Barack Obama Offers Health Plan Before Summit And Policies to Contain Cost and Ensure Fiscal Sustainability ?

American families would get increased tax credits to make their health care more affordable under a health-care plan released Monday by President Barack Obama. Obama's plan, released ahead of Thursday's bipartisan meeting at the White House, would also create a new agency to oversee insurance premiums; assess new taxes on unearned income; boost subsidies for working-class families; and reduce the deficit by $100 billion over 10 years.he President’s Proposal puts American families and small business owners in control of their own health care.

Over the past year the House and the Senate have been working on an effort to provide health insurance reform that lowers costs, guarantees choices, and enhances quality health care for all Americans. Building on that year-long effort, the President has now put forth a proposal that incorporates the work the House and the Senate have done and adds additional ideas from Republican members of Congress. The President has long said he is open to any good ideas for reforming our health care system, and he looks forward to discussing ideas for further improvements from Republicans and Democrats at an open, bipartisan meeting on Thursday.

The proposal will make health care more affordable, make health insurers more accountable, expand health coverage to all Americans, and make the health system sustainable, stabilizing family budgets, the Federal budget, and the economy:

* It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today. This helps over 31 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today – and makes coverage more affordable for many more.
* It sets up a new competitive health insurance market giving tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress will have.
* It brings greater accountability to health care by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
* It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
* It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years – and about $1 trillion over the second decade – by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years -- and more than $1 trillion over the second decade -- by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.
Key Provisions in the President’s Proposal:

The President’s Proposal builds off of the legislation that passed the Senate and improves on it by bridging key differences between the House and the Senate as well as by incorporating Republican provisions that strengthen the proposal.

One key improvement, for example, is eliminating the Nebraska FMAP provision and providing significant additional Federal financing to all States for the expansion of Medicaid. For America’s seniors, the proposal completely closes the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” coverage gap. It strengthens the Senate bill’s provisions that make insurance affordable for individuals and families, while also strengthening the provisions to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid to save taxpayer dollars. The threshold for the excise tax on the most expensive health plans will be raised from $23,000 for a family plan to $27,500 and will start in 2018 for all such plans. And another important idea included is improving insurance protections for consumers and creating a new Health Insurance Rate Authority to review and rein in unreasonable rate increases and other unfair practices of insurance plans. Improve Medicare Advantage Payments.

Medicare currently overpays private plans by 14 percent on average to provide the same benefits as the traditional program – and much more in some areas of the country. The Medicare Advantage program has also done little to reward quality. Moreover, plans have gamed the payment system in ways drive up the public cost of the program. All of this is why Medicare Advantage has become a very profitable line of business for some of the nation’s largest health insurers. The Senate bill creates a bidding model for payment rates and phases in changes to limit potential disruptions for beneficiaries. The House proposal phases payments down based on local fee-for-service costs.

The President’s Proposal represents a compromise between the House and Senate bills, blending elements of both bills, while providing greater certainty of cost savings by linking to current fee-for-service costs. Specifically, the President’s Proposal creates a set of benchmark payments at different percentages of the current average fee-for-service costs in an area. It phases these benchmarks in gradually in order to avoid disruption to beneficiaries, taking into account the relative payments to fee-for-service costs in an area. It provides bonuses for quality and enrollee satisfaction. It adjusts rebates of savings between the benchmark payment and actual plan bid to take into account the transition as well as a plan’s quality rating: plans with low quality scores receive lower rebates (i.e., can keep less of any savings they generate). Finally, the President’s Proposal requires a payment adjustment for unjustified coding patterns in Medicare Advantage plans that have raised payments more rapidly than the evidence of their enrollees’ health status and costs suggests is warranted, based on actuarial analysis. This is the primary source of additional savings compared to the Senate proposal.
Delay and Reform the High-Cost Plan Excise Tax.

Part of the reason for high and rising insurance costs is that insurers have little incentive to lower their premiums. The Senate bill includes a tax on high-cost health insurance plans. CBO has estimated that this policy will reduce premiums as well as contribute to long-run deficit reduction. The President’s Proposal changes the effective date of the Senate policy from 2013 to 2018 to provide additional transition time for high-cost plans to become more efficient. It also raises the amount of premiums that are exempt from the assessment from $8,500 for singles to $10,200 and from $23,000 for families to $27,500 and indexes these amounts for subsequent years at general inflation plus 1 percent. To the degree that health costs rise unexpectedly quickly between now and 2018, the initial threshold would be adjusted upwards automatically. To ensure that the tax affects firms equitably, the President’s Proposal reforms it by including an adjustment for firms whose health costs are higher due to the age or gender of their workers, and by no longer counting dental and vision benefits as potentially taxable benefits. The President’s Proposal maintains the Senate bill’s permanent adjustment in favor of high-risk occupations such as “first responders.”
Broaden the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Tax Base for High-Income Taxpayers.

