HAMISH MCRAE: There's method in the Bitcoin madness By HAMISH MCRAE Updated: 21:53 GMT, 7 December 2024 e-mail View comments It is madness that bitcoin should break through the $100,000 barrier, as it did briefly on Thursday. But as Polonius observes in Hamlet: 'Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.' The madness is easy to chart. This is an asset that is intrinsically worthless. It's just a line of computer code that generates no income and is backed by nothing. It is hard to identify any real investment that results from it: no houses are built, no companies launched, no medicines discovered. But it has extrinsic value in that people are prepared to buy, trade, and hold it. A year ago they put the value at $44,000. Two years ago it was $17,000. Go back another year to 2021 and it was $50,000. Five years ago it was $7,500. So it's all over the place. You can have a debate about why people should want to hold it, but it gets nowhere. Why should an anonymous buyer pay $142 million for a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupe, as someone did two years ago? That was the highest price ever paid for a classic car. Or $6.2 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall at an auction in New York last month? Bitcoin is like every other asset. It is worth what a purchaser will pay for it at a particular moment of time. It's as simple as that. Warning: The Bitcoin boom does carries a message that this is a time for caution The 'method' – what this surge in the price of Bitcoin tells us about global markets – is more complicated. The recent surge has been fuelled by hopes that the Trump administration will lead to a friendly regulatory system for crypto-currencies, for the price has shot up by nearly 50 per cent since the election. This is likely to broaden the range of holders. But behind the surge is strong performance of financial assets more generally. To pick just a few, US equities are close to all-time peaks, the German DAX index is there too, and here in the UK the Halifax house price index shows prices are up 4.9 per cent on the year and are reaching a new record. There are laggards, of course, and the poor old FTSE100 index is one of them. But it is up 8 per cent this year, so even unloved investment sectors have been pulled up by their more fashionable cousins. There are lots of reasons why asset prices should be so strong. We had a decade of central banks printing industrial quantities of money under their quantitative easing programmes. That had to go somewhere. With generative artificial intelligence, we have a technological revolution that looks like bringing huge improvements to the efficiency of service industries and the quality of their output. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Bitcoin tipped to rocket to $120,000 early next year after... Bitcoin tops $100,000 for the first time as Trump fuels... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account There are likely to be even more expansionary economic policies in the US, and there is the prospect of further cuts in interest rates next year if inflation keeps falling. The global policy-makers, notably in the US, have created a financial boom. There is, however, a fine line between a boom and a bubble. So where are we now? It is hard to feel comfortable about what has happened to the price of bitcoin. If the most speculative assets are soaring, that shouts bubble. And even the most doughty supporters of cryptocurrencies would have to acknowledge they are towards the speculative scale. US equities are towards the top end of their historical values. But they are not yet at extreme levels, so that says boom rather than bubble. We know, too, that booms generally carry on much longer than people expect, then end more suddenly. My guess is there will be some big event that will signal the bull market for assets has gone over the top. We haven't had that yet. Bitcoin topping $100,000 is a warning that markets have become frothy, but cryptocurrencies are not important enough to rock the global boat. We could have a crypto-crash without a wider collapse in mainstream assets, notably equities. Indeed there may be no sudden collapse in global share prices – just a topping out and gradual drift downwards before eventual recovery. We cannot realistically follow Polonius's advice: 'Neither a borrower nor a lender be.' But the Bitcoin boom does carries a message that this is a time for caution. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AJ Bell AJ Bell Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Learn More Learn More Hargreaves Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown Free fund dealing and investment ideas Learn More Learn More interactive investor interactive investor Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Learn More Learn More Saxo Saxo Get £200 back in trading fees Learn More Learn More Trading 212 Trading 212 Free dealing and no account fee Learn More Learn More Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Compare the best investing account for you Share or comment on this article: HAMISH MCRAE: There's method in the Bitcoin madness e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbersNoneUnraveling the essence: African perfume artisans revealed
Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara released a statement Friday slamming the "100% false" media reports that suggested he had thrown his final pass for the Hawkeyes. McNamara has been sidelined since sustaining a concussion during the Oct. 26 win against Northwestern. Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan has started the last two games for the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) but is out with an ankle injury for Saturday's game at Maryland (4-6, 1-6). Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said earlier this week that Jackson Stratton will be the likely starter against the Terrapins if McNamara is unavailable. McNamara's cloudy status prompted speculation on a podcast this week that he was "not mentally ready to play." The podcast hosts from the Des Moines Register and The Athletic also suggested that McNamara -- who played three years at Michigan (2020-22) before transferring to Iowa -- is not "fit to play quarterback in the Big Ten right now." "We don't want to bury his career yet, but it does seem like that interception against Northwestern was his last snap as a Hawkeye," Leistikow said. McNamara, who passed for 1,017 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games this season, released a statement updating his current status. "My status is the same as it's always been -- a proud member of this football team," he said. McNamara said he has not yet been cleared to play. He said he was cleared to practice on Sunday but suffered an "adverse reaction" and was unable to practice this week and therefore unable to travel with the team to Maryland. "I have been working with the University of Iowa doctors and trainers, a concussion specialist focused on vision training, as well as engaging in hyperbaric treatments as frequently as possible," McNamara said. "I have every intention to play versus Nebraska next Friday night and I am confident that my teammates will return from Maryland with a win." Including his time with the Wolverines, McNamara has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 4,703 yards with 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 34 games. --Field Level Media
Trump gushes over ‘really, very handsome’ Prince William and dishes on their Paris meetingSyrian government services come to ‘complete halt’ as workers stay at home
It was another busy year in the world of business. Test your knowledge on the stories of 2024 from Boeing, to bots, rebrands and the Budget. 2 Test your knowledge on the biggest financial stories of 2024 1. It took an ITV drama series on The Post Office to create enough public anger about a long-running miscarriage of justice. What was the name of the actor who played Alan Bates? a) Toby Jones b) Timothy Spall c) Tom Hiddleston 2. What happened three miles high on a Boeing 737 Max plane? a) A couple locked the toilet door for a long time b) A door peg blew off midflight c) A teenager was left topless 3. Jeremy Hunt delivered his last Budget in March. How many Chancellors were there in the last 14 years of Tory government? Bonus point for naming them all in correct order. a) Five b) Seven c) Six 4. Royal Mail’s biggest investor and West Ham FC shareholder Daniel Kretinsky struck a £3.6billion takeover of the 500-year old postal service. What’s his nickname? a) Kret the Krusher b) Czech Mate c) Czech Sphinx READ MORE ON BUSINESS SPY ROW Prince Andrew’s murky dealings must be investigated after ‘spy’ scandal, say expert CASH IN I flogged skirts at a fair at 22, now I make £40 million & Princess Kate's a fan 5. Which Hollywood star slammed the owner of artificial intelligence firm ChatGPT for using a very similar voice for its chatbot? a) Kate Winslet b) Scarlett Johansson c) Jennifer Lawrence 6. Which company overtook Apple twice this year as the world’s most valuable business in the world, having nearly doubled in value in 2024? a) Nvidia b) Microsoft c) Amazon 7. Which security firm caused the world’s biggest outage with IT problems grounding planes, disrupting railways and taking TV stations off air? a) Cisco b) CrowdStrike c) McAfee 8. In August the Bank of England made its first interest rate cut in four years down from 5.25 per cent. Before then rates had risen to the highest level in how many years? a) 10 years b) 8 years c) 16 years Most read in Business BOOZEY BET BrewDog founder James Watt reveals he played game of golf with MILLIONS at stake RATE EXPECTATIONS Bank of England divided over timing of interest rate cuts WILLING & CABLE Scottish Power recruiting 1000s of young workers to roll out cable lines BANKS FOR NOTHING Wage surge dashes hopes for interest rate cuts as inflation fears grow 9. Lord Stuart Rose was damning about Asda, the supermarket he chaired, saying he was “embarrassed” by its performance. Put the below in order of exits: a) Mohsin Issa , boss b) Zuber Issa , co-owner c) Stuart Rose, chairman 10. Rachel Reeves said she would take a penny off a pint in the Budget. But how much did pub chain Fuller’s boss Simon Emeny say her tax raid would add to the price of a pint? a) A quid b) 50p c) 10p 11. Jaguar’s rebrand was widely ridiculed for putting out an advert that didn’t feature a car. What was the rebrand’s new slogan? a) Copy nothing b) Sell nothing c) Show nothing 12. Billionaire Mike Ashley wanted a new job this year. What did he apply for? a) Chief ales taster at Wetherspoons b) Head of Department for Government Efficiency c) CEO of online fashion retailer Boohoo Beer prices to fall by 1p Rachel Reeves reveals in Budget - but drinkers will be hit by more expensive booze ANSWERS 1. a) Toby Jones. 2. b) and c) A door peg on the plane blew out mid-air with the pressure ripping a teenager’s shirt off their body. 3. b) Seven - (George Osborne, Philip Hammond, Sajid Javid, Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi, Kwasi Kwarteng, Jeremy Hunt). 4. c) Czech Sphinx. 5. b) Scarlett Johansson. 6. a) Nvidia. 7. b) CrowdStrike. 8. c) 16 years. 9. b) Zuber Issa in June a) Mohsin Issa in September c) Stuart Rose in November. 10. c) 10p. 11. a) “Copy Nothing.” 