Liberty Property Trust Q4 FFO Rises – Quick Facts

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By RTT News, February 03, 2015, 07:54:00 AM EDT

(RTTNews.com) - Liberty Property Trust ( LPT ) reported that its fourth-quarter funds from operations available to common shareholders rose to $102.47 million or $0.67 per share, from $94.43 million or $0.63 per share in the previous year quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.65 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net Income available to common shareholders was $82.3 million or $0.55 per share, up from $69.7 million or $0.48 per share in the comparable quarter last year.

Total operating revenue for the quarter rose to $203.69 million from $192.43 million in the prior year. Wall Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $202.27 million for the quarter.

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Liberty Property Trust Q4 FFO Rises - Quick Facts

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I do not recall, when I was growing up or as a young adult, ever thinking that the issue of vaccinations was a political issue. Now, thanks to the infusion of libertarian sensibilities into the body politic, and a culture in which choice is always the ace of trumps, vaccinations are a political football. It is to weep.

First, there was Gov. Chris Christie on a trip to the United Kingdom. He was trying to demonstrate his foreign policy bona fides I suppose, and certainly the issue of vaccines was not on the top of his list of things to be prepared to discuss while taking questions in the streets of London. But, the sudden outburst of measles stateside, which unlike Ebola is highly contagious, led to the question and, in his answer, Christie gave an unnecessary nod to parental choice. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of his intellect, there was a default switch that clicked on: When discussing family issues, do not forget to mention parental choice. And so he did. And so he looked very foolish.

Gov. Christie is not a libertarian in any meaningful sense of the word. But, Sen. Rand Paul swims in those waters, indeed we could say he was baptized politically in those waters. As if on cue, and ignoring the fact that for vaccines to achieve their medical benefit, we all have to take them, Sen. Paul turned to his binary view of the world in which the state is Leviathan, eager to devour first your rights and then, apparently, your children. The state doesnt own your children, he said eagerly. Parents own the children. And it is an issue of freedom and public health. The choice of the verb own to describe the relationship between children and parents is a little frightening. And, he does not square freedom and public health, which may make separate conclusions, on this issue, just leaves them out there like exclamation marks in search of a sentence.

The episode shows everything that is deplorable about libertarianism. First, and I invite my conservative Catholic friends to take special note of this, in Sen. Pauls binary vision of the state versus individual freedom there is as little room for civil society, and the Church, as there is in your worst collectivist nightmare. If it is all one or the other, there is no role for mediating institutions or, at least, they will quickly be relegated to the sidelines of political and intellectual discourse. Before the god freedom, all libertarians bow and grovel.

Second, as was pointed out by E.J. Dionne on one of the talk shows last night, the episode highlights another problem with libertarianism. While it can provide a certain cast of mind with a neat, tidy intellectual framework for explaining the world, once libertarianism gets applied to reality, it tends not to bear up very well. The real world exhibits nuance and conflicting values that must be weighed, it has exceptions to be sure, but more than exceptions it has an uncanny knack for requiring similar ideals to be applied differently in different situations. As an ideological construct, I am not much of a fan of libertarianism, but even if you are, you need to recognize, as Sen. Paul never really does, that in the application of those ideas, libertarianism tends to become either too rigid or too brittle to work.

When Pope Francis says that reality is superior to ideas, he is telling us Catholics something very important about the very heart of our faith. Our incarnational faith certainly recognizes the importance and value of reason, but it tethers reason to both faith on the one hand and real-lived experience on the other. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized this as well, stating in the opening sentences of his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est: We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John's Gospel describes that event in these words: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should ... have eternal life (3:16). The historic vocation of the Catholic Church in civil society is to provide a bulwark against any ideology that denies the human persons transcendence. And, in our day, the principle method of denying such transcendence is choice and freedom understood as ideological constructs and political tools.

Let us be clear: This cuts against both the left and the right. It always makes me laugh when I watch MSNBC and they are discussing abortion and they warn against the dangers of having the government in the examining room and then you flip to Fox, and they are discussing the Affordable Care Act and they, too, frighten everyone with the prospect of the government in the examining room. Neither side seems to even recognize the irony because their fear of government intrusion is not principled in the least.

Libertarians, at least, get high marks for consistency. But, in a culture in which choice is the preeminent value, there are many, many things that culture cannot accomplish because they require everyone to buy in, if I may be permitted a commercial metaphor. Vaccines are ones such issue. They dont work if only half the population gets them. To work, the compliance rate has to be above 97%. Of course, in Europe, where medical care actually is socialized, very few countries require vaccinations but they have an almost 100% compliance rate nonetheless. Sen. Paul can put that sociological datum into his libertarian pipe and smoke it.

