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torentialtribute · 5 years ago

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The Ashes 2019: Smith’s not the first Steve to leave England in agony

The bowlers of England are desperately trying to work out how to fire an Australian batsman named Steve in the second test at Lord & # 39; s, which starts on Wednesday, it is worth remembering that we have been here before.

It is 30 years since Steve Waugh finally announced himself. After his first 42 Test-innings brought him over the centuries and a modest average of 30, Waugh started the Ashes of 1989 with unbeaten scores of 177 at Headingley, then 152 and 21 at Lord, before finally being fired from Edgbaston for 43

From the beginning of that series until the end of his career, almost 15 years later, Waugh had an average of 55 and scored 32 hundreds.

Steve Smith threatens to impose himself just like Steve Waugh on another generation of bowlers

For England there is a grim symbolism for his presence here this summer as a mentor for the Australians, while Steve Smith, who made 144 and 142 in the first test in Edgbaston, put himself in a similar way threatens to impose on another generation of bowlers.

& # 39; I am sure the comparison was made with Bradman when, as it is now, & # 39 ;, says Angus Fraser, who ended the undefeated series of Waugh of 393 runs in 1989 when he hit him on the second morning of the third bowling. Test. It was the 585th ball that Waugh had faced in the series.

& # 39; The date did not exist at that time & # 39 ;, says Fraser, who made his test debut. "There was no bowling coach, so it was left to Micky Stewart, our coach, to make a few remarks.

" Maybe it was arrogant of me, but I wasn't really afraid of bowling for Waugh because he wasn't the kind of guy who took a game from you. Dean Jones was more likely to impose himself. & # 39;

Yet by the time Fraser predicted that Waugh was a human, a toll had been imposed in the bowlers of England. Derek Pringle and Phil DeFreitas were dropped after Headingley, while Phil Newport and Neil Foster were injured. The summer in which the selectors selected 29 players over six Ashes Tests was well underway.

Steve Waugh from Australia cracked the four in the fourth test of the Ashes series 2002

& # 39; It felt as if you played every game for your place, & # 39; says DeFreitas

& # 39; I had played against Steve Waugh a few times at the start of his career and he was a tough opponent. He worked hard and didn't give you anything. If there was a bad ball, he put you away. If you threw him at a good one, he would keep it in mind and move on. In that respect, he was similar to Steve Smith. & # 39;

DeFreitas was omitted after match scores of three for 216 and earned a less than glowing review from David Gower, his captain. & # 39; Foster, Pringle and DeFreitas do not bow well, & # 39; Gower later wrote, & # 39; and although I ran around to offer words of silent encouragement, a captain is pretty well helpless when all his bowlers are out of shape. & # 39;

Pringle does not dispute that. & # 39; I played a game & # 39 ;, he says. "It was probably my worst performance for England, partly because I focused on a no-ball problem instead of the guy on the other side.

" I continued to serve half-volys, treated by Waugh , or bent short and wide outside – and he had a sharply cut shot. Once inside, he had good coverage. He didn't crochet much. The West Indian bowlers thought he was scared. & # 39;

Joe Root's team hopes that the selection of Jofra Archer for Lord can cause discomfort in Smith – although Fraser believes the current English team is likely to be lured away from what they do best. .

& # 39; I have always had the feeling that if you hit a good deal, or just outside the tree stump, around 85 km / h, and the ball does something, a batsman will fight, & # 39; he says . & # 39; So why would you do that?

The Joe Root team hopes for the selection of Jofra Archer can cause discomfort in Smith

& Curtly Ambrose was recently asked on the radio about bowling to Smith, and he said it was his job to worry the batsman about him, not the other way around. Stay in charge of that 22 meter piece of grass.

& # 39; It is hard enough to bow one type of delivery during your career, but if you start striving for, for example, leg stump yorkers who are not programmed in you love your family ball, you become more vulnerable as a bowler.

& # 39; You are taken to a place where you feel less at ease and ultimately play the batsman's game. & # 39;

In 1989, just like in 2019, England got a pickle with their choice of the ball. This summer, a soft lobby by Stuart Broad and Co director of cricket Ashley Giles encouraged a new party of the Dukes of 2018 to be launched, which is alive during last summer's 4-1 test win against India.

Broad and Co asked director of cricket cricket Ashley Giles to have a batch of the 2018 Dukes executed

But with Edgbaston, Smith was not confronted with any side movement that occasionally put him in trouble during the Ashes 2015, England won 3-2.

Thirty years ago the problem was even more pronounced. Gower and his opposite number Allan Border threw which brand of ball to use – the readers, favored by England, or the dukes, who in those days were feared less by Australian batsmen than now.

Pringle believes Gower insisted on removing all six coughs for the first test in Headingley – and lost the first five, leaving a relieved Border behind the dukes. In his autobiography, however, Waugh claims that Gower simply gave Australia permission to use the dukes until the fourth test, by the time England was already 2-0 behind.