Under current law, people who earn a salary pay the Medicare HI tax on their earned income, but those who have substantial unearned income do not, raising issues of fairness. The House bill includes a 5.4% surcharge on high-income households to improve the fairness of the tax system and to support health reform. The Senate bill includes an increase in the HI tax for high-income households for similar reasons, an increase of 0.9% on earnings above a specific threshold for a total employee assessment of 2.35% on these amounts. The President’s Proposal adopts the Senate bill approach and adds a 2.9 percent assessment (equal to the combined employer and employee share of the existing HI tax) on income from interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents, other than such income which is derived in the ordinary course of a trade or business which is not a passive activity (e.g., income from active participation in S corporations) on taxpayers with respect to income above $200,000 for singles and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. The additional revenues from the tax on earned income would be credited to the HI trust fund and the revenues from the tax on unearned income would be credited to the Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) trust fund.
Increase in Fees on Brand Name Pharmaceuticals.

As more Americans gain health insurance, more will be able to pay for prescription drugs. Moreover, the President’s plan closes the Medicare “donut hole,” ensuring that seniors do not skip or cut back on needed prescriptions. Both policies will result in new revenue for the pharmaceutical industry. The President’s Proposal increases the revenue from the assessment on this industry which is $23 billion in the Senate bill by $10 billion over 10 years. It also delays the implementation of these fees by one year, until 2011, and makes changes to facilitate administration by the IRS.
Close Tax Loopholes.

Adopts two House proposals to close tax loopholes: (1) Current law provides a tax credit for the production of cellulosic biofuels. The credit was designed to promote the production and use of renewable fuels. Certain liquid byproducts derived from processing paper or pulp (known as “black liquor” when derived from the kraft process) were not intended to be covered by this credit. The President’s Proposal adopts the House bill’s policy to clarify that they are not eligible for the tax credit. (2) The President’s Proposal helps prevent unjustified tax shelters by clarifying the circumstances under which transactions have “economic substance” (as opposed to being undertaken solely to obtain tax benefits) and raises the penalties for transactions that lack economic substance. In so doing, it adopts the House’s policy, with minor technical changes.Increase Tax Credits for Health Insurance Premiums

Health insurance today often costs too much and covers too little. Lack of affordability leads people to delay care, skip care, rack up large medical bills, or become uninsured. The House and Senate health insurance bills lower premiums through increased competition, oversight, and new accountability standards set by insurance exchanges. The bills also provide tax credits and reduced cost sharing for families with modest income. The President’s Proposal improves the affordability of health care by increasing the tax credits for families. Relative to the Senate bill, the President’s Proposal lowers premiums for families with income below $44,000 and above $66,000. Relative to the House bill, the proposal makes premiums less expensive for families with income between roughly $55,000 and $88,000.
Proposal Tax Credits

The President’s Proposal also improves the cost sharing assistance for individuals and families relative to the Senate bill. Families with income below $55,000 will get extra assistance; the additional funding to insurers will cover between 73 and 94% of their health care costs. It provides the same cost-sharing assistance as the Senate bill for higher-income families and the same assistance as the House bill for families with income from $77,000 to $88,000.
Reduced Cost Sharing
Close the Medicare Prescription Drug “Donut Hole”.

The Medicare drug benefit provides vital help to seniors who take prescription drugs, but under current law, it leaves many beneficiaries without assistance when they need it most. Medicare stops paying for prescriptions after the plan and beneficiary have spent $2,830 on prescription drugs, and only starts paying again after out-of-pocket spending hits $4,550. This “donut hole” leaves seniors paying the full cost of expensive medicines, causing many to skip doses or not fill prescriptions at all – harming their health and raising other types of health costs. The Senate bill provides a 50% discount for certain drugs in the donut hole. The House bill fully phases out the donut hole over 10 years. Both bills raise the dollar amount before the donut hole begins by $500 in 2010.

Relative to the Senate bill, the President’s Proposal fills the “donut hole” entirely. It begins by replacing the $500 increase in the initial coverage limit with a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the donut hole in 2010. It also closes the donut hole completely by phasing down the coinsurance so it is the standard 25% by 2020 throughout the coverage gap.
Invest in Community Health Centers.

Community health centers play a critical role in providing quality care in underserved areas. About 1,250 centers provide care to 20 million people, with an emphasis on preventive and primary care. The Senate bill increases funding to these centers for services by $7 billion and for construction by $1.5 billion over 5 years. The House bill provides $12 billion over the same 5 years. Bridging the difference, the President’s Proposal invests $11 billion in these centers.
Strengthen Oversight of Insurance Premium Increases.

Both the House and Senate bills include significant reforms to make insurance fair, accessible, and affordable to all people, regardless of pre-existing conditions. One essential policy is “rate review” meaning that health insurers must submit their proposed premium increases to the State authority or Secretary for review. The President’s Proposal strengthens this policy by ensuring that, if a rate increase is unreasonable and unjustified, health insurers must lower premiums, provide rebates, or take other actions to make premiums affordable. A new Health Insurance Rate Authority will be created to provide needed oversight at the Federal level and help States determine how rate review will be enforced and monitor insurance market behavior.
Extend Consumer Protections against Health Insurer Practices.

