Anna's Daybreak News

_{Just facts, you think for yourself}

Tuesday, 5:12 AM

December 31, 2024

Good morning news friend! Stay connected to the stories that matter, shaping the world as it evolves. 📰🌟

Credit Card Defaults Soar

Credit card defaults in the US have reached their highest level since 2009. Lenders wrote off $46 billion in seriously delinquent loans in the first nine months of 2024. This is a 50% increase from last year.

Capital One, the third-largest credit card lender, reported a 6.1% annualized write-off rate as of November, up from 5.2% last year. Total US credit card debt exceeded $1 trillion in 2023 for the first time.

Higher balances and rising interest rates have forced Americans to pay $170 billion in credit card interest over the past year. Meanwhile, $37 billion in credit card debt is over a month overdue.

WalletHub’s Odysseas Papadimitriou cautioned, “Delinquencies are pointing to more pain ahead,” especially with the Fed’s modest rate cut plans for 2025.

Source: Read More

UnitedHealth's Controversial Diagnosis Tactics

UnitedHealth uses a unique approach with Medicare Advantage patients. Doctors receive a checklist of potential diagnoses before they examine patients. This practice influences how doctors assess patients and leads to inflated sickness scores.

UnitedHealth’s software forces doctors to evaluate all suggested diagnoses. Many suggestions are irrelevant or uncommon, with one doctor resorting to Google for clarity on secondary hyperaldosteronism.

UnitedHealth patients experienced a 55% increase in sickness scores when they switched to Medicare Advantage. In contrast, traditional Medicare patients saw only a 7% rise in scores year-over-year.

UnitedHealth claims this leads to more accurate diagnoses. However, critics argue that the methods contribute to greater profits by maximizing government payments under Medicare Advantage.

Source: Read More

China Hacks US Treasury

Chinese hackers accessed US Treasury Department workstations and unclassified documents. The breach occurred through a third-party software provider, BeyondTrust. The attack was reported on December 8.

The Treasury did not disclose how many workstations were compromised or the specific documents accessed. However, they confirmed no ongoing access to sensitive data exists at this time.

In response, the Treasury is collaborating with the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

This attack follows revelations of further spying by China on US telecommunications, where hackers accessed phone conversations and messages from US officials.

Source: Read More

US Home Sales Surge to 21-Month High

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a 2.2% increase in its Pending Home Sales Index, climbing to 79.0 from 77.3 in October. This is a 21-month high. Economists predicted a lower gain of 0.9%.

Year-over-year, pending sales jumped by 6.9%. Regional trends showed growth in the Midwest, South, and West, while the Northeast experienced a drop.

All four regions, however, recorded annual increases. Inventory improvements contributed to this trend, with home listings up 18% from the previous year.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.85%, the highest since July.

Source: Read More

The Billionaires Fuelling Russia’s War

Five chemical companies, linked to Western-sanctioned Russian billionaires, are supplying essential materials for explosives used by Moscow in the Ukraine war. These firms provided 75% of the key chemicals shipped by rail to major explosives factories.

Key players include Roman Abramovich and Vagit Alekperov, with Alekperov's fortune estimated at $28.6 billion. The data analysis of 600,000 rail shipments shows that these companies supply acetic acid and ammonium nitrate to multiple munitions plants.

In 2024, Russia produced 2.4 million artillery rounds and imported 3 million from North Korea. Eurochem delivered 38,000 metric tons of acetic acid and 5,000 metric tons of nitric acid.

Another supplier, Uralchem, shipped over 27,000 metric tons of ammonium nitrate. Despite sanctions on the billionaires, their companies continue operations.

Source: Read More

Vulnerability of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Researchers identified a key weakness in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. By 2050, drug-resistant bacteria may cause 2 million deaths annually.

A study found that some resistant bacteria incur survival costs when magnesium levels are low. The researchers discovered that antibiotic-resistant strains compete poorly against non-resistant ones in magnesium-deficient environments.

The mutant Bacillus subtilis strains possess ribosomes that tightly bind magnesium. This binding limits magnesium availability for vital cellular energy production. These mutants struggle to grow and spread compared to their unmutated counterparts.

The team concluded that reducing magnesium in environments could hinder resistant bacteria without harming beneficial strains.

Source: Read More

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Baked with love,

Anna Eisenberg ❤️