Another ho-hum day on the market. Of course, it is a Friday at the end of a prime vacation week in July, but at least the market is up:
From the Wall Street Journal:
Better-than-expected readings of new-home sales, consumer sentiment and durable-goods orders weren't enough to push stocks out of the ditch they rolled into Thursday. DJIA*11370.69 21.4 10.19%
Nasdaq*2310.53 30.42 1.33%
S&P 500*1257.76 5.22 0.42%
Russell*710.34 7.95 1.13%
10-YR Note4.103% -26/32 -0.82% * at close
Source: Dow Jones, Reuters
On more upbeat news: There was an interesting upbeat story at CNN.com today about Lincoln Industries, a 565-person metal part manufacturing plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, that successfully brought down health care costs in an extraordinarily successful and bravely innovative way. The cost-savings achieved were noteworthy and the methods used were praiseworthy. It is a wonderful story that inspires hope where we wish there could be some.
It is also both a business and health breakthrough. Both for-profit and non-profit companies, like schools and hospitals, would do this, I bet, if they thought it could work. Who knew? Employees had annual health tests paid for and could win vacation trips. Just by taking the trouble to monitor their employees health, the company achieved significant savings from insurance companies. This company also rates high in caring, from the sound of it, too. The program has been in place for 16 years and it sounds like it is working.
The company requires all employees to undergo quarterly checkups measuring weight, body fat and flexibility. It also conducts annual blood, vision and hearing tests.....
The company ranks workers on their fitness, from platinum, gold and silver down to "non-medal." To achieve platinum, they must reach fitness goals and be nonsmokers -- and the company offers smoking cessation classes.
For employees, reaching platinum means a three-day, company-paid trip each summer to climb a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado. This year, 103 qualified, the most ever. And 70 made the climb. For the company, the payoff is significantly lower health-care costs. The company pays less than $4,000 per employee, about half the regional average and a savings of more than $2 million. That makes the $400,000 Lincoln Industries spends each year on wellness a bargain. "The return on investment is extraordinary," Orme says. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/25/fn.healthy.company/index.html
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