Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Friday 4 august 2017 BUSINESS
A24

Fannie Mae posts $3.2B profit in 2Q; to pay $3.1B dividend

By MARCY GORDON Mae will pay a dividend of Freddie Mac after they suf- of 2016. ported net income of $1.7
AP Business Writer $3.1 billion to the U.S. Trea- fered huge losses from risky Fannie reported investment billion for the second quar-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fan- sury next month if the com- mortgages in the housing gains of $385 million in the ter, up from $993 million
nie Mae reported net in- pany’s federal regulator market bust. Together the second quarter, swinging a year earlier. Freddie will
come of $3.2 billion from agrees. companies received res- from a $9 million loss in the pay a dividend of $2 billion
April through June, up from That payment would bring cue loans totaling about first quarter but slightly be- to the Treasury next month.
a year earlier as the mort- the total dividends paid by $187 billion. The housing low its $398 million in gains Record-low interest rates
gage giant marked gains Fannie to $165.8 billion. market’s gradual recovery in the second quarter last have helped spur home
on its investments. Fannie received $116 billion has made Fannie and Fred- year. The company earned purchases and boosted
The government-controlled from taxpayers when the fi- die profitable again. $5 billion in net interest in- the housing market. Still,
company released its sec- nancial crisis struck in Sep- Fannie’s second-quarter come in the April-June peri- the market’s revival has
ond-quarter results Thurs- tember 2008. profit marked an increase od, down from $5.29 billion been uneven, and it has
day. The government rescued from the $2.95 billion it a year earlier. lagged behind the rest of
Washington-based Fannie Fannie and smaller sibling earned in the same period On Tuesday, Freddie re- the economy. q

Aetna trumps 2Q expectations after scaling back ACA coverage

the percentage of pre- that market next year.
miums it pays in medical Health insurance is Aetna’s
claims improved as Aetna main business, and most of
slashed its participation its enrollment comes from
in the law’s exchanges to commercial coverage sold
four states from 15 last year. through employers or di-
The insurer still expects to rectly to individuals. But the
lose more than $200 million insurer and its competitors
before taxes this year on also have been expanding
ACA-compliant coverage into government-funded
it sells on and off the law’s business like the Medicaid
exchanges. But that’s bet- program that covers the
ter than the approximately poor or Medicare Advan-
$300 million it lost last year. tage plans for people who
Aetna once covered are over 65.
more than 900,000 people Aetna on Thursday joined
through the exchanges, competitors like United-
which amount to a small Health Group Inc. and the
slice of its overall business. Blue Cross-Blue Shield in-
But the Hartford, Connecti- surer Anthem Inc. in eas-
cut, company and several ily beating second-quarter
other national insurers have expectations and hiking its
scaled back their pres- 2017 forecast.
This photo shows a sign on the campus of the Aetna headquarters, in Hartford, Conn. Aetna Inc. ence in the Obama-era The insurer’s quarterly earn-
reported earnings, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017.
(AP Photo/Bill Sikes) law’s marketplaces, where ings jumped to $1.2 billion,
they have struggled with a from $791 million last year,
By TOM MURPHY tions. but a pullback from the Af- sicker-than-expected pa- even though its total rev-
AP Health Writer Investors responded by fordable Care Act’s health tient population and not enue slipped and enroll-
Aetna’s second-quarter pushing company shares to insurance exchanges also enough healthy custom- ment fell due to pullbacks
profit jumped 52 percent to another all-time high price helped its business improve ers, among other challeng- from the exchanges and
top expectations, and the in Thursday trading. compared to last year’s es. Aetna covered about the company’s Medic-
nation’s third-largest health Aetna added some Medi- quarter. 180,000 people through the aid business and a pause
insurer raised its 2017 fore- care customers and grew The Hartford, Connecticut, exchanges at the end of in a health insurance fee.
cast again, this time well the health coverage it pro- insurer’s biggest expense, the second quarter and in- Health care costs fell 6 per-
beyond analyst projec- vides for large employers, health care costs, fell and tends to completely leave cent to $10.58 billion.q

Under pressure, Avon CEO McCoy to leave the company

LONDON (AP) — Avon’s it has hired an executive saying that, “significant, im- ment and realized $180 U.K. last year.
CEO will leave the com- search firm to help find Mc- mediate changes in lead- million in cost savings. But Sales have declined every
pany in March as the strug- Coy’s successor. ership and strategic direc- those efforts have been ar- year since 2012, and fell 8
gling beauty products “The platform is in place tion are needed.” duous. percent in 2016. The com-
maker continues a turn- for a new CEO to continue In March 2016 Avon an- The company on Thursday pany has fewer “Avon La-
around campaign. accelerating the pace of nounced that it was cutting swung to a surprise loss of dies” going door-to-door
Sheri McCoy has led the change and take Avon 2,500 jobs. $45.5 million in the second every quarter. It has been
company for five years and to sustainable profitable Avon Products Inc. quarter. beset by software prob-
sits on the board, but there growth,” McCoy said in a launched a three-year Shopping habits have shift- lems, a commission system
has been some external company release. transformation plan last ed dramatically, enough that it’s been trying to im-
pressure from activist inves- Barrington Capital Group year and so far it has sold to jolt the iconic American prove under McCoy, and a
tors for a change in leader- had been pushing for signif- its North American business brand dating back to 1886, delayed entry into e-com-
ship. icant action at Avon since to private investment firm which moved its headquar- merce that put it behind
Avon said Thursday that 2015, when it sent a letter Cerberus Capital Manage- ters from New York to the competitors. q