The Senate bill includes a “grandfather” policy that allows people who like their current coverage, to keep it. The President’s Proposal adds certain important consumer protections to these “grandfathered” plans. Within months of legislation being enacted, it requires plans to cover adult dependents up to age 26, prohibits rescissions, mandates that plans have a stronger appeals process, and requires State insurance authorities to conduct annual rate review, backed up by the oversight of the HHS Secretary. When the exchanges begin in 2014, the President’s Proposal adds new protections that prohibit all annual and lifetime limits, ban pre-existing condition exclusions, and prohibit discrimination in favor of highly compensated individuals. Beginning in 2018, the President’s Proposal requires “grandfathered” plans to cover proven preventive services with no cost sharing.
Improve Individual Responsibility.

All Americans should have affordable health insurance coverage. This helps everyone, both insured and uninsured, by reducing cost shifting, where people with insurance end up covering the inevitable health care costs of the uninsured, and making possible robust health insurance reforms that will curb insurance company abuses and increase the security and stability of health insurance for all Americans. The House and Senate bills require individuals who have affordable options but who choose to remain uninsured to make a payment to offset the cost of care they will inevitably need. The House bill’s payment is a percentage of income. The Senate sets the payment as a flat dollar amount or percentage of income, whichever is higher (although not higher than the lowest premium in the area). Both the House and Senate bill provide a low-income exemption, for those individuals with incomes below the tax filing threshold (House) or below the poverty threshold (Senate).The Senate also includes a “hardship” exemption for people who cannot afford insurance, included in the President’s Proposal. It protects those who would face premiums of more than 8 percent of their income from having to pay any assessment and they can purchase a low-cost catastrophic plan in the exchange if they choose.

The President’s Proposal adopts the Senate approach but lowers the flat dollar assessments, and raises the percent of income assessment that individuals pay if they choose not to become insured. Specifically, it lowers the flat dollar amounts from $495 to $325 in 2015 and $750 to $695 in 2016. Subsequent years are indexed to $695 rather than $750, so the flat dollar amounts in later years are lower than the Senate bill as well. The President’s Proposal raises the percent of income that is an alternative payment amount from 0.5 to 1.0% in 2014, 1.0 to 2.0% in 2015, and 2.0 to 2.5% for 2016 and subsequent years – the same percent of income as in the House bill, which makes the assessment more progressive. For ease of administration, the President’s Proposal changes the payment exemption from the Senate policy (individuals with income below the poverty threshold) to individuals with income below the tax filing threshold (the House policy). In other words, a married couple with income below $18,700 will not have to pay the assessment. The President’s Proposal also adopts the Senate’s “hardship” exemption.
Strengthen Employer Responsibility.

Businesses are strained by the current health insurance system. Health costs eat into their ability to hire workers, invest in and expand their businesses, and compete locally and globally. Like individuals, larger employers should share in the responsibility for finding the solution. Under the Senate bill, there is no mandate for employers to provide health insurance. But as a matter of fairness, the Senate bill requires large employers (i.e., those with more than 50 workers) to make payments only if taxpayers are supporting the health insurance for their workers. The assessment on the employer is $3,000 per full-time worker obtaining tax credits in the exchange if that employer’s coverage is unaffordable, or $750 per full-time worker if the employer has a worker obtaining tax credits in the exchange but doesn’t offer coverage in the first place. The House bill requires a payroll tax for insurers that do not offer health insurance that meets minimum standards. The tax is 8% generally and phases in for employers with annual payrolls from $500,000 to $750,000; according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the assessment for a firm with average wages of $40,000 would be $3,200 per worker.

Under the President’s Proposal, small businesses will receive $40 billion in tax credits to support coverage for their workers beginning this year. Consistent with the Senate bill, small businesses with fewer than 50 workers would be exempt from any employer responsibility policies.

The President’s Proposal is consistent with the Senate bill in that it does not impose a mandate on employers to offer or provide health insurance, but does require them to help defray the cost if taxpayers are footing the bill for their workers. The President’s Proposal improves the transition to the employer responsibility policy for employers with 50 or more workers by subtracting out the first 30 workers from the payment calculation (e.g., a firm with 51 workers that does not offer coverage will pay an amount equal to 51 minus 30, or 21 times the applicable per employee payment amount). It changes the applicable payment amount for firms with more than 50 employees that do not offer coverage to $2,000 – an amount that is one-third less than the average House assessment for a typical firm and less than half of the average employer contribution to health insurance in 2009. It applies the same firm-size threshold across the board to all industries. It fully eliminates the assessment for workers in a waiting period, while maintaining the 90-day limit on the length of any waiting period beginning in 2014.

