By Zacks Equity Research; Zacks ~ Apr 01, 2014

U.S. telecom giant AT&T Inc. (T – Analyst Report) has announced a new repurchase program of up to 300 million shares. The buyback represents nearly 6% of the company’s outstanding shares and does not have any expiration date.

The new program is in addition to the three previous buyback programs of 300 million shares each issued in 2010, 2012 and 2013. We believe AT&T’s increased share repurchase activity bears testimony to its commitment to increase shareholder
value.

In the fourth
quarter of 2013, the company repurchased 54 million shares for $1.9 billion.
Total share repurchase in 2013 was 366 million valued at $13 billion. As of Mar
28, 2014, the company repurchased 175 million shares under the current 300
million share authorization program. Since it started buying back shares in
2012, AT&T has repurchased 775 million shares, representing 13% of its
outstanding shares.

ByStephanie Condon, CBS News, March 31, 2014, 7:03 PM

With no time left to spare, the Senate on Monday passed a bill to ensure that Medicare reimbursement rates to doctors aren’t cut.

The bill is only a temporary modification to the Sustainable Growth Rate, which makes cuts to Medicare reimbursements to keep costs under control. Had Congress failed to pass the so-called Medicare “doc fix” before Tuesday, Medicare reimbursements to physicians would have been cut by about 24 percent. The legislation passed Monday staves off that cut for another year.

Published March 30, 2014, FoxNews.com

A Republican senator said on Sunday that the lack of details about ObamaCare enrollment numbers suggests the Obama administration has “cooked the books.”

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, made his comments just hours before the Monday deadline to enroll in the Affordable Care Act and was skeptical of the administration’s most recent enrollment figure of more than 6 million Americans.

“I don’t think it means anything,” he told “Fox News Sunday.” “They are cooking the books on this.”

By Kate Tummarello, March 29, 2014, 11:27 am

Can ObamaCare’s website handle the crush?

That’s the question that will be answered in the next few days before the  March 31 enrollment deadline for the healthcare exchanges.

The Obama administration is expecting a spike in traffic to the healthcare site  and has boosted Healthcare.gov’s capacity to be prepared for an onslaught of  visitors.

Some estimate as many as 500,000 people will rush to sign up for insurance in  the final days of the open enrollment period.

By Wesley Lowery, March 27 at 12:42 pm

The House quickly approved another so-called “doc fix” bill early Thursday afternoon that serves as a temporary solution to an ongoing structural problem in the formula used to determine Medicare funding levels.

After hours of uncertainty over whether the bill have sufficient support to pass, House Republican leaders moved quickly to approve the measure by voice vote.

By Tami Luhby  @Luhby March 26, 2014: 4:56 PM ET

Americans have only a few days left to sign up on the Obamacare exchanges, yet most of the uninsured don’t know the deadline.

Six in 10 uninsured adults are not aware that open enrollment ends March 31, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll released Wednesday. Half of the uninsured surveyed said they will remain without coverage this year.

By Mark Miller, Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:21pm EDT

(Reuters) – Are high-income Americans gaming Social Security? The Obama administration wants to go after the wealthy for “aggressive” moves to “manipulate” their Social Security claiming decisions, according to the fiscal 2015 budget released by the White House earlier this month.

By Michelle Andrews, Mar 24, 2014

If you’re uninsured, now’s the time to buy a plan. March 31 is the end of the annual open enrollment period when people who don’t have coverage through their employers can sign up on or off their state’s marketplace. With limited exceptions, people who miss this enrollment window will be unable to sign up for health insurance until next fall for coverage that starts in January 2015. In addition to being uninsured, you will face a penalty for not having coverage. The fine may be bigger than you expect. Here are the details:

By Kerri Anne Renzulli, March 24, 2014: 6:08 PM ET

Tired of feeling anxious about your family’s financial future? To reduce this lingering economic insecurity, try these strategies.

Create a plan. Fueling our anxiety about money is the feeling of being out of control — that economic events you have no hand in will hurt your prospects. Developing a financial plan with specific goals and targets helps you feel as if the control is back in your hands.