12 . c) To become Boohoo CEO as part of his activist campaign Jobs risk in Aviva's takeover 2 Aviva has clinched a £3.7billion takeover of rival insurer Direct Line OVER 2,000 jobs are at risk after Aviva clinched a £3.7billion takeover of rival insurer Direct Line. Aviva yesterday announced it had agreed a recommended cash and share deal, two days before a Christmas Day bid deadline. Boss Amanda Blanc said it was “excellent news for the customers and shareholders of Aviva and Direct Line”. Direct Line also owns the Green Flag and Churchill insurance brands, which will beef up Aviva’s business in home and car insurance. Direct Line has struggled to turn around its business and already slashed 550 jobs in November to cut costs. Aviva said it was aiming for at least £125million in cost synergies and planned to reduce the combined workforce by 5 to 7 per cent. This would be equivalent to between 1,600 and 2,300 job losses over three years. Aviva has over 23,000 employees, and Direct Line just over 10,000. Range in rebrand THE RANGE will rebrand up to 70 former Homebase stores throughout 2025 but keep the latter’s website up and running. Controlled by Plymouth-based billionaire Chris Dawson, The Range snapped up Homebase after it fell into administration last month. The retailer said it will continue to use the Homebase brand name for garden centre concessions in Range stores, kitchen installations and some home improvement products. Honda accord? JAPAN’S top motor firms are in talks over a merger to help them survive the rise of cheap Chinese electric cars. Honda and Nissan, the country’s second and third biggest car-makers, are leading talks with Mitsubushi to decide by January if a three-way agreement can go ahead. All are suffering from weak demand for their EVs, and have been hit by soaring costs of investing in new technology. The three firms have a combined £46billion valuation — well below Japan’s No1 car firm Toyota on £186billion. Read more on the Scottish Sun DECEMBRRR Scots blasted with snowfall days before Christmas as storms cause transport chaos FLOOR PHILLER Rangers boss Philippe Clement spotted dancing in popular Glasgow bar BOOHOO has offloaded its office in Soho, London, for £49.5million to help repair its balance sheet. The online fashion retailer bought the office for £72million three years ago when it was riding high on the back of an internet sales boom. Winner served A GROWING appetite for fried chicken has delivered a £400million fortune to the trio who brought fast food chain Wingstop to the UK. The brand has now been gobbled up by US private equity firm Sixth Street — which will result in a big windfall for entrepreneurs Tom Grogan, Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin. Six years ago they made a cold call to Wingstop’s US parent company, asking if they could bring it to Britain. It now has expanded to 57 UK sites, which employ 2,500 staff.The Bhumjaithai Party has opposed a bill proposed by the ruling Pheu Thai Party to amend the Defence Ministry Administration Act, which is seen as a bid to curb the military's ability to stage a coup d'etat . Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday that he did not think the bill would prevent a putsch, adding that politicians must not create conditions that the military may use as an excuse to stage a coup. "There are only a few conditions for coups. Such conditions stem mostly from politicians. If we don't create them, coups are unlikely to occur," said Mr Anutin, also the interior minister. "Whatever law will be enacted, if a coup takes place, the first thing for the coup-makers is to tear up the constitution," he said. "All politicians should do is to carry out their duties with honesty and integrity and avoid causing divisions." He said Bhumjaithai, a government coalition partner, will not vote for the bill if it is tabled in parliament. "I have witnessed several coups in the past since the Chatichai Choohavan administration was ousted by one in 1991. Coups can be avoided if certain conditions do not occur," Mr Anutin said. Defence Minister Phumtham Wechaiyachai on Monday tried to downplay concern that the bill would reduce the military's power and create conflict between the government and the armed forces. He said the bill is now being scrutinised by a government screening panel and the Council of Defence. "Feedback will be sought," said Mr Phumtham, also a deputy prime minister. "There is no intention to seize the military's power. There are rules and regulations governing the military." Asked if the bill would upset the military and potentially lead to a conflict with the government, Mr Phumtham said the government and the military have been on good terms, adding that military personnel at the Defence Ministry have supported his work. Under the bill, a cabinet-appointed committee would be empowered to consider and appoint generals instead of allowing armed forces commanders to appoint officials close to them as generals. In addition, the prime minister would be the Defence Council chairperson instead of the defence minister. The bill also added criteria that must be met by all those seeking to become generals under Section 25, including not being known for exerting undue influence or having links to illicit drugs, human trafficking or destruction of natural resources and the environment. Other qualifications include not being under disciplinary investigation or criminal prosecution, except for offences committed through negligence, defamation or minor offences. They must also not be a contractual party with any unit under the Ministry of Defence or conduct business or activities related to the ministry. In addition, the bill amends Section 35 by adding a prohibition on the use of military force or military personnel in cases of seizing or controlling the government's administrative power. It was also stipulated that military officers ordered to lead such acts had the right not to comply and risked being considered a party to violating military criminal law. It also increases the penalty for military officers who violate or are found to be preparing to violate Section 35 by temporarily suspending them as ordered by the prime minister to allow for an investigation. The proposed bill will be open to public opinion on the parliament's website until Jan 1.