As far as Gower is concerned, he cannot remember – although such

Smith, whose last 10 Ashes innings have produced 1,116 runs and six hundred, can now induce the same sense of helplessness.

& # 39; I would try to get him on a really green sailor & # 39 ;, DeFreitas says. If you get it in English, you have a chance. The only problem is that they have the bowlers who would also enjoy those circumstances. & # 39;

If history repeats itself this week with Lord, England will really get into trouble.

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#The Ashes 2019: Smith’s not the first Steve to leave England in agony"

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omcik-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/young-people-dont-want-to-work-for-oil-companies/

Young people don't want to work for oil companies

The bright minds of tomorrow want to pursue careers at Tesla, not ExxonMobil.

Sixty-two percent of teens ages 16 to 19 say a career in oil and gas is unappealing, according to a survey of 1,200 young Americans that was released this week by EY. That includes 39% who say the industry is very unappealing.

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The numbers are a bit better among Millennials. Forty-five percent of those aged 20 to 35 said they are attracted to oil and gas jobs, while 44% are not. The poll asked respondents to rate how appealing a career in the industry is for them.

The findings suggest Big Oil’s environmental challenges and boom-to-bust nature have created a negative stigma that will make it difficult to attract talent in the future.

Younger generations “see the industry’s careers as unstable, blue-collar, difficult, dangerous and harmful to society,” the EY report concluded.

For instance, two out of three teens polled believe the oil and gas industry causes problems, rather than solves them.

More alarming for oil execs, young people “question the longevity of the industry, as they view natural gas and oil as their parents’ fuels.”

Related: Solar energy is killing coal, despite Trump’s promises

Not surprisingly, young people want to work for the energy companies of the future. Two-thirds of those polled said that a job working in green energy sounds appealing. That’s good news for the likes of Tesla (TSLA), which is the leading electric-car maker and also sells solar panels through its recently-acquired SolarCity business.

Looking for work in green energy has been a smart choice lately, since solar job growth expanded last year 17 times faster than the total U.S. economy. Going forward, renewable energy should benefit from an anticipated surge of investment, including from traditional oil and gas companies. Big Oil may need to spend $350 billion on wind and solar between now and 2035, Wood MacKenzie recently projected.

Jeff Bush, president of oil and gas recruiting firm CSI Recruiting, agrees that the industry has a perception problem, especially among those who don’t have friends or family in the industry.

“It’s perceived as low-tech or out of vogue as far as the environment goes,” Bush said.

Concerns about Big Oil’s role in global warming make sense since younger people would have the most to lose from rising sea levels that many scientists say are caused by carbon emissions.

These worries could help explain why natural gas, which is viewed as a cleaner fuel than oil, polls better. Just 18% of teens have a negative view of natural gas, compared with 37% who view oil unfavorably.

Of course, Exxon (XOM), Chevron (CVX), BP (BP) and other companies traditionally thought of as oil companies also make a great deal of money from natural gas.

Related: Solar jobs growing 17 times faster than U.S. economy

The environment isn’t the only reason why young people seem to be shying away from careers in oil and gas. The industry has a long history of booms that create tons of jobs, but end in tears and pink slips. That notorious reputation was solidified during a recent oil crash that caused dozens of bankruptcy filings and an estimated 200,000 job cuts.

“It’s become a tough place to start a career right now. There are kids who went to good schools, got good grades and yet they don’t have a job. That’s going to spook anybody,” said Bush.

The American Petroleum Institute, an oil lobby, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the polls findings.

Now that the oil industry is (mostly) on the comeback trail thanks to resilient shale oil production, it will likely have many positions to fill. But that task could be complicated by concerns about job security and the environment, the poll indicates.

“There is high cause for concern about the ability to recruit and retain employees of the future. They’re going to need to change the perception,” said Rachel Everaard, an oil and gas principal at EY.

CNNMoney (New York) First published June 21, 2017: 12:02 AM ET

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torentialtribute · 5 years ago

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Man Utd News: Solskjaer shows moody Mourinho how it’s done: This tour is so different to last year

The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer closed his pre-match press conference for Thursday's match against Tottenham in Shanghai, he looked at the top table at a young interpreter who had just finished translating his last answer for the Chinese media. "I cannot confirm what she said is good, but I think she deserves an applause," said the manager of Manchester United .

His mandatory audience and Solskjaer smiled as he walked for the burning heat and humidity of the training field at the Yuanshen Sports Center, joking with his former teammate Wes Brown on the way out.

It was a well-known scene on the tour of United by Perth Singapore and Shanghai this summer and one that can no longer differ from the tone of a miserable and moody Jose Mourinho put in the US a year ago. It left Mourinho at odds with his employers and led to a series of events that led to his resignation in December.

Solskjaer, on the other hand, hopes his performances here – they have defeated Perth Glory, Leeds United and Inter Milan without conceding a target for the Spurs competition – they will much better shape for the new season. United prepares to go home, Sportsmail watches two very contrasting tours.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set up a tone of optimism the pre-season tour of Manchester United

MOOD

One senior United civil servant described Mourinho's downfall at United as & # 39; dead by a thousand cuts & # 39 ;. In the end he had done so much to let himself be fired that he just had to go.