You can"t be sirius ? Sirius is up 75% in 2010 ! ( SIRI ) $$

This was a top penny stock to buy ..@ http://madmoneyfund.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-penny-stocks-for-2010.html
is the 4th best-performing stock year-to-date in this segment of the market. It has risen 75.00% since the beginning of this year. Its price percentage change is 556.25% for the last 52 weeks. After languishing in near-penny-stock territory for the last year, Sirius XM Radio stock hit the dollar menu on Wednesday, topping out at $1.05 a share. Investors who bought their stock a year ago when it sold for less than 20 cents are probably cheering. Sirius hasn’t seen the plus size of one buck since September of 2008.
The prevailing opinion on Wall Street seems to be that investors think Sirius XM has finally gotten its financial affairs in order, along with adding a net of 257,000 listeners–more than expected–in the fourth quarter of 2009.
There also seems to be a growing confidence that, despite all the recent hoopla, Howard Stern will sign a new contract with Sirius. I don’t really understand how that’s a strong sign of strength for Sirius, although I guess it can be seen as a indicator of stability. If Sirius has to cough up another $300 million to keep Stern I really wonder if it will really be worth it. Even given Stern’s recent headlines over his claimed invitation to join American Idol, I doubt he has the magnetism to draw a significant number of new listeners. At best, Sirius can hope to hold onto the current crop of die-hard Stern fans.
But, then again, getting the stock price over $1 is only a relative achievement. Although the increase will likely help the company avoid a reverse stock split. Sirius’ viability will depend on how costly it is to retain Stern and how well it can continue to add listeners, despite very few new receivers being announced at last month’s CES.

Marriott International Reports Fourth Quarter Results !

Marriott International Reports Fourth Quarter Results



February 11, 2010



The following information was released to the media today







Marriott International today reported fourth quarter and full year 2009 results.



FOURTH QUARTER 2009 RESULTS



Fourth quarter 2009 adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Marriott totaled $118 million, a 2 percent decline over the year-ago quarter, and adjusted diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders totaled $0.32, down 3 percent. On October 8, 2009, the company forecasted fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $0.20 to $0.23.



Reported income from continuing operations attributable to Marriott was $106 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to a reported loss from continuing operations attributable to Marriott of $10 million in the year-ago quarter. Reported diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders was $0.28 in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to reported diluted losses per share from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders of $0.03 in the fourth quarter of 2008.



Adjusted results for the 2009 fourth quarter exclude $19 million pretax ($12 million after-tax and $0.03 per diluted share) of restructuring costs and other charges. Restructuring charges totaled $7 million pretax and included severance and facilities exit costs. Other charges totaled $12 million pretax and primarily included $11 million of charges against lodging assets and $3 million of reserves for Timeshare contract cancellations, offset by the $2 million favorable impact of the revaluation of Timeshare note residuals. Of the total restructuring costs and other charges in the fourth quarter, cash payments are expected to be $6 million. See the table on page A-15 of the accompanying schedules for the detail of these charges and their placement on the Consolidated Statements of Income.



Adjusted results for the 2008 fourth quarter exclude $192 million pretax ($124 million after-tax and $0.35 per diluted share) of restructuring costs and other charges, $152 million of which were non-cash, as well as $7 million of charges ($0.02 per diluted share) in the provision for income taxes.



J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, said, “While the global business climate remained difficult, fourth quarter results exceeded our expectations. We grew our system, reduced total debt, and continued to improve efficiencies worldwide.



“In the fourth quarter, leisure travelers responded to aggressive marketing campaigns and special offers and, even adjusting for easier year-over-year comparisons, business travel showed signs of improvement, particularly in international markets. With solid cost controls, we translated the stronger-than-expected occupancy to better-than-expected incentive fee revenue. Demand for timeshare intervals improved modestly from third quarter levels which, combined with a successful note sale and reductions in investment spending, allowed the timeshare business to generate over $150 million of cash flow after investing activities for full year 2009.



“We are pleased that we remain an investment grade company. For the full year, we reduced investment spending by two-thirds and we were able to lower total debt by nearly $800 million.



“We opened over 38,000 rooms during 2009 and we’re thrilled to have two new exciting brands, EDITION and the Autograph Collection, opening their first hotels in 2010 with more expected to come. Our global development pipeline totals nearly 100,000 rooms. Our efforts have positioned us quite well for future earnings growth.”



Revenue per available room (REVPAR) for the company’s worldwide comparable company-operated properties declined 12.2 percent (12.4 percent using constant dollars) in the 2009 fourth quarter and REVPAR for the company’s worldwide comparable systemwide properties declined 12.3 percent (12.5 percent using constant dollars).



Outside North America, the fourth quarter included the months from September to December in both years. International comparable company-operated REVPAR declined 11.1 percent (11.7 percent using constant dollars), including an 11.6 percent decline in average daily rate (12.2 percent using constant dollars) in the fourth quarter of 2009.



In North America, comparable company-operated REVPAR declined 13.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. REVPAR at the company’s comparable company-operated North American full-service and luxury hotels (including Marriott Hotels & Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts) was down 11.8 percent with an 11.0 percent decline in average daily rate.



Marriott’s 2009 fiscal year ended on January 1, 2010 and included 52 weeks compared to 53 weeks in fiscal 2008. Similarly, the fourth quarter ended on January 1, 2010 and included 16 weeks compared to 17 weeks in the 2008 fiscal quarter. Key lodging statistics are included in the schedules accompanying the press release beginning on page A-7. While fiscal fourth quarter REVPAR statistics for North America are included, they are not comparable due to differences in the length and seasonality of the reporting periods. As a result, the company has also provided North American and worldwide REVPAR statistics adjusted for the shift in the fiscal calendar.