Probe shows exported rice not contaminated in Pakistan Inquiry focuses on verifying integrity of Pakistan’s rice value chain and testing rice samples for GMO traces ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) strongly refutes the claims regarding the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMO) rice in Pakistan, as reported recently in media. The allegations suggesting contamination in Pakistani rice exports due to GMO seeds are unfounded and not reflective of the Ministry’s official position. Following the receipt of a Rapid Alert Notification from the European Union (EU) through the EU-Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) on August 2, 2024, the Department of Plant Protection (DPP), an attached department of MNFSR, promptly initiated a comprehensive inquiry into the matter. The inquiry focused on verifying the integrity of Pakistan’s rice value chain and testing rice samples for GMO traces. Key findings of the inquiry included that the samples collected from the rice processing units and seed stock were tested at national and internationally accredited laboratories. Reports from these laboratories, including Eurofins and National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetics Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, confirmed that Pakistani rice production and export consignments were free from any GMO contamination. It was determined that the flagged consignment of organic rice was repacked and re-exported by a Dutch company. Subsequent sampling in Germany indicated the possibility of cross-contamination during repacking, marketing, or sampling processes, rather than at the source in Pakistan. The comprehensive investigation reaffirms that Pakistan’s rice production and export systems strictly adhere to non-GMO standards. The MNSR emphasizes that ensuring compliance with international food safety and phytosanitary standards remains a top priority. The Ministry has taken up the matter with the EU authorities and requested clarity on the testing processes and potential points of cross-contamination during repacking or marketing stages. Pakistan is committed to maintaining its reputation as a reliable supplier of premium-quality, GMO-free rice to global markets.How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbersSyrian insurgents reach the capital's suburbs. Worried residents flee and stock up on supplies
The ceasefire, starting at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday, would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza , where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable. Hours before the ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel carried out the most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 42 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities. Another huge airstrike shook Beirut shortly after the ceasefire was announced. There appeared to be lingering disagreement over whether Israel would have the right to strike Hezbollah if it believed the militants had violated the agreement, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted was part of the deal but which Lebanese and Hezbollah officials have rejected. Israel's security Cabinet approved the U.S.-France-brokered ceasefire agreement after Netanyahu presented it, his office said. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Biden administration spent much of this year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza but the talks repeatedly sputtered to a halt . President-elect Donald Trump vowed to bring peace to the Middle East without saying how. Still, any halt to the fighting in Lebanon is expected to reduce the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas and exchanged direct fire with Israel on two occasions earlier this year. Israel says it will ‘attack with might’ if Hezbollah breaks truce Netanyahu presented the ceasefire proposal to Cabinet ministers after a televised address in which he listed accomplishments against Israel’s enemies across the region. He said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus on its main enemy, Iran. “If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said. “For every violation, we will attack with might.” The ceasefire deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance. Biden said Israel reserved the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce, but that the deal "was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” Netanyahu’s office said Israel appreciated the U.S. efforts in securing the deal but “reserves the right to act against every threat to its security.” Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire and described it as a crucial step toward stability and the return of displaced people. Hezbollah has said it accepts the proposal, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday it had not seen the agreement in its final form. “After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. “We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state," he said, referring to Israel's demand for freedom of action. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.” Warplanes bombard Beirut and its southern suburbs Even as ceasefire efforts gained momentum in recent days, Israel continued to strike what it called Hezbollah targets across Lebanon while the militants fired rockets, missiles and drones across the border. An Israeli strike on Tuesday leveled a residential building in central Beirut — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Israel also struck a building in Beirut's bustling commercial district of Hamra for the first time, hitting a site around 400 meters (yards) from Lebanon’s Central Bank. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli military said it struck targets linked to Hezbollah's financial arm. The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously were not targeted. The warnings sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, with mattresses tied to some cars. Dozens of people, some wearing pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed overhead. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a major presence, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where the U.N. peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, is headquartered. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said peacekeepers will not evacuate. Israeli forces reach Litani River in southern Lebanon The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few miles from the Israeli border. Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 20 miles north of the border. Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have exchanged barrages ever since. Israel escalated its bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes. More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country’s north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon. Chehayeb and Mroue reported from Beirut and Federman from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporters Lujain Jo and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Valparaiso hired longtime Marietta coach Andy Waddle as its new football coach, athletic director Laurel Hosmer announced Monday. Waddle is scheduled to be formally introduced on campus Wednesday. He spent the last 12 seasons turning around the Division III program located in Southeastern Ohio. There, he went 55-61 after inheriting a winless team. He led the Pioneers to their first 8-0 start last season and matched the 1920 squad’s school record with a 13-game winning streak that started in 2023. In 2024, Marietta made its first postseason appearance since 1973. Waddle went 16-5 over the past two seasons and produced seven winning records over the last eight seasons. The Pioneers had only two winning seasons in the previous 20 years. “I think there is a great group of young men on the (Valparaiso) roster, and we’re excited to invest in those student-athletes and continue to add more high-quality people and football players to the program,” Waddle said of the program located in Indiana’s northwest corner. “I think Valpo is not only an outstanding fit for me professionally, but also an outstanding fit for me and my family.” Waddle spent eight seasons working with the defense as an assistant for his alma mater, Wittenberg, where he was an all-conference defensive back. He also has coached at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania and at Maryville College in Tennessee. “His experience building success and winning culture as a head coach, passion for developing student-athletes on and off the field and high character made it clear he was the right leader for our football program,” Hosmer said in a statement. The move comes two weeks after Hosmer announced the school would not give Landon Fox a contract extension after his deal expired. Fox was 21-42 in six seasons at Valparaiso. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: andEvery day at dawn, tens of thousands of people begin lining up at Acadia Healthcare's addiction clinics to get a cup of methadone. The daily dose staves off opioid withdrawal and keeps many from turning to dangerous street drugs such as fentanyl. The for-profit chain of 165 methadone clinics -- the country's largest -- has generated more than $1.3 billion in revenue since 2022. It is "a business that we continue to feel great about," Acadia's CEO told investors this year. That business has been built in part on deception, a New York Times investigation found. Methadone is a narcotic, and the clinics are heavily regulated by federal and state governments. In addition to handing out methadone, the clinics are required to provide counseling and other services, such as drug testing. But Acadia often fails to provide that counseling, according to five dozen current and former employees in 22 of the 33 states where the company has clinics. Instead, employees at times falsify the medical records that Acadia uses to bill insurers, according to the employees and internal emails. Sometimes a counseling session recorded in a patient's medical chart is simply a chance encounter. For example, medical records for a patient in Iowa show she had a 40-minute counseling session in December 2023, but the patient said in an interview that it was actually a hallway chat that lasted less than five minutes. Acadia's business is built on volume. Its counselors carry caseloads that are sometimes more than double the limit set by state regulators, according to employees and inspection records. With so many patients, the clinics can become assembly lines, offering little more than a cup of methadone. Clinic directors can get bonuses when their patient enrollment goes up, an incentive that has led Acadia to treat people who do not have opioid addictions but are dependent on other drugs, according to current and former executives and employees. People who are not addicted to opioids can get high from methadone. "I'm not proud of it, but our clinic has admitted patients who shouldn't have qualified for treatment because we were under pressure," said Jeannie Taylor, who was a counselor at an Acadia clinic in Oregon until she retired last year. Employees at clinics in at least 13 states warned their supervisors about Acadia's practices, according to the employees and complaints reviewed by the Times. Tim Blair, a spokesperson for Acadia, said the company did not falsify medical records, overbill insurers or pressure employees to treat patients who weren't addicted to opioids. He said that Acadia had rigorous internal controls and trained its employees on proper billing practices, and that regulators and auditors regularly reviewed its records. "We take our responsibility to our patients and the communities we serve extremely seriously and patently reject claims that Acadia places profits over patients," he said. Acadia's methadone clinics have come under investigation for other issues. In 2019, federal prosecutors in West Virginia accused Acadia of overbilling Medicaid for blood and urine tests. The company paid $17 million to resolve the allegations. Three years later, Acadia reached another settlement with federal prosecutors who accused the company of hiring counselors without proper credentials at a clinic in Virginia. The company did not admit wrongdoing in either settlement. In addition to methadone clinics, the company runs psychiatric hospitals around the country. In September, a Times investigation found that those hospitals, which account for more than half the company's revenue, often held patients against their will to maximize payments from insurers. The Times article prompted several federal agencies, including the Justice Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to investigate the