Rise Of Nine Book

[Varinia Swicegood]

Aparticularly strong April resulted in a nine percent increase in the number of handmade, premium cigars shipped to the United States, according to the Cigar Association of America. Exports for the month were 34.3 million handmade cigars, compared to 31.5 million in April 2023.

To date, April is the only month of 2024 with an increase over 2023 numbers. The strong showing reversed three months of decreases or flat results, pulling 2024 exports to date equal with 2023. For the first four months of the year, 127.4 million handmade cigars have been shipped to the United States, virtually equal to the 127.9 million shipped in the first four months of 2023.

Nicaraguan shipments for the first four months are up 2 percent, at 74.8 million, continuing its position of dominance as the leading exporter of handmade cigars to the United States. Dominican shipments decreased by 5.9 percent, to 31.5 million, and Honduras was down 4.4 percent to 19.9 million cigars. That trio of producers account for 99 percent of handmade cigar exports to the United States. (Cuba of course, ships no cigars officially to the United States due to the longstanding embargo.)

The U.S. market for handmade cigars is the largest in the world, and one that continues to show signs of strength. Exports have grown for four years in a row, and the last three years have resulted in shipments of 400 million units or more.

India's Russian oil imports rose a nine-month high in April after shipments on non-sanctioned tankers operated by Russia's largest shipping company Sovcomflot resumed, tanker data obtained from shipping and trade sources showed.

Refiners in India briefly stopped importing Russian oil in tankers belonging to Sovcomflot after the company's ships, along with its 14 tankers, were designated by Washington in February as being in breach of Western sanctions, Reuters said.

The West has imposed sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has enacted price caps on oil and oil products loaded at Russian ports aimed at cutting Moscow's oil revenue that funds the war.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is the top client for Russian seaborne oil.

In April, the first month of the fiscal year 2024/25, Indian refiners shipped in nearly 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil, up about 8.2% over the previous month, expanding Russia's share in India to about 38% from 32% in the previous month, the data showed.

Overall, India imported 4.8 million bpd of oil in April, a decline of 6.5% from the previous month and marginally higher than April 2023.

However, increased purchases of Russian oil dented Indian refiners' overall purchase of Iraqi and Saudi Arabian oil during the month.

Lower imports from the Middle East further reduced the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' share in India's crude basket to 46% in April from 53% in March, the data showed.

Higher imports of Russian oil boosted the share of oil from the Commonwealth of Independent States, comprising Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia, in India's imports to 41% last month from 37% in March.

Oil prices rose on Monday, paring last week's loss, on fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East following a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which Israel and the United States blamed on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

On Sunday, Israel's security cabinet authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to decide on the "manner and timing" of a response to the Saturday's rocket strike in the Golan Heights that killed 12 teenagers and children.

"Worries over escalating tensions in the Middle East prompted fresh buying, but gains were limited by lingering concerns of weakening demand in China," Reuters quoted Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities as saying.

But Israel wants changes in a plan for a Gaza truce and the release of hostages by Hamas, complicating a deal to halt nine months of combat that have devastated the enclave, according to a Western official, a Palestinian and two Egyptian sources.

On the demand side, data released earlier this month showing that China's total fuel oil imports dropped 11% in the first half of 2024 have raised concern about the wider demand outlook in China, the world's biggest crude importer.

Meanwhile, US energy firms last week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row, boosting the monthly count by the most since November 2022, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.

The average American spends a considerable amount of money on healthcare each year. Premium increases, higher deductibles and copays, and soaring prescription drug prices result in spikes in total healthcare costs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention4 (CDC), six out of ten U.S. adults have at least one chronic disease, such as asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes, driving up health insurance costs.

Medical advances can improve our health and extend our lives. But, reliance on these upgraded systems and tools can also lead to increased medical spending and overutilization of expensive technology.

In 2022, the average monthly premium for individuals with employer-sponsored health insurance was $659 for self-only coverage and $1,871 for family coverage. In addition to monthly premiums, each plan has an annual deductible, coinsurance, copayments, and other expenses that can increase out-of-pocket costs.

While organizations receive incentives to purchase more expensive health insurance plans for tax reasons, they may leave employees in a financial bind. Even low- or no-deductible health plans with small copay amounts can encourage overuse of care, driving up demand and cost.

According to the Milkin Institute8, only 12% of the U.S. population is proficiently health literate. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals can process and understand basic health information and services they need to make appropriate health decisions. This lack of understanding can lead people to make the wrong choices when choosing medical care, which can result in costly mistakes.

The Act aims to reduce surprise medical bills under private health insurance plans and create better pricing transparency to improve the patient experience, control costs of expensive health conditions, protect against balance billing, and provide individuals with Good Faith Estimates.

For example, one study10 analyzed several metropolis areas with high hospital consolidations for three years. In most areas, the average hospital stay increased between 11% and 54% during the given period.

Almost 77% of U.S. surgeons12 have been subject to a lawsuit by a patient during their career. To avoid this, some surgeons and medical providers perform unnecessary tests to cover all their bases, which leads to wasteful spending.

Many individuals worry that healthcare inflation will eventually overtake any increase in their annual income, so they decide to cancel or postpone their care until they can get their financial situation under control.

Because Medicare is a federal government program, a rise in enrollees will impact national healthcare costs for everyone. The U.S. spent $900.8 billion16 on Medicare in 2021, and CMS projects that Medicare costs will rise by 7.6% every year until 2028 to meet the increase of future enrollees17.

In addition to Medicare strains, older individuals tend to spend more on healthcare than younger people. They often require frequent primary care physician visits, medical services, prescription medication, or ongoing treatment for a chronic condition, contributing to overall spending and rising medical costs.

With an HRA, you can reimburse your employees, tax-free, for their monthly individual health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical costs. HRAs help you better control your health benefits budget, avoid unexpected rate increases, create customized plan designs, and give your employees more control over health spending, no matter their current health status.

Integrated HRAs work with any group health plan. But you can save even more by using a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with an integrated HRA. You and your employees can save money on your monthly premiums with an HDHP, and the HRA will cover out-of-pocket costs and health services that the lower-tier plan may not cover.

In addition to an HRA, you can offer your employees a health or wellness stipend for even greater coverage. With a health stipend, employees receive a fixed, taxable amount of money (typically added directly to their paycheck) to spend on out-of-pocket medical bills, including insurance premiums.

If you want to encourage preventive health habits, reduce the likelihood of chronic health conditions, and improve morale, you can also offer a wellness stipend to reimburse employees for expenses like gym memberships, fitness apps, mental health counseling, and more.

North Central Group (NCG) is proposing to build a nine-story, 205-room hotel at 420 W. Juneau Ave. The hotel would include restaurants on the first and ninth floors as well as first-floor commercial space and an 8,700-square-foot event and meeting space on the second floor with outdoor terrace. Select guest rooms would have balconies.

The hotel would run the full length of the block along W. Juneau Ave. between N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. and N. 5th St. The retail space would be located in the southwest corner of the building and the restaurant, with a facade open to N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. as weather permits, in the southeast corner. The restaurant would also include a mezzanine level. A porte cochere would be in the middle of the first floor, with a lobby set back from the street.

The ninth-floor restaurant and bar would cover the eastern half of the floor, with an outdoor deck overlooking the arena to the south and the skyline to the east. A meeting room with private patio is included on the western half.

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