On a calendar quarter basis, which includes the months of October, November and December, North American comparable company-operated REVPAR declined 10.7 percent while worldwide comparable company-operated REVPAR declined 10.1 percent (10.8 percent using constant dollars).



Marriott added 65 new properties (10,626 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio in the 2009 fourth quarter, including 45 limited-service hotels in North America. Seven properties (1,635 rooms) exited the system during the quarter. Rooms converted from competitor hotels accounted for nearly 18 percent of gross room additions during the quarter. At year-end, the company’s lodging group encompassed 3,420 properties and timeshare resorts for a total of over 595,000 rooms.



The company’s worldwide pipeline of hotels under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development totaled nearly 100,000 rooms at year-end. Nearly 35 percent of these development pipeline rooms are Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, EDITION or Autograph rooms, of which nearly 75 percent are located outside North America.



Reported results for the 2009 fourth quarter, the adjusted results and the associated reconciliations are shown on pages A-1, A-13, A-15, and A-19 of the accompanying schedules. The following paragraphs reflect adjusted results where indicated.



MARRIOTT REVENUES totaled approximately $3.4 billion in the 2009 fourth quarter compared to $3.8 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008. Base management and franchise fees declined 12 percent to $282 million reflecting lower REVPAR, offset in part by fees from new hotels. Fourth quarter incentive management fees declined 28 percent to $59 million. The percentage of company-managed hotels earning incentive management fees decreased to 22 percent in the 2009 fourth quarter compared to 39 percent in the year-ago quarter. Approximately 70 percent of incentive management fees came from hotels outside North America in the 2009 quarter compared to 55 percent in the 2008 quarter.



Worldwide comparable company-operated house profit margins declined 260 basis points in the fourth quarter reflecting the weak REVPAR environment, offset in part by significant cost reductions from productivity improvements, lower management wages and procurement savings through volume discounts and compliance. House profit margins for comparable company-operated properties outside North America declined 100 basis points and North American comparable company-operated house profit margins declined 360 basis points from the year-ago quarter.



Owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expenses, declined $23 million in the 2009 fourth quarter, to $22 million, primarily reflecting the impact of lower operating results in owned and leased hotels and lower termination fees and other income, partially offset by an increase in branding fee revenue.



Fourth quarter adjusted Timeshare segment contract sales declined 7 percent to $203 million excluding a $28 million allowance for fractional and residential contract cancellations recorded in the quarter. In the prior year’s quarter, adjusted Timeshare segment contract sales totaled $218 million excluding a $115 million allowance for contract cancellations.



In the fourth quarter, adjusted timeshare sales and services revenue declined 3 percent to $375 million and, net of expenses, totaled $72 million for the quarter, a $62 million increase from the 2008 adjusted fourth quarter. Development revenue, net of expense, benefited from higher closing efficiency and cost savings. Financing revenue, net of expense, increased largely as a result of a $38 million note sale gain recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to the absence of a note sale in the fourth quarter of 2008, and cost savings, partially offset by lower interest income.



Adjusted Timeshare segment results, which includes Timeshare sales and services revenue, net of direct expenses, as well as base management fees, equity earnings, gains and other income, noncontrolling interest and general, administrative and other expenses associated with the timeshare business, totaled $62 million in the 2009 fourth quarter compared to a loss of $2 million in the prior year quarter.



ADJUSTED GENERAL, ADMINISTRATIVE and OTHER expenses for the 2009 fourth quarter declined 13 percent to $207 million, compared to $238 million in the year-ago quarter. The 2009 fourth quarter benefited from cost savings throughout the organization, as well as $3 million in foreign exchange gains and the $3 million reversal of a loan loss reserve partially offset by $12 million of accruals and reserves related to the performance of 12 hotels and $8 million of lower capitalized development costs. The 2009 quarter also included a $21 million unfavorable impact associated with deferred compensation compared to the 2008 quarter (offset by a similar decrease in the provision for taxes). Excluding the impact of deferred compensation, adjusted general administrative and other expenses declined 20 percent in the fourth quarter, as shown on page A-19 of the accompanying schedules.



GAINS AND OTHER INCOME totaled $4 million and included a $3 million gain on the sale of investments and $1 million of net gains on the sale of real estate. The prior year’s fourth quarter adjusted gains and other income totaled $28 million and included a $28 million gain on the extinguishment of debt and $7 million of gains on the sale of real estate offset by a $4 million loss on the sale of an investment and $3 million unfavorable impact of preferred returns from joint venture investments and other income.



INTEREST EXPENSE decreased $16 million in the fourth quarter primarily due to lower interest rates and lower debt balances.



ADJUSTED EQUITY IN (LOSSES) EARNINGS totaled a $10 million loss in the quarter compared to $5 million in earnings in the year-ago quarter. The $15 million decline reflected lower operating results in two joint ventures.



ADJUSTED INCOME TAXES

The adjusted provision for taxes in the fourth quarter of 2009 reflected a $21 million favorable impact associated with deferred compensation (offset by a similar unfavorable impact in general, administrative and other expenses) compared with the 2008 fourth quarter.