Which leads to one other aspect of libertarianism today: I do not know what they have been smoking, but they have a penchant for embracing some really bizarre ideas. In an interview yesterday, Sen. Paul did his best imitation of former Cong. Michelle Bachmann. She once said that she knew a woman whose child was vaccinated and the vaccine caused mental retardation. Yesterday, Sen. Paul noted there were many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines. Really? This is the medical equivalent of the Gold Standard, which many libertarians also embrace, or the idea that mammoth new trees can be genetically created to deal with climate change. Libertarianism seems almost uniquely to be the part of American politics where conspiracy theories and other idiocies find fertile soil.

That said, both parties suffer from the libertarian impulse, but the danger for the Republican Party is the more imminent in part because their whole party has indulged libertarian sensibilities on economic issues which tend to dominate politics these days. The problems our nation faces will not be solved by making choice more available we have plenty of choices. The problems are nation faces can only be addressed if we delineate, carefully and with a view towards real world consequences, what obligations we owe to each other and to future generations, always defending mans freedom to be sure, but balancing that freedom with a recognition that the transcendence of the human person is evidenced not primarily in an exercise of choice, but in the exercise of love. The experience of transcendence begins with transcending the individual with the family, then the community, and latterly, the society and beyond. Invoking choice and freedom as a battering ram is only half the equation and there is no society that can long stand on one leg.

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How Rand Paul bombed at Koch brothers gathering

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Some of the most influential players in big-money conservative politics gathered late last month to discuss governments role in society, but their focus kept shifting to a less weighty topic: Rand Pauls outfit.

The Kentucky senator and prospective GOP presidential candidate whose libertarian politics mesh with those of the billionaire megadonor brothers Charles and David Koch appeared at the annual winter meeting of the Koch donor network wearing a boxy blue blazer, faded jeans and cowboy boots.

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Some attendees commented that Pauls appearance was cavalier, said Frayda Levin, a Paul supporter and major donor who attended the conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage, California. It was organized by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the nonprofit hub that oversees the Koch network. This is an older crowd and much more establishment crowd. They are used to a Romney. They are used to a Jeb Bush, Levin said.

Jeans might work for a younger audience, said another attendee, but these are old bulls who put on a tie every day to go to the office.

The sartorial criticisms hint at a potentially more serious challenge for Paul securing the backing of enough big-money donors to be competitive in a crowded Republican primary that could include prolific fundraisers such as Jeb Bush and Chris Christie.

During a Sunday afternoon speech at the Koch forum , Paul drew skepticism among some donors by touting tax breaks as a means of spurring economic growth in blighted inner cities. That stance is anathema to the brand of small-government conservatism espoused by the industrialist brothers and many of their networks donors, who object to marketplace interference. Even Levin admitted she was a bit surprised. But hes just exploring ideas right now. People didnt quite understand where he was coming from.

Donors were further put off by Pauls performance later that evening in a forum for prospective GOP presidential candidates that also featured Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. At times slouching in a cushy arm chair, Paul, with his legs crossed, gave rambling answers that contrasted sharply with other participants.

At one point, he opposed eliminating tax benefits to the oil and gas industry from which Koch Industries, the brothers multi-national conglomerate, benefits but which the brothers philosophically oppose. Paul seemed less prepared than Rubio, who gave detailed answers and was by far the most sharply turned out of the trio (pressed Navy blue suit, crisp white shirt, red tie and American flag lapel pin). Cruz, tieless in a light blue shirt and tan sports coat, laced his remarks with one-liners.

The next day, when 100 donors participated in an informal straw poll conducted by veteran consultant Frank Luntz, Paul finished dead last. Rubio came in first, followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who stopped by the conference, but could not make it for the panel.

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How Rand Paul bombed at Koch brothers gathering

AMD R9 490X (Arctic Islands) is Coming instead of (R9 390x) Pirate Islands – Video

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AMD R9 490X (Arctic Islands) is Coming instead of (R9 390x) Pirate Islands
AMD R9 490X is Coming instead of R9 390x (Pirate Islands ) This is Big Rumor that AMD Will Not Release AMD R9 390X, R9 390, AND R9 380X Gaming Graphics But Instead it Will Release the R9 ...

By: Jimmy a Geek

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AMD R9 490X (Arctic Islands) is Coming instead of (R9 390x) Pirate Islands - Video

Tennis champion, Monica Seles, shares her story about Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D.) (:60) – Video

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Tennis champion, Monica Seles, shares her story about Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D.) (:60)
Tennis star, Monica Seles, talks about misconceptions that adults with B.E.D. fit a certain profile. She hopes that her story can inspire other adults to talk to their health care providers.

By: BingeEatingDisorderInAdults

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Tennis champion, Monica Seles, shares her story about Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D.) (:60) - Video

Netherlands tops health care rankings, with UK in 14th place

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Other statistics released last month showed a small improvement in NHS accident and emergency performance after three of the worst weeks on record over Christmas.

The EHCI report said the UK "is still definitely a part of European waiting list territory" adding that "unfortunately, in 2014, the English waiting time scores are worsening slightly, which is confirmed by English press reports on health care accessibility".

