As bankruptcy loomed, a humbled Enron Corp. went into limited operation Thursday to let skittish traders cut ties with the once powerful company. Stunned employees tried to find hope in the fact that Enron – just months ago a towering presence in the energy markets – did not make a bankruptcy filing Thursday. Analysts, however, saw little if any chance the company could succeed in its effort to find a way to extricate itself from a tangled mess of junk credit and massive debt.
The House passed legislation Thursday to help the insurance industry cover the cost of claims from any future terrorist attacks. Passage came amid a partisan dispute over restrictions on personal lawsuits seeking damages. The vote was 227-193, mostly along party lines, as Democrats withdrew their earlier support after restrictions on terrorism-related litigation were added to the bill. The changes clouded prospects for agreement with the Democratic-controlled Senate on compromise legislation. The bill would commit the government, for at least a year, to covering 90 percent of losses from another major terror attack.
Revenues for the health care and social assistance industries surged 6 percent last year to $1.06 trillion, the Census Bureau reported Friday. Hospitals and doctors’ offices alone comprised more than half of that total, according to estimates from an annual bureau survey. In both cases, private insurance paid much of the bill. Hospitals made $430 billion in 2000, up 4 percent from the previous year. Of that total, 36 percent came from private insurance and 33 percent from Medicare. Physicians’ offices made $215 billion, up 7 percent. Nearly half of revenues came from private insurance payments, while patients also paid $23 billion in out-of-pocket expenses. Firms providing social assistance brought in $81 billion, up 11 percent.
The Ford Explorer, the world’s top-selling sport utility vehicle, suffered extensive bumper damage in low-speed crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said Thursday. The redesigned 2002 Explorer sustained $5,432 worth of damage in four tests conducted at 5 mph, earning the institute’s lowest rating for bumper performance. The tests are designed to imitate the kind of impact that often occurs in commuter traffic and parking lots. In a statement, Ford said it designs its bumper systems to meet government standards, company requirements and customer expectations, not the tests of the institute.
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