FULL YEAR 2009 RESULTS



For the full year 2009, adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Marriott totaled $342 million, a decline of 38 percent, and adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders was $0.93, a decline of 38 percent.



The reported loss from continuing operations attributable to Marriott was $346 million for full year 2009 compared to reported income from continuing operations attributable to Marriott of $359 million a year ago. Reported diluted losses per share from continuing operations attributable to Marriott was $0.97 for 2009 compared to reported diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Marriott of $0.97 for 2008.



Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Marriott and adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders for 2009 exclude the $213 million pretax ($130 million after-tax and $0.37 per diluted share) restructuring costs and other charges, $182 million of which were non-cash, as well as $752 million pretax ($502 million after-tax and $1.41 per diluted share) of primarily non-cash Timeshare impairment charges. See the table on pages A-15 and A-16 of the accompanying schedules for the detail of these charges and their placement on the Consolidated Statements of Income. Adjusted results for full year 2009 also exclude the $56 million ($0.16 per diluted share) impact of non-cash charges in the provision for income taxes.



Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Marriott and adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders for 2008 exclude the $192 million pretax ($124 million after-tax and $0.33 per diluted share) restructuring costs and other charges. Adjusted results for full year 2008 also exclude the $72 million ($0.19 per diluted share) impact of charges, $67 million of which were non-cash, included in the tax provision.



REVPAR for the company’s worldwide comparable company-operated properties declined 20.0 percent (18.3 percent using constant dollars) in 2009. REVPAR for the company’s worldwide comparable systemwide properties declined 18.4 percent (17.3 percent using constant dollars) in 2009.



International comparable company-operated REVPAR for 2009 declined 23.5 percent (18.0 percent using constant dollars), including a 17.8 percent decline in average daily rate (11.9 percent using constant dollars).



In North America, comparable company-operated REVPAR declined 18.5 percent in 2009. REVPAR at the company’s comparable company-operated North American full-service and luxury hotels (including Marriott Hotels & Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts) was down 17.8 percent with an average daily rate decline of 12.2 percent.



Reported results for full year 2009, the adjusted results and the associated reconciliations are shown on pages A-2, A-14, A-15, A-16, and A-19 of the accompanying schedules. The following paragraphs reflect adjusted results where indicated.



MARRIOTT REVENUES totaled $10.9 billion in 2009 compared to $12.9 billion in 2008. Total fees in 2009 were $1,084 million, a decrease of 22 percent from the prior year. Base management and franchise fees declined $156 million in 2009, reflecting the decline in worldwide REVPAR offset in part by unit growth across the system. Incentive management fees declined 50 percent reflecting lower property-level margins due to worldwide REVPAR declines, partially offset by strong cost controls. For full year 2009, 25 percent of company-operated hotels earned incentive management fees compared to 56 percent in the prior year. Approximately two-thirds of incentive management fees came from hotels outside North America in 2009 compared to 49 percent in 2008.



Owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expenses, totaled $68 million in 2009 compared to $137 million in 2008. Results were primarily impacted by lower operating results at owned and leased properties, the conversion of some owned properties to management agreements, and lower termination fees, partially offset by higher branding fees and a transaction cancellation fee.



Reflecting weak demand, adjusted Timeshare segment contract sales in 2009 declined 37 percent to $748 million, excluding allowances for anticipated contract cancellations of $83 million in 2009 and $115 million in 2008.



Adjusted Timeshare sales and services revenue declined 23 percent to $1,147 million in 2009 and adjusted Timeshare sales and services revenue, net of direct expenses, totaled $106 million in 2009, a decrease of 28 percent. Development revenue, net of expense, declined in 2009 reflecting soft demand, partially offset by favorable reportability and reduced marketing and sales costs. Services revenue, net of expense, also declined largely reflecting lower rental revenues and higher carry costs on unsold units. Financing revenue, net of expense, increased in 2009 reflecting a $9 million increase in note sale gains and cost savings, partially offset by lower interest income. Timeshare direct expenses in 2008 included a $22 million impairment charge at a fractional and residential joint venture project referred to below.



Adjusted Timeshare segment results, which includes timeshare sales and services revenue, net of direct expenses, as well as base management fees, equity earnings, gains and other income, noncontrolling interest and general, administrative and other expenses associated with the timeshare business, totaled $87 million in 2009 compared to $121 million in the prior year. The segment results for 2008 reflected a net $10 million pretax impairment charge for a fractional and residential consolidated joint venture project, adjusting the carrying value of the real estate to its estimated fair market value. The $10 million charge in 2008 included a $22 million negative adjustment in timeshare direct expenses partially offset by a $12 million pretax ($8 million after-tax) benefit associated with the joint venture partner’s share, which is reflected in net losses attributable to noncontrolling interest, net of tax.



The Timeshare segment also generated over $150 million of pretax cash flow in 2009.



ADJUSTED GENERAL, ADMINISTRATIVE and OTHER expenses decreased $127 million to $622 million in 2009 reflecting cost savings and lower incentive compensation, partially offset by the $43 million unfavorable impact associated with deferred compensation compared to 2008 (offset by a similar decrease in the provision for taxes) and $12 million of accruals and reserves related to the performance of 12 hotels. Excluding the impact of deferred compensation, adjusted general, administrative and other expenses declined 22 percent in 2009, as shown on page A-19 of the accompanying schedules.