There is little doubt that the deepest cut was inflicted on the US tour last summer and an extraordinary day in Michigan after United was beaten by Liverpool in the Big House with 4-1

In a cruel attack after the game, Mourinho claimed that fans could better stay away from such meaningless and friendly, the club criticized a lack of new signing sessions and moaned about the number of players from the first team available to him after the game. Worldcup.

United torrent pre-season was encapsulated last year by their 4-1 drubbing against Liverpool

It was crucial that Mourinho shut off the young players who had played alongside the star turn Alexis Sanchez. & # 39; Do you want him to be happy with the players he has around him? & # 39; At a club like United, so proud of their youthful development, which was seen as unforgivable.

A sour Mourinho had already collided with Paul Pogba in LA after refusing to praise the Frenchman for winning the World Cup, instead choosing to remind him that he now has the same effort and focus to United. It was typical of his negative thinking.

Although United had allowed Mourinho's wish to visit the US for the second time in a row and settle in Beverly Hills, it was not enough. The Portuguese coach cut a miserable figure during a joyless journey that set the tone for the next six months.

After ensuring that everyone would stay in Beverly Wilshire last summer, the Mourinho coaching team and the players booked The Assembly while other staff were staying at the Marriott.

Mourinho made players feel uncomfortable and not would allow them to enjoy their free time

They were concerned about socializing at night in case Mourinho saw them in a bar during one of his nightly walks. When he spoke to them the next morning, they realized that he would be closer than normal to see if he could smell alcohol in their breath.

By the time the tour had blown from Michigan to Miami, the envoy Mourinho had reached the breaking point. & # 39; This is true! & # 39; he could be heard screaming in his cell phone during a conversation in the lobby of the St Regis Bal Harbor hotel.

Fast forward 12 months and it is an infinitely happier United camp. Solskjaer also does not have all the new signing sessions he wants, but the Norwegian has taken it much better in his heart than his predecessor.

& # 39; I have not had any frustrated feeling at all, "he said Wednesday before the spurs game. We need to be patient. I believe in these players and I am sure we can do well. & # 39;

Solskjaer didn't get all the players he wanted this summer, but he believes in their current harvest

For United, Solskjaer is the opposite of Mourinho; a clubman who will never rock on the boat. There is of course no guarantee for success, but the toxic atmosphere that flooded United years ago has long since disappeared.

The new manager lacks discipline but has allowed his players to socialize more on tour. At Nobu in Perth, Aaron saw Wan-Bissaka, Dan James, and Scott McTominay stand on a chair during a team night and sing to their teammates as part of an initiation ceremony. On a day off, some players went shopping while Pogba and Victor Lindel visited the beach at Cottesloe.

Staff could be seen at night while having fun in the early hours at the casino at their luxury Crown hotel. Solskjaer and his coaching staff – Mike Phelan, Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna – have created a sense of unity that contrasts sharply with last summer.

PROBLEMS

This tour is not without its issues. When United flew from Manchester with their luxury 88-seater jet to Manchester earlier this month, there was genuine concern that Pogba would not report for his service after stirring for a move and telling teammates he would stay away.

the Frenchman appeared properly and a situation that caused a great drama has largely disappeared, despite the efforts of his agent Mino Raiola. Pogba seems to have accepted that he stays and played well in each of the first three games.

However, Romelu Lukaku still has to perform due to an ankle injury that coincided with negotiations on the move to Inter Milan. Solskjaer, however, has taken Lukaku's absence into account, although it would be better for both parties to have his future resolved as quickly as possible.

United feared that Paul Pogba would not appear, but midfielder reported properly for season requirement

Pogba seems to have accepted he will stay in United and has played well in his ga mes

The other problem to hit United during this tour was the fear of health that led to spar-st team coach Mark Dempsey being hospitalized in Perth. The issue was dealt with promptly and sensitively by United, who arranged for Dempsey to return home.

Solskja's positive approach could not be much different than Mourinho who seemed to be pampered with a fight on every occasion in the US. None other than Anthony Martial who left the camp to be in Paris at the birth of his second child.

The two men were already at odds after Mourinho had made it clear that he wanted to sell the Frenchman his plate against the wishes. He was furious with Martial & # 39; s flash to France, and a problem that could have been dealt with more privately threatened to get out of hand.

The manager was already dissatisfied with the absence of so many players from the first team, and that only got worse when Sanchez was unable to fly out with the rest of the team at the start of the tour due to a visa problem.

TRAINING

Despite the easy nature training regime of Solskjaer United players are exposed more heavily than anything they have experienced under Mourinho.

There were 14 double sessions during nine days during the main training camp in Perth. High intensity runs increase by 50 percent to try to prepare the team for a very urgent game. The total distance traveled has increased by 10 percent. Solskjaer was surprised by the lack of conditioning of the players when he replaced Mourinho who in turn blamed his fitness coach Stefano Rapetti.

