Word: westly
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...When West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller gave his closing argument on Sept. 29 to the Senate Finance Committee in support of his amendment to create a new government-run health-insurance plan, he sounded amply frustrated. Describing the people of his state, he said they were "out in the cold" and "helpless" against faceless insurance bureaucrats who treat them unfairly. A public health-insurance plan, he said, would create competition for private insurers and could put patients, not profits, first. "These are people," he said, banging the table more than once. "Eleven-year-old kids. These are families...
Rockefeller's frustration was apparent not just because his constituents badly need health-care reform - 16% of West Virginians are uninsured - but also because his amendment to the Senate Finance Committee's current health-reform bill was doomed to fail. It was voted down, 15 to 8, with five Democrats - including committee chairman Max Baucus - joining all 10 Republicans on the committee in opposition. Baucus, who agrees with Rockefeller that a public option would save the Federal Government money and lower costs for consumers, nonetheless believes that a bill with such an option will not garner enough support to overcome...
...February, 2010. The decision is yet another sign of the growing economic influence of Asia. Calling Asia the bank's "strategically most important region," HSBC said in a statement that Geoghegan's move "further positions the Group for the shift in the world's center of economic gravity from West to East." (See 10 big recession surprises...
...some ways, HSBC is simply reacting to global trends and economic realities. HSBC's announcement coincided with the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, during which it was decided that the group, which includes developing giants like China and India, would replace the West-dominated G-8 as the top coordinating forum for the world economy. While the U.S. and U.K. struggle to recover from the worst recession since the 1930s, Asia's economies, led by a resurgent China, are emerging from the downturn much more quickly, presenting more enticing business opportunities for HSBC and other global banks. HSBC's decision...
...HSBC, though, is also responding to the realities of its balance sheet. Its forays West have proved to be, at best, a mixed success, especially its business in the U.S. HSBC dove into the U.S. subprime mortgage and consumer credit market, mainly through its 2003 purchase of consumer finance firm Household International. That decision proved disastrous. For the 18 months ending in June, HSBC's U.S. personal-financial-services business posted pretax losses of $20 billion. In March, HSBC announced its consumer-finance operation wouldn't issue any more loans and would begin winding down its business (except for credit...