A mortgage-recording service and financial institutions have schemed to avoid paying Kentucky counties millions of dollars in fees, 14 counties contend in a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the conspiracy has shortchanged a fund used to make grants and loans for low-income housing, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.
The counties involved in the lawsuit are Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Christian, Clark, Floyd, Franklin, Greenup, Johnson, Letcher, Magoffin, Mason, Pike and Warren.
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Humana Inc. said Monday that its first-quarter profit fell 21 percent as the health insurer paid out more in claims and bolstered spending in anticipation of growth in its lucrative Medicare Advantage membership, the Courier-Journal reports.
The Louisville-based company nudged up its earnings expectations for the full year to a range of $7.55 to $7.75 per share, up from its prior forecast of $7.50 to $7.70 per share.
But the first-quarter results and the increased forecast were short of Wall Street expectations, the paper reports.
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During this recession and recovery, many have opted for bankruptcy to help them start anew. But, it turns out, if most of your debt comes from private students loans, a clean slate is not in your future, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Virtually any other kind of debt — including medical bills, mortgage, credit cards and car loans, even gambling losses — can be discharged in bankruptcy, allowing the “honest but unlucky” a chance to restore their footing through an arduous restructuring overseen by a court, the AP says.
But under a 2005 law passed by Congress to protect lenders, private student loans fall under the same nearly-impossible-to-clear category as child-support payments and criminal fines.
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Mixed earnings results in the latest quarter and a “disappointing” outlook for the near future led one analyst to downgrade the stock of consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Co. on Monday, reports the Associated Press.
On Friday, the maker of products ranging from Bounty paper towels to Luvs diapers said it’s rolling back some price increases and focusing on introducing new products in developed markets as it tries to reignite market share growth.
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Apple has avoided millions of dollars in taxes in California and 20 other states by putting an office in Reno with a handful of employees, reports the New York Times.
Apple’s headquarters are in Cupertino, Calif. By putting an office in Reno, just 200 miles away, to collect and invest the company’s profits, Apple sidesteps state income taxes on some of those gains.
California’s corporate tax rate is 8.84 percent. Nevada’s? Zero.
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