United has since been unable to train with the same intensity in the heat of Singapore and Shanghai. move from Perth, but there have been no complaints. Compare that with Mourinho's mood when the club traveled through China in 2016 during its first preseason.

When his pre-conference in Shanghai had to be moved due to the suffocating heat in the building, the new United boss sulked at the side of the field and had to be persuaded to come by and talk to the waiting media.

It was the form of things that came as Mourinho made in secret of what he thought about the facilities in China – and that was even before the Manchester derby in Beijing was canceled about the state of the field.

RESULTS

Nobody gets too carried away with preseason races. They are rarely a good indication of what will happen once the real business starts. But the ominous signs on tour last summer give an accurate picture of what would follow.

After an underwhelming draw with Club America in Phoenix and San Jose Earthquakes, a powerful United AC defeated Milan 9-8 on penalties in LA and ended with an encouraging 2-1 win over Real Madrid. But that 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in Michigan caused serious damage on and off the field.

So far this summer it has been relatively easy. United has won all three games and defeated Perth Glory 2-0, Leeds 4-0 and Inter Milan 1-0, preparing for Spurs. Solskjaer has the advantage of an almost complete team and two new acquisitions in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Dan James, while the rise of teenage striker Mason Greenwood has been the biggest plus of all.

The collapse of last season after such a promising start under the former Cardiff manager is still fresh in the memory, and it would be reasonable to say that the jury is still at Solskjaer. But at least United head home in a positive state of mind this time.

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#Man Utd News: Solskjaer shows moody Mourinho how it’s done: This tour is so different to last year"

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omcik-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/dealmaker-trump-will-be-busy-in-saudi-arabia/

Dealmaker Trump will be busy in Saudi Arabia

by Zahraa Alkhalisi @CNNMoney May 19, 2017: 7:44 AM ET

The first stop on President Trump’s first overseas trip is Saudi Arabia. It may also be the busiest.

He’s due to attend three summits in two days and witness the signing of several deals worth billions of dollars.

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“There’s an economic depth to his visit,” said Ahmed Alibrahim, an expert in Saudi-U.S. relations based in Riyadh. Trump would be looking to sign “major deals” with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, he added.

The deals will cut both ways, providing business for American firms but also investment Saudi Arabia urgently needs as part of its ambitious plan to break its addiction to oil by 2030.

“There will be significant investment from Saudi [Arabia] in the U.S. but also there will be significant benefits to Saudi Arabia,” the kingdom’s finance minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, said in an interview with CNNMoney.

“There will be employment in both, there will be investments on both sides and you will see it when the deals are announced… that there are significant investments on both sides,” Al-Jadaan said.

Here are some of the big issues that could dominate Trump’s talks.

Defense contracts

Saudi Arabia is the largest trading partner for the U.S. in the Middle East, exchanging goods worth about $35 billion in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Much of that is oil. Saudi Arabia is the second biggest exporter of crude oil to the U.S. after Canada.

Related: Saudi Arabia: We could live with $40 oil in 2020

But military equipment accounts for another big chunk of trade between the two, and that’s likely to grow.

The kingdom is the fifth biggest spender on defense in the world. It has allocated 191 billion riyals ($51 billion), or 21% of its 2017 budget, to military spending.

The U.S. is the world’s biggest arms exporter. Nearly half of those exports go to the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates among the leading buyers.

“The visit to Saudi Arabia will very likely witness the signing of several defense agreements, mostly related to missile defense as well as bolstering air and naval capabilities,” said Riad Kahwaji, CEO of INEGMA, a security consultancy.

Running parallel to Trump’s summit with Saudi King Salman on Saturday is a business forum that will include senior executives from about 45 U.S. companies. Defense contractors Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Raytheon (RTN) are due to attend. Also on the list: Boeing (BA), ExxonMobil (XOM), Dow Chemical (DOW), GE (GEK), Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS), oil services firms and investment groups.

Mutual investment

Attracting more foreign investment is essential if Saudi Arabia is to realize its vision of breaking free of oil. It wants to grow its private sector to 65% of GDP by 2030 from around 40% at present.

“We want to enable it by encouraging investment locally, encouraging foreign direct investment and the visit of the CEOs is obviously one way to showcase the opportunities in Saudi Arabia and we have a lot of opportunities that U.S. companies can tap,” said Al-Jaadan.

The kingdom has just announced the launch of a new military manufacturing company which it says will contribute 14 billion riyals ($3.7 billion) to GDP by 2030. It plans to achieve that by working with local and international partners.

Related: Saudi Arabia is giving women more freedom as it looks beyond oil

Also due to attend the CEO forum are executives from SoftBank. (SFTBF)

The Japanese tech firm has launched a $100 billion investment fund with Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has committed $45 billion.

SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son promised Trump in December that he would invest $50 billion into the U.S., telling the Wall Street Journal later that the money would come from the new SoftBank-Saudi fund.