However, it said that efforts within the NHS to reduce hospital infections have paid off.

The Netherlands has been in the top three countries in each report published since 2005. The latest one said the Netherlands has addressed a weak spot accessibility by setting up 160 primary care centres which have open surgeries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, politicians and bureaucrats seem farther removed from operative health care decisions in the Netherlands than in almost any other European country. This could in itself be a major reason behind the Netherlands' landslide victory".

The authors praised the very respectable amount of money ploughed into the Swiss health care system, coupled with a good score for accessibility. Norway has benefited from a very high per capita spend on health care services which is finally paying off according to the report. Meanwhile Finland has made a remarkable advance, and seems to have rectified its traditional waiting time problems".

The report was supported by two unrestricted grants. The first came from Medicover S.A in Belgium, a private health care organisation dealing in health insurance, prepaid health and medical services, occupational medicine and laboratory services. The other came from the New Direction Foundation in Belgium, which describes itself as a free market, European-realist think-tank affiliated to the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists.

According to the report authors, the results show the flaws in health care systems like the NHS model, known as the Beveridge system, where the financing and provision of health care are handled within one organisation.

The other type of system, the Bismarck system, is based on insurers who are organisationally independent of care givers and health care providers. This is the case in the Netherlands, Germany (ranked ninth) and Switzerland.

The Netherlands example seems to be driving home the big, final nail in the coffin of Beveridge health care systems, and the lesson is clear: remove politicians and other amateurs from operative decision making in what might well be the most complex industry on the face of the Earth: health care, wrote the report authors.

Beveridge systems seem to be operational with good results only in small population countries such as Iceland, Denmark and Norway.

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Netherlands tops health care rankings, with UK in 14th place

Shopping smart for health care? Good luck with that

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You're personally paying more for health services. But good luck trying to shop around for a better deal.

A new analysis finds that Americans with health insurance through their employers paid almost 7 percent more for out-of-pocket medical costs in 2013 compared to 2012rising from an average of $662 per person annually to $707.

The increase comes as more people are enrolled in so-called high-deductible health plans, which require them to directly bear a larger share of health costs.

The same study by the Health Care Cost Institute also looked at what people paid out-of-pocket for services in nine states, and found a wide range of costs.

Some people paid less out-of-pocket for certain services, while others getting the same services in the same state paid significantly more, according to HCCI. The study examined variations in costs of five services: new doctor visits, cataract removal, colonoscopies, lower leg MRIs and pregnancy ultrasounds.

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"Some may interpret the out-of-pocket variations as discouraging, but the results demonstrate that there are real opportunities for consumers to save on health-care spending," noted the HCCI report entitled "Shopping for Health Care Makes 'Cents' for Consumers."

Those opportunities come from discretionary medical services that can be scheduled by patients, and which they can theoretically shop for based on price.

HCCI's Executive Director David Newman said, "I'm not going to be shopping for the ambulance and the hospital during my heart attack."

Nationally, on average, the prices people directly paid for a new doctor's visit varied by $19, according the report.

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Shopping smart for health care? Good luck with that

Board: Prognosis poor for health-care cost containment

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By Michael Norton

State House News Service

BOSTON -- Health-care cost growth in Massachusetts during 2013 held below the 3.6 percent benchmark set under a 2012 cost-control law, but leaders of a state commission overseeing the market are worried about the future.

According to Health Policy Commission Chairman Stuart Altman, many important aspects of the health-care delivery system have not changed since passage of that law and that's "troubling." And commission Vice Chair Wendy Everett says some aspects of the Massachusetts system are "embarrassing" and out of sync with the 2012 law's goals.

At a recent commission meeting at the Statehouse, Altman cautioned that forces that helped keep per-capita cost escalation at 2.3 percent from 2012 to 2013 -- raising total costs from $49 billion to $50.5 billion -- may not be repeated.

Dr. Marian Wrobel, the commission's director for research and cost trends, also said Massachusetts had been riding a national wave of lower cost growth that may not continue.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects health-care spending growth rates nationally of more than 5 percent in 2014 and beyond, according to the commission, based on an aging population, the economic recovery, and additional utilization of services among those newly covered under the Affordable Care Act.

The commission in late January adopted far-reaching recommendations, including consideration of whether additional legislative authority is necessary to help the panel determine whether parties in health care transactions -- the Bay State market has undergone significant consolidation in recent years -- have fulfilled efficiency, quality and access commitments made in those deals.

Everett was the most vocal in warning that Massachusetts health-care providers are "outliers" in major areas with implications for costs, including high re-admission and emergency department usage rates and high levels of patients referred to post-acute care, such as nursing, home health or rehabilitative services, after inpatient care.

Eighty percent of Massachusetts hospitals are being penalized for "extraordinarily high" readmission rates, Everett said, calling that "not acceptable."

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Board: Prognosis poor for health-care cost containment