you look at the economics of the business today, there is no return on that investment," Doyle said of Prospect Global. "We don't pay much attention to it."

Prospect CEO Avery, however, points to the world's growing need for food, and adds that he is bullish on his company's potential - if for no other reason than the land on which it sits. "It is amazing," he said, "how well situated our plot of land is."

(Reporting By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Patricia Kranz and Claudia Parsons)

Read More..

Ravens edge 49ers 34-31 in electric Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For a Super Bowl with so many story lines, this game came up with quite a twist.

Try a blackout that turned a blowout into a shootout — capped by a brilliant defensive stand.

The Baltimore Ravens survived a frenzied comeback by the San Francisco 49ers following a 34-minute delay in the third quarter for a power outage Sunday night, winning their second championship 34-31. Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco threw three first-half touchdown passes, Jacoby Jones ran back the second-half kickoff a record 108 yards for a score, and star linebacker Ray Lewis' last play fittingly was part of a defensive effort that saved the victory.

"To me, that was one of the most amazing goal-line stands I've ever been a part of in my career," said Lewis, who announced a month ago he would retire when the Ravens were done playing.

They are done now, with another Vince Lombardi Trophy headed for the display case.

"What better way to do it," Lewis said, "than on the Super Bowl stage?"

That stage already was loaded with plots:

—The coaching Harbaughs sibling rivalry, won by older brother John, who said the postgame greeting with Jim was "painful."

—Flacco's emergence as a top-level quarterback, and his impending free agency.

—Colin Kaepernick's rapid rise in the last two months as 49ers QB.

—The big game's return to the Big Easy for the first time in 11 years, and the first time since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city in 2005.

—Lewis' self-proclaimed "last ride."

But when the Superdome lost power, well, that wasn't in anyone's scenario.

Flacco and the Ravens (14-6) were turning the game into a rout, leading 28-6 when, without even a flicker of warning, several banks of lights and the scoreboards went dark. Players from both sides stretched and chatted with each other in as bizarre a scene as any Super Bowl has witnessed.

"The bad part was we started talking about it," said safety Ed Reed, who had the game's only interception. "That was mentioned. It was like they were trying to kill our momentum."

After power was restored, the 49ers began playing lights out.

San Francisco (13-5-1), in search of its sixth Lombardi Trophy in as many tries, got back in the game almost immediately.

Michael Crabtree's 31-yard touchdown reception, on which he broke two tackles, made it 28-13. A few minutes later, Frank Gore's 6-yard run followed a 32-yard punt return by Ted Ginn Jr., and the 49ers were within eight.

Ray Rice's fumble at his 24 led to David Akers' 34-yard field goal, but Baltimore woke up for a long drive leading to rookie Justin Tucker's 19-yard field goal.

San Francisco wasn't done challenging, though, and Kaepernick's 15-yard TD run, the longest for a quarterback in a Super Bowl, made it 31-29. A 2-point conversion pass failed when the Ravens blitzed.

Tucker added a 38-yarder with 4:19 remaining, setting up the frantic finish.

Kaepernick couldn't get the 49ers into the end zone on the final three plays. The last was a pass into the right corner of the end zone to Crabtree that involved some incidental bumping. Jim Harbaugh insisted a flag should have been thrown.

"There's no question in my mind that there was a pass interference and then a hold," Jim Harbaugh said.

Ravens punter Sam Koch took a safety for the final score with 4 seconds left. Koch's free kick was returned by Ginn to midfield as time ran out.

"How could it be any other way? It's never pretty. It's never perfect. But it's us," John Harbaugh said of his Ravens. "It was us today."

Barely.

"Yeah, I think that last drive when we got the ball and had time to go down and score a touchdown," Kaepernick said, "we thought it was our game."

But the championship is Baltimore's.

As for the foul-up at America's biggest sporting event, officials revealed that an "abnormality" in the power system triggered an automatic shutdown, forcing backup systems to kick in. But no one was sure what caused the initial problem.

Everything changed after that until Lewis and Co. shut it down. But there were plenty of white-knuckle moments and the Ravens had to make four stops inside their 7 at the end.

"I think it speaks to our resolve, speaks to our determination, speaks to our mental toughness," John Harbaugh said. "That is what wins and loses games."

At 4 hours, 14 minutes, it was the longest Super Bowl ever.