Mega oil deal

While Trump looks for more detail on that huge cash injection, another mammoth deal may also come up in talks: Saudi Arabia’s plans to list its giant oil company Aramco on the stock market.

Officials are planning to sell about 5% of Aramco next year in what is likely to be the world’s biggest initial public offering ever.

The New York Stock Exchange is reported to be in serious discussions with Saudi Arabia over the deal. But it faces tough competition: the London Stock Exchange is also lobbying hard for a piece of the action.

CNNMoney (Dubai) First published May 19, 2017: 7:44 AM ET

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omcik-blog · 8 years ago

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Obamacare: What's going right with insurers and premiums. What's going wrong.

Insurers are dropping out of Obamacare. Insurers are sticking with Obamacare. Premiums will soar once again. Insurers are seeing costs stabilize.

The headlines about Obamacare’s health these days are very confusing — and we’re not even talking about what’s happening on Capitol Hill. While Republican lawmakers argue over how to repeal and replace the law, insurers are trying to prepare for 2018. Some are doing better than others.

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What’s going right

Many, though not all, insurers have finally figured out how much to charge for coverage on the exchanges, said Paul Lambdin, who leads Deloitte Consulting’s exchange practice for health plans. They are now on firmer footing after instituting big rate hikes for this year.

“We’ve largely stopped the financial hemorrhaging,” he said. Obamacare “is not the type of financial drain it has been.”

Many of the larger Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, which specialize in the individual market, expect to break even this year, Lambdin said. And while premiums will rise for the coming year, as they always do, he expects the increases to be lower than they were for this year on balance.

Related: Anthem says Obamacare business doing ‘significantly better’

Anthem (ANTX), a big publicly-traded Blue Cross plan, said last month that its Obamacare business was doing “significantly better” than last year, though claims still ran slightly higher than expected. The company has projected that its individual market segment will break even or be slightly profitable in 2017, after being in the red last year.

Meanwhile, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has also seen its performance improve this year, after losing more than $400 million since 2014. The company agreed this week to sell Obamacare policies in the Knoxville-area in 2018 so that residents there would have at least one insurer on the exchange. Their only carrier this year, Humana, (HUM)announced in February that it was puling out of the individual market completely.

What’s going wrong

Obamacare remains very troubled for some insurers and in some regions of the country. Several insurers are still being swamped by policyholders who are sicker and costlier than expected.

Also, they are not happy about all the uncertainty in Washington. Trump officials and House Republicans have yet to settle a lawsuit left over from the Obama administration concerning the cost-sharing subsides the government pays insurers to reduce out-of-pocket costs for lower-income enrollees. President Trump has sent conflicting messages over whether he’ll continue to fund the subsidies until the two sides come to an agreement.

Related: Trump’s mixed messages on Obamacare subsidies could prompt insurers to flee

Also, insurers are nervous that the Trump administration and Congress will weaken or eliminate the individual mandate, which requires nearly all Americans to have coverage or pay a penalty. The mandate also lures younger, healthier people to sign up for policies. Insurers depend on these folks to offset the costs of older, sicker customers.

These worries are on top of all the uncertainty over the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare in Congress. The House bill, which senators are now looking to overhaul, would radically change the individual market. Just a few of insurers’ concerns: eliminating the individual mandate and cost-sharing subsidies, as well as replacing Obamacare subsidies with tax credits that are less generous for many Americans.

Two major insurance industry lobbying groups, along with organizations representing doctors, hospitals and patients, have expressed serious concerns about the bill. Among their worries is the legislation will render insurance unaffordable for millions.

Related: Aetna to Obamacare: We’re outta here

Some insurers aren’t waiting around to see what happens. Aetna (AET) announced it is pulling out of the four states it is currently in. The insurer says it expects to lose more than $200 million this year, on top of the nearly $700 million it lost in Obamacare’s first three years.

Wellmark is exiting Iowa, saying political uncertainty is making it hard to do business. Several other carriers have warned that are also reconsidering their involvement.

Some insurers that are sticking around are requesting another round of big rate hikes. They say they have to price in both sicker-than-expected patients and the changes the Trump administration and Congress may make.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, for example, wants to raise premiums by 52% in Maryland, 35% in Virginia, and 29% in Washington, D.C. In Virginia, Cigna (CI) wants to raise rates by an average of 45%, while HealthKeepers, an affiliate of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is looking for an 38% increase.

Related: Trump vows premiums will fall, but these Obamacare insurers want big hikes for 2018

Both the withdrawals and the price hikes show the challenging environment insurers are operating in. They usually plan their strategy several years out, but that’s proving difficult to do right now.

“The rules are changing all the time,” said James Sung, associate director at S&P Global Ratings. “Insurers like certainty. They don’t need to participate in the exchanges.”

CNNMoney (New York) First published May 12, 2017: 10:15 AM ET

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Trump's mixed messages on Obamacare subsidies could prompt insurers to flee

This is exactly what insurers are worried about.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration indicated that it would continue paying insurers the cost-sharing subsidies that reduce deductibles and co-pays for lower-income people.