GAINS AND OTHER INCOME totaled $31 million in 2009 and included a $21 million gain on the extinguishment of debt, net gains of $10 million from the sale of real estate, a $3 million gain on the sale of investments and $2 million of preferred returns from joint venture investments, partially offset by a $5 million impairment charge on an investment. Adjusted gains and other income of $47 million in 2008 included gains of $14 million from the sale of real estate, a $28 million gain on the extinguishment of debt, $6 million of preferred returns from several joint venture investments and other income and $3 million of gains on the sale of the company’s interests in two joint ventures, partially offset by a $4 million loss on the sale of an investment.



INTEREST EXPENSE declined 28 percent in 2009 partially due to lower interest rates, repayment of debt and the repurchase of Senior Notes.



ADJUSTED EQUITY IN (LOSSES) EARNINGS totaled a $27 million loss in 2009 compared to $31 million of earnings in 2008. Losses in 2009 primarily reflected losses in five joint ventures and the impairment of one investment. Earnings in 2008 primarily reflected a $15 million gain on the sale of a joint venture’s assets, insurance proceeds of $5 million received through a joint venture and $11 million of earnings from joint ventures.



ADJUSTED INCOME TAXES

The adjusted provision for taxes reflected a $43 million favorable impact associated with deferred compensation (offset by a similar unfavorable impact in general, administrative and other expenses) compared to 2008.



NET LOSSES ATTRIBUTABLE TO NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS, NET OF TAX decreased $8 million in 2009 to $7 million. The decrease largely reflected the adjustment of the carrying value of a fractional and residential project in 2008. Since the project is a consolidated joint venture, the partner’s share of the adjustment was an $8 million after-tax benefit to noncontrolling interests in 2008.



ADJUSTED EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA totaled $898 million in 2009, a 31 percent decline from 2008 adjusted EBITDA of $1,298 million.



BALANCE SHEET

At year-end 2009, total debt was $2,298 million and cash balances totaled $115 million, compared to $3,095 million in debt and $134 million of cash at year-end 2008. The company repurchased $119 million of its Senior Notes in 2009. At year-end 2009, Marriott had borrowings of $425 million under its $2.4 billion bank revolver.



COMMON STOCK

Weighted average fully diluted shares outstanding used to calculate adjusted diluted earnings per share amounts totaled 372.2 million in the 2009 fourth quarter compared to 363.1 million in the year-ago quarter.



On November 5, 2009, the Board of Directors declared a stock dividend payable on December 3, 2009, to shareholders of record on November 19, 2009. For periods prior to the stock dividend, all share and per share data in our financial statements have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock dividend.



On February 4, 2010, the Board of Directors declared the issuance of a $0.04 per share cash dividend payable on April 9, 2010 to shareholders of record on February 19, 2010.



The remaining share repurchase authorization, as of January 1, 2010, totaled 21.3 million shares. No share repurchases are planned for 2010.



IMPACT OF ACCOUNTING CHANGES

The company adopted ASU Nos. 2009-16 and 2009-17 (formerly referred to as FAS 166 and 167) at the beginning of 2010, which requires consolidating previously sold Timeshare notes and will impact the ongoing accounting for those notes. With the consolidation of the existing portfolio of sold loans on the first day of 2010, the company expects assets to increase by approximately $1,010 million, liabilities to increase by approximately $1,115 million, and shareholders’ equity to decline by approximately $105 million. No change in cash flow from the business is anticipated as a result of the accounting changes. Adjusted pretax earnings for fiscal 2009 would have been $1 million lower had the accounting change occurred at the beginning of 2009. See the tables on page A-22, A-23, A-24, A-25 and A-26 of the accompanying schedules for 2009 quarterly and full year Timeshare segment results adjusted as if the accounting changes had been made on the first day of fiscal 2009.



OUTLOOK

While Marriott typically provides a range of guidance for future performance, the current global economic and financial climate continues to make predictions very difficult. Therefore, the company is unable to give guidance. Instead, the company is providing the following assumptions for the 2010 first quarter and full year which it is using for internal planning purposes.



FIRST QUARTER 2010

For the first quarter, the company assumes worldwide comparable systemwide hotel REVPAR declines 5 to 7 percent on a constant dollar basis. For North American comparable systemwide hotels, the company assumes REVPAR declines of 7 to 8 percent and for comparable systemwide hotels outside North America, REVPAR could decline 2 to 3 percent on a constant dollar basis.



Given these REVPAR assumptions, total fee revenue could be $235 million to $245 million. Owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expenses, could total approximately $5 million.



In the 2010 first quarter, the company assumes Timeshare contract sales total $165 million to $175 million and Timeshare sales and services revenue, net of direct expenses, total approximately $35 million to $45 million including the impact of ASU Nos. 2009-16 and 2009-17. With these assumptions, Timeshare segment results for the first quarter could total $30 million to $40 million.



