Word: factor
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...health risks than younger enrollees, and insurers are doing their best to retain the most flexibility in that area. Current reform legislation in the House and the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee would allow insurers to vary premiums on the basis of age only by a factor of two, meaning insurers would be allowed to charge older enrollees premiums that are twice as high as those for younger ones. (In the health-policy world, this is known as a 2-to-1 age rating.) That may sound like a huge concession to private insurers, but they insist...
...Abbas' predecessor, Yasser Arafat, U.S. peace efforts have relied on the moderate and relatively pliable leader to negotiate a two-state agreement with Israel. But the prevailing view within Fatah is that Abbas has achieved precious little for his negotiation efforts and that this has been a prime factor in weakening Fatah in the face of the challenge by its more militant rival, Hamas. The Islamists trounced Fatah in the last democratic elections for the Palestinian parliament in 2006, and many fear that a candidate backed by Hamas would likely beat Abbas in presidential elections currently scheduled for early next...
...Zolotov concedes that Kirill will have trouble convincing many in Ukraine that his mission is only spiritual. "The idea that independent Ukraine must have an independent Orthodox Church is at the core of the Ukrainian national idea formed in the past decade," he says. "It's a complicating factor that the patriarch lives in Moscow and has ties with the Kremlin." For now, Kirill's Ukrainian critics have their wish: the patriarch is heading back to Moscow on Wednesday, Aug. 5. But Zolotov says there has been talk in Kirill's entourage of making the trip an annual event...
Meanwhile, negotiations over iron-ore contracts, an annual ritual that has been particularly heated this year, may be another factor. Chinese steel producers have been pushing for a discount of up to 50% on the price agreed on last year with Rio Tinto. But with the negotiations stretching long past their original June 30 deadline, steadily climbing prices for iron ore have steelmakers sweating. "Clearly the Chinese insistence that the price be cut further no longer can be sustained," says Jim Lennon, a Macquarie Bank analyst, who notes that talks "have gotten increasingly acrimonious...
...major liability. His unpopular moves of late - he's raised taxes and cut services, and New Jersey still faces massive budget deficits - have only made things worse, and even before last week's fireworks, Corzine was trailing Christie by double digits in some polls. "The economy is the determining factor in this race. Jon Corzine's chances of re-election are inextricably linked with the state's unemployment rate," says Brigid Callahan Harrison, a political-science professor at Montclair State University. "Because of his background and experience, voters saw the economy as Corzine's strong suit, and they hold failing...