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“The precedent is that while the lawsuit is being litigated the cost-sharing subsidies will be funded. It would be fair for you to report that there has been no policy change in the current administration,” a Trump official told CNNMoney on April 4.

But on Wednesday, President Trump told the Wall Street Journal he was still considering whether to keep funding the subsidies and threatened to withhold them to force Democrats to negotiate. A day earlier, the administration refuted a New York Times article that said the subsidies would continue to be paid.

“The administration is currently deciding its position on this matter … Democrats need to help solve this failed Obamacare plan,” said Alleigh Marré, national spokesperson for the Department of Health & Human Services, in response to the New York Times article.

These subsidies are crucial to Obamacare’s survival, at least in the near term.

The payments, made directly to insurers, were at the center of a court battle between House Republicans and the Obama administration. A district court judge last year ruled in favor of the House, finding the subsidies were illegal because Congress never appropriated the money. The Obama administration filed an appeal, and the subsidies continue to be paid while GOP lawmakers and Trump officials work out a settlement.

Some 7 million people receive the subsidies, or 58% of those who signed up for Obamacare coverage for 2017. The payments are expected to cost $7 billion this year.

If the subsidies stop, insurers will likely try to pull out of the Obamacare exchanges immediately.

Related: Aetna pulls out of another Obamacare market for 2018

But even if they continue, the uncertainty over their future is a main reason carriers are reconsidering their participation next year. Already three insurers — Humana (HUM), Aetna (AET) and Wellmark, said they are pulling out of some or all Obamacare markets. More carriers are expected to announce their decisions soon.

The Trump administration doesn’t have much more time to waffle. Insurers must file their 2018 policies and premiums with state regulators in coming weeks. Getting a firm commitment on the subsidies is their top priority.

“Plans need more certainty,” said Kristine Grow, spokeswoman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, a top industry lobbying group. “As plans make decisions for 2018, they do so with a view of wanting to serve consumers in the market for the full year. That’s why it’s so important to know what will happen with [the subsidies] long term.”

Related: Trump threatens to stop payments so Democrats negotiate

Insurers are ratcheting up the pressure on both Trump and Congress. On Wednesday, the two leading insurance industry associations joined with the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other medical and corporate interest groups to press Republicans on the issue.

“The most critical action to help stabilize the individual market for 2017 and 2018 is to remove uncertainty about continued funding for cost sharing reductions,” the groups wrote, noting that premiums could rise 15% for those buying coverage both on and off the exchange if the subsidies disappear.

CNNMoney (New York) First published April 13, 2017: 7:13 AM ET

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Trump and the Fed are throwing a party for banks

It’s a good time to be a banker.

President Trump is expected to roll back some of the financial regulations that were put into place during the Obama administration.

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And the Federal Reserve is expected to give banks another gift Wednesday in the form of an interest rate hike. Higher rates tend to make loans to people and businesses more profitable for big banks.

That’s made investors giddy. Bank of America’s (BAC) stock has soared 15% this year. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is up 6% and not far from an all-time high. So is scandal-ridden Wells Fargo (WFC).

And a top bank ETF, the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) fund, is up 7% in 2017.

So how much longer can the bank party last?

Trump expected to be more friend than foe

It’s still not clear how Trump may seek to change the package of regulations known as Dodd-Frank. But he signed two directives last month after meeting with bankers — and that has made investors more confident.

One called for a review of the Wall Street reform law, and the other delayed the implementation of what’s known as the fiduciary rule, a regulation that requires financial advisers to put their clients’ best interests first — not those of their firms.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, arguably the nation’s best-known and most respected banker, has expressed optimism about the changes in Washington, too.

He said in the bank’s earnings release in January that “there is opportunity for good, rational and thoughtful policy decisions to be implemented, which would spur growth, create jobs for Americans across the income spectrum and help communities.”

Related: Lobby launches ‘candidate school’ for bankers to run for office

Dimon is one of 16 CEOs on Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, an advisory group that includes IBM (IBM, Tech30) CEO Ginni Rometty, Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger, GM (GM) CEO Mary Barra and Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon.

And now he’s chairman of the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs that promotes business-friendly policies in Washington.

Dimon, answering a question from CNNMoney during a press call after the earnings report in January, also said he is “comforted” that Trump has put “professionals” in the administration.

Those include ex-Goldman Sachs (GS) banker Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary and former Exxon Mobil (XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.

Mnuchin isn’t the only Goldman alum in the Trump administration. Former chief operating officer Gary Cohn heads Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors.

Related: Trump just named another Goldman banker to his administration

Dina Powell, who was in charge of many of Goldman’s philanthropic efforts, is now a senior adviser to Trump too. He also has nominated Goldman veteran Jim Donovan to be Mnuchin’s deputy in the Treasury department.