The company anticipates that general, administrative and other expenses could total about $130 million to $140 million in the first quarter 2010, roughly flat from the adjusted 2009 first quarter amount. The company also assumes net interest expense of approximately $40 million in the quarter, reflecting the impact of ASU Nos. 2009-16 and 2009-17, as well as continued debt reduction.



Based upon the above assumptions and a 36.5 percent tax rate, diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders for the 2010 first quarter could total $0.15 to $0.21.



FULL YEAR 2010

For full year 2010, the company expects hotel occupancies to improve, although the pace of such improvement is difficult to predict. The company continues to expect that both domestic and international comparable systemwide REVPAR comparisons to the prior year will turn positive sometime in 2010. For worldwide comparable systemwide hotels, the company assumes full year 2010 REVPAR will be down 2 percent to up 2 percent on a constant dollar basis with performance strengthening over the year. North American comparable systemwide REVPAR could be flat to down 3 percent in 2010, while REVPAR at comparable systemwide hotels outside North America could be flat to up 5 percent.



The company expects to open 25,000 to 30,000 rooms in 2010 as most hotels expected to open are already under construction or undergoing conversion from other brands. Given these assumptions, full year 2010 fee revenue could total $1,080 million to $1,120 million. The company expects that incentive management fees in 2010 would largely derive from international markets. Owned, leased, corporate housing and other, net of direct expense, could total $65 million to $70 million. The company continues to estimate that, on a full-year basis, one point of worldwide systemwide REVPAR impacts total fees by approximately $10 million to $15 million pretax and owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expense, by roughly $4 million pretax.



For its timeshare business, the company assumes 2010 timeshare contract sales could be slightly higher than 2009 levels. Including the impact of the accounting changes under this scenario Timeshare sales and services revenue, net of direct expenses, could total $170 million to $180 million. Timeshare segment results for 2010 could total $145 million to $155 million and the segment’s net cash flow could total $175 million to $200 million.



The company expects its 2010 general, administrative and other expenses to total $635 million to $645 million reflecting modest salary increases and assumes interest expense to total $165 million to $170 million for the full year.



While the company cannot forecast results with any certainty, based upon the above assumptions, EBITDA could total $910 million to $970 million and diluted EPS from continuing operations for 2010 could total $0.82 to $0.94. Assuming the investment spending levels below, adjusted total debt, net of cash, could decline $400 million to $500 million by year end 2010.



The company expects investment spending in 2010 will total approximately $500 million, including capital expenditures totaling $150 million to $200 million, of which maintenance capital spending could total $50 million. Investment spending will also include new mezzanine financing and mortgage loans, contract acquisition costs, and equity and other investments. The investment in net timeshare development is not included above as the company expects cost of goods sold in the timeshare business will exceed timeshare inventory spending in 2010.

Sports illustrated Swimsuit issue 2010 !

Scope out Brooklyn Decker’s smoking hot cover for The 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit which was revealed Monday night on The Late Show with David Letterman as a Times Square billboard.
The 22-year-old blonde beauty tweeted, “I cried three times because family flew in to surprise me! The issue is amazing, glowing, fun, the girls are happy… it’s not over-the-top, the girls and editors should be so proud! THANK YOU ALL!!!”
Brooklyn’s husband, tennis champ Andy R.  chimed in, , “So happy/proud of my wife… the new cover for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue!!!! Unreal… so excited!!!!!!!!!!”

Google - Is running a super bowl ad , in the 3rd quarter ?

Is Google Running a Super Bowl Ad?

By  HELFT

Over the weekend, the tech blogosphere was abuzz over the expectation that Google, a company that build its brand almost entirely through word of mouth, was going to air an ad during the Super Bowl. John Battelle, the author of The Search, the 2005 book about Google, wrote on his blog that “Google plans to hit the branded advertising big leagues this Sunday,” citing an unnamed source.
Sometime later, Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, posted the following message on Twitter: “Can’t wait to watch the Superbowl tomorrow. Be sure to watch the ads in the 3rd quarter (someone said ‘Hell has indeed frozen over.’)”
No official word from Google yet, and a Google spokesman did not immediately respond to an e-mail request for comment.
A Super Bowl ad would be quite a departure for Google. The company, which makes more money from advertising than any media company in the world, is hardly traditional when it comes to its own advertising. The company spends plenty on online advertising. But most of those ads are the kind of utilitarian ads intended to get people to click on a link to learn about a specific product or service, like its AdWords advertising system, its digital maps or its new Nexus One mobile phone. Google has also dipped its toes in television advertising, with a series of clips promoting the Chrome browser.
But the company, which famously says that ads are information, has shunned brand messages. Perhaps now that Google is ramping up its own display advertising business, it feels that it needs to be a player in brand advertising as well.
It is not clear what ad Google may air. Mr. Battelle said it will be one of the “search stories” ads that the company created last year and has been showing online. That ad, which has already had plenty of spoofs, including this one poking fun at Tiger Woods, was produced by Google in-house mini-agency. Others speculate it may be an ad for the Nexus One.
There are no indications that the Super Bowl ad, if it airs, will be the beginning of a broader marketing campaign..