Flacco's arrival as a championship quarterback — he had 11 postseason TD passes, tying a league mark, and no interceptions — coincides with Lewis' retirement. The win capped a sensational four games since Lewis announced he was leaving the game after 17 Hall of Fame-caliber years.

The Ravens will become Flacco's team now, provided he reaches agreement on a new contract.

Flacco's three TD passes in the opening half tied a Super Bowl record. They covered 13 yards to Anquan Boldin, 1 to Dennis Pitta and 56 to Jones.

That start boosted him to the MVP award.

"They have to give it to one guy and I'm not going to complain that I got it," Flacco said.

John Harbaugh had no complaints about getting that other trophy named after that Green Bay coach. But he struggled to balance it with the disappointment his brother was feeling.

"The meeting with Jim in the middle (of the field for the postgame handshake) was probably the most difficult thing I have ever been associated with in my life," the Ravens coach said.

The wild scoring made this the second championship in the NFL's 80-year title game history in which both teams scored at least 30 points. Pittsburgh's 35-31 win over Dallas in 1979 was the other.

The Ravens stumbled into the playoffs with four defeats in its last five regular-season games as Lewis recovered from a torn right triceps and Flacco struggled. Harbaugh even fired his offensive coordinator in December, a stunning move with the postseason so close.

But that — and every other move Harbaugh, Flacco and the Ravens made since — were right on target.

New Orleans native Jones, one of the stars in a double-overtime playoff win at Denver, seemed to put the game away with his record 108-yard sprint with the second-half kickoff.

Soon after, the lights went out — and when they came back on, the Ravens were almost powerless to slow the 49ers.

Until the final moments.

"The final series of Ray Lewis' career was a goal-line stand," Harbaugh said.

Lewis was sprawled on all fours, face-down on the turf, after the end zone incompletion.

"It's no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my teammates," Lewis said. "And you looked around this stadium and Baltimore! Baltimore! We coming home, baby! We did it!"

Jim Harbaugh, the coach who turned around the Niners in the last two years and brought them to their first Super Bowl in 18 years, had seen his team make a similarly stunning comeback in the NFC championship at Atlanta, but couldn't finish it off against Baltimore.

"Our guys battled back to get back in," the 49ers coach said. "I thought we battled right to the brink of winning."

The 49ers couldn't have been sloppier in the first half, damaging their chances with penalties — including one on their first play that negated a 20-yard gain — poor tackling and turnovers. Rookie LaMichael James fumbled at the Baltimore 25 to ruin an impressive drive, and the Ravens converted that with Flacco's 1-yard pass to Pitta for a 14-3 lead.

On San Francisco's next offensive play, Kaepernick threw behind Randy Moss and always dependable Reed picked it off. A huge scuffle followed that brought both Harbaughs onto the field and saw both sides penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.

Reed, also a New Orleans native, tied the NFL record for postseason picks with his ninth.

Baltimore didn't pounce on that mistake for points. Instead, Tucker's fake field goal run on fourth-and-9 came up a yard short when Chris Culliver slammed him out of bounds.

The Ravens simply shrugged, forced a three-and-out, and then unleashed Jones deep. Just as he did to Denver, he flashed past the secondary and caught Flacco's fling. He had to wait for the ball, fell to the ground to grab it, but was untouched by a Niner. Up he sprang, cutting left and using his speed to outrun two defenders to the end zone.

Desperate for some points, the 49ers completed four passes and got a 15-yard roughing penalty against Haloti Ngata, who later left with a knee injury. But again they couldn't cross the goal line, Paul Kruger got his second sack of the half on third down, forcing a second field goal by Akers, from 27 yards.

When Jones began the second half by sprinting up the middle virtually untouched — he is the second player with two TDs of 50 yards or more in a Super Bowl, tying Washington's Ricky Sanders in 1988 — the rout was on.

Then it wasn't.

"Everybody had their hand on this game," 49ers All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis said. "We point the fingers at nobody. We win together and we lose together, and today we lost it."

Read More..