company's practices. News of those investigations, coupled with lower than expected patient volumes, has caused Acadia's stock price to fall by 50%, knocking nearly $4 billion off its market value. Amid that gloom, its fast-growing network of methadone clinics remains a bright spot for investors. But the Times found that business is dogged by its own problems. Doctors began treating opioid addiction with methadone in the 1960s, and its use accelerated as veterans returned from the Vietnam War dependent on heroin. Research since then has found that methadone, itself an opioid, eases cravings for more dangerous opioids and lowers the risk of overdoses. Acadia got into the methadone business a decade ago when it bought a large chain of clinics from Bain Capital, a private equity firm. Acadia's investment was prescient. In 2020, the federal government started requiring that Medicaid and Medicare cover treatment at the country's roughly 2,100 methadone clinics, most of which are run by for-profit companies. Over the next couple of years, revenue from Acadia's clinics increased 30%, according to financial filings. Clinics bring in an average of roughly $3 million each in annual revenue. Those figures could soon rise. States and counties nationwide have started to get money from settlements with companies accused of fueling the opioid crisis. Acadia is angling for a slice of the settlements, which are worth at least $50 billion. This year, for example, the company successfully lobbied the Kansas Legislature to allow for-profit companies to receive grants from the settlement. Christopher Hunter, Acadia's CEO, has told investors that the settlement funds will be "a really nice tail wind" for the company. At the same time, Acadia has been trying to fend off a serious threat to its business. A bipartisan bill in Congress would allow patients to avoid clinics such as Acadia's and pick up methadone at pharmacies instead. Proponents say that although counseling may help methadone users, widening access to the drug is more important. Acadia and other companies have sought to derail the legislation by arguing that providing methadone without counseling could lead to more overdose deaths. In a letter this year to the bill's sponsors, Acadia wrote its suite of services was the "gold standard" and provided "individualized care." Yet, Acadia's counseling services are sometimes a pretense, the Times found. Brian Pagano, a counselor at an Acadia clinic in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, said he quit in August after his supervisors chided him for spending too much time with patients, including one who was hallucinating. "I was told this is not a mental health clinic, this is a methadone clinic," he said. Dozens of counselors told the Times they were overwhelmed by caseloads that were far higher than what their states allowed, with some responsible for as many as 120 patients. In September, Acadia cut the schedules of its full-time counselors and other clinic workers nationwide by up to four hours a week, further taxing their capacity, employees said. Blair, the company spokesperson, said, "Your characterization that counselors often have patient caseloads exceeding regulatory limits is false." Under pressure to meet the company's productivity goals, employees have falsified records so that it appears patients received counseling when they did not, according to employees, internal emails and complaints to regulators. Those records serve multiple purposes. They are used to bill insurers and to show regulators and outside credentialing groups that Acadia is complying with state rules dictating how much therapy clinics must provide. California, for example, generally requires that patients receive at least 50 minutes of counseling each month. Regulators check patients' files to ensure clinics are following the rules. Blair said Acadia provided tens of thousands of patients with high-quality treatment, including counseling. "We prioritize our counselors' and clinicians' spending meaningful time with patients," he said. But at many clinics, Acadia chastised or congratulated counselors depending on whether they saw enough patients, employees said. Some counselors said they were dinged in performance reviews for not hitting their productivity goals. The result was a saleslike culture that rewarded those who took shortcuts. At a clinic in Indiana, managers handed out a stuffed goat -- a play on the acronym for "greatest of all time" -- to counselors who hit their weekly targets. Two employees said a counselor who had won the prize bragged about how she simply said hello to patients who were waiting in line and then recorded a therapy session in their charts. Blair said Acadia's counselors were not compensated based on the number of patients they see. Employees in 17 states said supervisors and peers had taught them to cut corners by recycling old language from therapy notes or treatment plans without meeting with patients. In Asheville, N.C., notes from two therapy sessions in 2021 were identical, even though they happened three months apart, according to screenshots included in a court filing. Both notes said a patient "states he goes for walks and leaves his phone at home just 'to get away from the noise.'" Blair said that "Acadia's policies strictly prohibit falsifying records." He said the company carried out regular reviews of medical charts and billing records to ferret out inaccuracies. Megan Rife, who has been in treatment at Acadia's clinic in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for nine years, wanted counseling as she struggled to overcome an addiction to painkillers. But, she said, her meetings with counselors were infrequent and often lasted less than 10 minutes. One session noted in her medical records, which the Times reviewed, supposedly took place at 1:15 p.m., when the clinic was closed. (Methadone clinics often close around noon.) Iowa's Medicaid program paid Acadia $199 a week for her care, according to billing records that Rife shared with the Times . During a recent session, she said, her counselor