And even though Trump’s nominee to lead the SEC, lawyer Jay Clayton, isn’t technically a former Goldman employee, he has represented Goldman and other large banks. Clayton’s wife also works for Goldman.

Don’t fight the Fed

Banks may have another ally in Washington besides Trump and his army of Vampire Squids: Fed chair Janet Yellen.

The Fed already raised rates in December. That followed a hike in December 2015 — its first since 2006.

But Yellen — who may or may not still be Fed chair in 2018 after her term expires next February — has suggested the Fed could boost rates several times this year and next year.

Any increase in the Fed’s benchmark lending rate would allow banks to charge more interest on mortgages, credit cards, auto leases, small business loans and other forms of debt.

Related: American bank profits are higher than ever

What’s more, any signals from Yellen that the Fed will keep gradually raising rates could push more companies to make deals before the cost of borrowing money becomes too high.

More startups may look to go public, as well. The environment for stocks tends to be more favorable when rates are lower.

There are already hopes on Wall Street that Snapchat’s (SNAP) recent IPO could pave the way for other high-profile unicorns like Uber, Airbnb, Pinterest and SpaceX to file for initial public offerings of their own.

And any pickup in merger activity and IPOs would be a boon to big banks like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman, Morgan Stanley (MS), Citigroup (C) and BofA because it would mean more advisory fees.

Finally, higher interest rates could lead more people to put money in savings accounts, which would also help banks.

Many Americans, particularly those nearing retirement or already retired, feel that the Fed has been punishing savers by keeping rates too low. Money put in a good, old-fashioned bank account has earned next to nothing for years.

So it looks like even happier days may lie ahead for banks and their investors — as long as Trump and Yellen live up to their promises.

CNNMoney (New York) First published March 15, 2017: 11:38 AM ET

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Trump set to give Wall Street regulators a dramatic makeover

President Trump is poised to give a dramatic makeover to the watchdogs who oversee Wall Street.

In the months ahead, Trump stands to name a wave of the nation’s topmost banking regulators — including new heads of the Federal Reserve, FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency when the terms of the current leaders expire.

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There’s already a vacancy for a powerful big bank regulator — the Fed’s vice chairman for supervision. That’s in addition to two other vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board that need to be filled.

Moreover, Trump must find someone to fill the big shoes of U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, who leaves a legacy as a tough Wall Street crime-fighter after being fired this past weekend.

Some Republicans also want Trump to fire Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the regulator created by Dodd-Frank. However, removing the head of an independent agency for cause is rare and would be highly controversial.

Investors, Wall Street lobbyists and grassroots organizations are holding their breath because Trump’s selections will set the tone for how tightly the administration will regulate the industry.

These jobs are even more important given that efforts to dial back the post-financial crisis Dodd-Frank law have taken a backseat to the complex tasks of replacing Obamacare and ushering in tax reform.

“Personnel is policy in a Washington where we believe legislation repealing the Dodd-Frank regulatory regime is unlikely,” Jaret Seiberg, a Cowen & Co. analyst, wrote in a recent report to clients.

Related: Wall Street has a powerful seat at Trump’s table

Trump has already argued that Dodd-Frank is holding back the American economy, even though data show that business lending and bank profits have never been higher.

“You can’t get deregulation done unless you’ve got people in place. You can’t just wipe regulations off the books. You need to do that in a formal fashion,” said NYU Stern professor Lawrence White.

The big question is whether Trump’s new batch of regulators will subscribe to his populist positions, or his pro-business ones.

Trump has lately pushed a pro-business agenda of tax cuts and deregulation. But as a sometimes-populist candidate, he also villainized Goldman Sachs and pushed for breaking up the big banks.

“It’s hard to know which Trump is going to be the prevailing Trump in this administration. I would bet it’s the business-oriented, deregulation Trump, but that’s far from a sure thing,” said White.

Related: American banks have never made more money

Trump’s personnel picks have mostly skewed toward that pragmatic point of view.

For instance, he tapped numerous Goldman Sachs veterans for key roles, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, top economic adviser Gary Cohn and SEC nominee Jay Clayton, a lawyer who has represented Goldman and other big banks. Trump also selected billionaire Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary and former ExxonMobil (XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state.

But Trump’s chief strategist is Steve Bannon, a big critic of Wall Street who has talked up the idea of breaking up big banks, even though he himself has worked at Goldman Sachs in the past.

The risk of Trump appointing populist regulators isn’t lost on the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), a lobbying group that represents the nation’s largest banks.

Asked if he’s concerned that Trump could install regulators who are less friendly to big banks, CBA CEO Richard Hunt said, “Of course I am.”

“Dude, I am a banking lobbyist. I am concerned about everything that moves in this city. It’s a brand-new administration with a mentality that most people don’t know about,” Hunt told CNNMoney.

“This is just a different entity we’ve never experienced before,” he said.

Still, Hunt applauded Trump’s regulatory appointments so far and insisted the banking industry is only looking for a “balanced, sensible approach to regulation,” not a full repeal of Dodd-Frank.