Hillary: Secretary of empowerment

Girls hug U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a 2010 tour of a shelter run for sex trafficking victims in Cambodia.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Donna Brazile: Clinton stepping down as Secretary of State. Maybe she'll run for president


• She says as secretary she expanded foreign policy to include effect on regular people


• She says she was first secretary of state to focus on empowering women and girls


• Brazile: Clinton has fought for education and inclusion in politics for women and girls

Editor's note: Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor and a Democratic strategist, is vice chairwoman for voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee. She is a nationally syndicated columnist, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and author of "Cooking with Grease." She was manager for the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign in 2000.

(CNN) -- As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton steps down from her job Friday, many are assuming she will run for president. And she may. In fact, five of the first eight presidents first served their predecessors as secretary of state.

It hasn't happened in more than a century, though that may change should Clinton decide to run. After all, she has been a game changer her entire life.

But before we look ahead, I think we should appreciate what she's done as secretary of state; it's a high profile, high pressure job. You have to deal with the routine as if it is critical and with crisis as if it's routine. You have to manage egos, protocols, customs and Congress. You have to be rhetorical and blunt, diplomatic and direct.

CNN Contributor Donna Brazile

As secretary of state you are dealing with heads of state and with we the people. And the president of the United States has to trust you -- implicitly.

On the road with Hillary Clinton

Of all Clinton's accomplishments -- and I will mention just a few -- this may be the most underappreciated. During the election, pundits were puzzled and amazed not only at how much energy former President Bill Clinton poured into Obama's campaign, but even more at how genuine and close the friendship was.

Obama was given a lot of well-deserved credit for reaching out to the Clintons by appointing then-Sen. Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state in the first place. But trust is a two-way street and has to be earned. We should not underestimate or forget how much Clinton did and how hard she worked. She deserved that trust, as she deserved to be in the war room when Osama bin Laden was killed.

By the way, is there any other leader in the last 50 years whom we routinely refer to by a first name, and do so more out of respect than familiarity? The last person I can think of was Ike -- the elder family member who we revere with affection. Hillary is Hillary.

It's not surprising that we feel we know her. She has been part of our public life for more than 20 years. She's been a model of dignity, diplomacy, empathy and toughness. She also has done something no other secretary of state has done -- including the two women who preceded her in the Cabinet post.

Rothkopf: President Hillary Clinton? If she wants it

Hillary has transformed our understanding -- no, our definition -- of foreign affairs. Diplomacy is no longer just the skill of managing relations with other countries. The big issues -- war and peace, terror, economic stability, etc. -- remain, and she has handled them with firmness and authority, with poise and confidence, and with good will, when appropriate.

But it is not the praise of diplomats or dictators that will be her legacy. She dealt with plenipotentiaries, but her focus was on people. Foreign affairs isn't just about treaties, she taught us, it's about the suffering and aspirations of those affected by the treaties, made or unmade.

Most of all, diplomacy should refocus attention on the powerless.

Of course, Hillary wasn't the first secretary of state to advocate for human rights or use the post to raise awareness of abuses or negotiate humanitarian relief or pressure oppressors. But she was the first to focus on empowerment, particularly of women and girls.

She created the first Office of Global Women's Issues. That office fought to highlight the plight of women around the world. Rape of women has been a weapon of war for centuries. Though civilized countries condemn it, the fight against it has in a sense only really begun.

Ghitis: Hillary Clinton's global legacy on gay rights

The office has worked to hold governments accountable for the systematic oppression of girls and women and fought for their education in emerging countries. As Hillary said when the office was established: "When the Security Council passed Resolution 1325, we tried to make a very clear statement, that women are still largely shut out of the negotiations that seek to end conflicts, even though women and children are the primary victims of 21st century conflict."

Hillary also included the United States in the Trafficking in Person report. Human Trafficking, a form of modern, mainly sexual, slavery, victimizes mostly women and girls. The annual report reviews the state of global efforts to eliminate the practice. "We believe it is important to keep the spotlight on ourselves," she said. "Human trafficking is not someone else's problem. Involuntary servitude is not something we can ignore or hope doesn't exist in our own communities."

She also created the office of Global Partnerships. And there is much more.

She has held her own in palaces and held the hands of hungry children in mud-hut villages, pursuing an agenda that empowers women, children, the poor and helpless.

We shouldn't have been surprised. Her book "It Takes a Village" focused on the impact that those outside the family have, for better or worse, on a child's well-being.

As secretary of state, she did all she could to make sure our impact as a nation would be for the better.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Donna Brazile.

Read More..