spent the time answering emails. "Her computer is just dinging right and left," Rife said. "I don't think she heard a single thing I said to her." Acadia's practices sometimes jeopardized patients' safety. Clinic employees were discouraged from turning anyone away, even if the person did not meet the criteria for methadone treatment, according to current and former employees, including doctors, in 12 states. To be eligible for treatment at a methadone clinic, people need to meet medical criteria for being addicted to opioids. Acadia sometimes accepted patients who did not meet that standard. A former clinic director in Indiana said her manager had pressured her to boost the clinic's patient count by enrolling people who were addicted to cocaine and methamphetamine but not opioids. And a former clinic director in Georgia said she, too, had been pressured to add patients who were not addicted to opioids. Methadone cannot treat addictions to cocaine or methamphetamine. But it can produce a high -- and possibly a dependence -- for someone who is not already using opioids. Some clinic directors said they received bonuses based on the number of patients enrolled. Others said the bonuses were tied to their clinics' financial performance, which improved when their patient volumes increased. Blair said Acadia's compensation practices were consistent with those of other companies. He said medical staff, not clinic directors or counselors, decided which patients to treat, after a thorough screening process. Acadia was also trying to keep a tight lid on staffing costs -- sometimes with negative consequences. Reports filed by health inspectors in at least six states have criticized Acadia's methadone clinics for inadequate staffing. Part of the problem is that clinic employees rarely last long because they don't make much money and deal with stressful work environments. Blair denied that clinics were understaffed. He said turnover among clinic employees had declined in recent years. In the spring of 2021, inspectors who visited Acadia's clinic in Cedar Rapids learned that none of the nurses had shown up that week, leaving unlicensed workers to hand out methadone, according to an inspection report. States require methadone to be dispensed by trained medical staff. A state-appointed monitor later identified other problems. A worker's young child had briefly grabbed a cup of methadone inside a room that was supposed to be locked. Two patients were given double doses of buprenorphine, a different opioid addiction treatment, and no one checked on them to make sure they were all right. In 2020, a clinic director in Goldsboro, N.C., complained to an Acadia executive that the company refused to stop accepting new patients even though there were not enough workers, according to an email reviewed by the Times. "I have continued to request admission holds as the staff here are overly stressed," the director wrote. "Those emails are simply ignored because they would decrease revenue."
Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusualHow the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbersMumbai, Dec 26 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday condoled the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh saying the country has lost a great scholar, statesman and economist. "With the demise of former PM Manmohan Singh, we have lost a great scholar, economist and statesman. His contributions to Indian economic reforms, serving the nation as PM for ten years, will be remembered forever," he said on X. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said Singh's vision became a turning point in the country's economic development. "Deeply saddened by the news of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh ji's demise. A gentleman to the core, his vision became a turning point in our country's economic development. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this difficult time," Ajit Pawar posted on X. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said he was deeply saddened. "My brief meeting with him, at his residence, made an everlasting impression on me, of how PMs can be truly humble, graceful and dignified, despite the very many achievements marked out against their name and tenure," Thackeray said. "For someone like me, born in the 90s, the opening up of India to the world and vice versa, was like growing up in a decade where each day was new, and the world was brought closer to home, thanks to him," said Aaditya. "Probably one of those people in India, who have had a huge impact on our lives, and the country at large. He truly put our nation on a world stage. As he said about himself while taking on all the unfounded criticism, "history would be kinder", we as Indians truly believe, that the present too will be kinder to his statesman like legacy, as we all bid him a sorrowful goodbye," the Sena (UBT) leader added. Such true gentlemen are rare in politics, even rarer when they reach the pinnacle of national politics, Thackeray wrote. NCP leader Praful Patel described Singh as a man of few words but remarkable action. "His visionary economic policies reshaped the destiny of millions and set India on a path of growth and stability. I had the honor and privilege of working as a minister during his tenure and witnessed his intellect, humility, and dedication to the nation. As Finance Minister and later as Prime Minister, he transformed India's economic landscape and left an enduring legacy of progress and reform," he said. India has lost a true statesman, a scholar par excellence, and a compassionate leader, Patel added. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Fletcher Abee's 25 points helped UNC Asheville defeat Saint Andrews 120-64 on Saturday. Abee shot 8 for 12 (6 for 10 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line for the Bulldogs (4-4). Connor Dubsky scored 20 points while going 6 of 12 from the floor, including 5 for 11 from 3-point range, and 3 for 4 from the line. Jordan Marsh had 14 points and finished 6 of 10 from the field. The Knights were led by Escamilla Mateu, who posted 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Ma'Nas Drummond added 14 points for Saint Andrews (NC). Caleb Brown finished with 13 points and two steals. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Democrats say they'll avoid election challenges on Jan. 6The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing . But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin , gold and other investments also drove higher. Here’s a look at some of the numbers that defined the year. All are as of Dec. 20. Remember when President Bill Clinton got impeached or when baseball’s Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run against the Montreal Expos? That was the last time the U.S. stock market closed out a second straight year with a leap of at least 20%, something the S&P 500 is on track to do again this year. The index has climbed 24.3% so far this year, not including dividends, following last year’s spurt of 24.2%. The number of all-time highs the S&P 500 has set so far this year. The first came early, on Jan. 19, when the index capped a two-year comeback from the swoon caused by high inflation and worries that high interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to combat it would create a recession. But the index was methodical through the rest of the year, setting a record in every month outside of April and August, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The latest came on Dec. 6. The number of times the Federal Reserve has cut its main interest rate this year from a two-decade high, offering some relief to the economy. Expectations for those cuts, along with hopes for more in 2025, were a big reason the U.S. stock market has been so successful this year. The 1 percentage point of cuts, though, is still short of the 1.5 percentage points that many traders were forecasting for 2024 at the start of the year. The Fed disappointed investors in December when it said it may cut rates just two more times in 2025, fewer than it had earlier expected. That’s how many points the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by the day after Election Day, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world . The more widely followed S&P 500 soared 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. Aside from bitcoin, stocks of banks and smaller winners were also perceived to be big winners. The bump has since diminished amid worries that Trump’s policies could also send inflation higher. The level that bitcoin topped to set a record above $108,000 this past month. It’s been climbing as interest rates come down, and it got a particularly big boost following Trump’s election. He’s turned around and become a fan of crypto, and he’s named a former regulator who’s seen as friendly to digital currencies as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing someone who critics said was overly aggressive in his oversight. Bitcoin was below $17,000 just two years ago following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Gold’s rise for the year, as it also hit records and had as strong a run as U.S. stocks. Wars around the world have helped drive demand for investments seen as safe, such as gold. It’s also benefited from the Fed’s cut to interest rates. When bonds are paying less in interest, they pull away fewer potential buyers from gold, which pays investors nothing. It’s a favorite number of Elon Musk, and it’s also a threshold that Tesla’s stock price passed in December as it set a record. The number has a long history among marijuana devotees, and Musk famously said in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Tesla soared this year, up from less than $250 at the start, in part because of expectations that Musk’s close relationship with Trump could benefit the company. That’s how much revenue Nvidia made in the nine months through Oct. 27, showing how the artificial-intelligence frenzy is creating mountains of cash. Nvidia’s chips are driving much of the move into AI, and its revenue through the last nine months catapulted from less than $39 billion the year before. Such growth has boosted Nvidia’s worth to more than $3 trillion in total. GameStop’s gain on May 13 after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” appeared online for the first time in three years to support the video game retailer’s stock, which he helped rocket to unimaginable heights during the “ meme stock craze ” in 2021. Several other meme stocks also jumped following his post in May on the social platform X, including AMC Entertainment. Gill later disclosed a sizeable stake in the online pet products retailer Chewy, but he sold all of his holdings by late October . That’s how much the U.S. economy grew, at annualized seasonally adjusted rates, in each of the three first quarters of this year. Such growth blew past what many pessimists were expecting when inflation was topping 9% in the summer of 2022. The fear was that the medicine prescribed by the Fed to beat high inflation — high interest rates — would create a recession. Households at the lower end of the income spectrum in particular are feeling pain now, as they contend with still-high prices. But the overall economy has remained remarkably resilient. This is the vacancy rate for U.S. office buildings — an all-time high — through the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from Moody’s. The fact the rate held steady for most of the year was something of a win for office building owners, given that it had marched up steadily from 16.8% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Demand for office space weakened as the pandemic led to the popularization of remote work. That’s the total number of previously occupied homes sold nationally through the first 11 months of 2024. Sales would have to surge 20% year-over-year in December for 2024’s home sales to match the 4.09 million existing homes sold in 2023, a nearly 30-year low. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. A shortage of homes for sale and elevated mortgage rates have discouraged many would-be homebuyers.