Related: Prosecutor fired by Trump leaves legacy as Wall Street crime-fighter

Much of the focus later this year will be on whether Trump replaces Fed chief Janet Yellen with someone like Glenn Hubbard, the former economic adviser to President George W. Bush.

But a key moment will come before that when Trump fills the vacant role of vice chairman for supervision, a position that was ironically created by Dodd-Frank, and is one of the key regulators overseeing the big banks.

Wall Street had been hoping Trump would pick someone like David Nason, a General Electric (GE) exec who served in the Treasury Department during the financial crisis. However, Nason recently told the White House he is no longer interested in the job, according to a GE spokesperson.

That could create an opening for a big bank critic like Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari.

Cowen’s Seiberg called Nason’s withdrawal a “worrisome sign.”

“It suggests the door is open to an ideologue who would want to shrink the mega banks,” he wrote.

CNNMoney (New York) First published March 14, 2017: 9:44 AM ET

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Elizabeth Warren probes Goldman Sachs' ties to Trump White House

The market value of Goldman Sachs soared by $4 billion last Friday as President Trump signed an order to begin the process of dismantling Dodd-Frank, with former Goldman president Gary Cohn standing behind him.

Cohn just walked away from Goldman Sachs with $285 million to become Trump’s top economic adviser. Lately he has also become the face of the White House’s financial deregulation push, giving interviews on television and in newspapers.

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Goldman’s (GS) stock price has skyrocketed 33% since the election as Wall Street cheers the regulation-busting and promises of tax cuts. It also can’t hurt that Trump has appointed a handful of Goldman alumni to powerful positions in his administration.

Now, Senator Elizabeth Warren wants Goldman Sachs to explain just how much “influence” the bank has over Trump’s economic policies.

“Dismantling Dodd-Frank would be a financial boon for large banks, including Goldman Sachs,” Warren and fellow Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin wrote in a letter sent on Thursday to Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

The senators called on Blankfein to reveal whether Goldman Sachs was involved in drafting the two executive orders that Trump signed on Friday.

One order kicked off the process of rolling back the 2010 post-crisis financial reform law and the other set the stage for eliminating the Fiduciary Rule, a law that required investment advisers to act in the best interests of their clients.

Noting that Cohn was at Trump’s side, Warren and Baldwin said the orders “raise our concerns about the degree to which Mr. Cohn’s advice to President Trump is good for Wall Street, but bad for Americans.”

In a statement, Goldman Sachs told CNNMoney, “We’ve had no involvement in the drafting of any executive orders.”

Gary Cohn looks on as President Trump signs an executive order starting the process of rolling back Wall Street regulation.

Related: Wall Street has a powerful seat at Trump’s table

The letter comes just days after activists converged in front of the Goldman Sachs headquarters in Lower Manhattan to protest the bank’s role in dialing back Dodd-Frank. The protestors are calling their action “Government Sachs.”

Trump “said he was going to drain the swamp and all we see is that he’s filling it more and more every week,” Nelini Stamp, a 29-year-old protester, told CNBC.

Trump has accelerated a bipartisan tradition in Washington of hiring former Goldman veterans to help run the government.

The president’s treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin is a former Goldman partner, while his top economic adviser Cohn had been Goldman’s chief operating officer, or its Number 2 executive. Trump also tapped Jay Clayton, a lawyer who represented Goldman Sachs, to lead the SEC, and former Goldman partner Dina Powell as an economic adviser.

Trump’s chief strategist is a former Goldman banker Steve Bannon, though he has since become a Wall Street critic who has blamed big banks for the 2008 financial meltdown.

Related: GOP declares war on CFPB

Warren and Baldwin asked Blankfein to answer a series of questions by February 22. One question: Did any individuals employed by Goldman Sachs have “any communication” with Cohn, Mnuchin, Powell, Clayton or Bannon about the deregulation executive orders?

The letter requests the dates, times and nature of these communications as well as “any documents” related to the communications.

The senators also want Blankfein to explain whether Goldman Sachs supports Trump’s recent executive orders on Dodd-Frank and the Fiduciary Rule, what “financial benefits” the firm expects to gain as a result and whether the it has lobbied or plans to lobby the White House on these issues.

Trump’s ties to Goldman Sachs are surprising because during the campaign he repeatedly knocked Hillary Clinton’s paid speeches to the firm. Trump’s closing campaign ad even flashed an ominous image of Blankfein while condemning the “global power structure.”

Trump has defended his ties to Wall Street executives.

“When I campaigned for office, I promised the American people that I’d ask for our country’s best and brightest,” Trump said last Friday.

Of course, Trump is hardly the first president to lean on Goldman veterans.

President Clinton tapped former Goldman co-chairman Robert Rubin as treasury secretary. Rubin presided over the repeal of Glass-Stegall that had prohibited banks from operating investment banks and Main Street-facing retail banks.

Likewise, former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson served as President George W. Bush’s treasury secretary and oversaw the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 10, 2017: 11:57 AM ET

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