MicroStrategy Inc. reported net income of $11.6 million for the second quarter, compared to $10 million a year ago.
Revenues for the quarter increased 23 percent to $107.5 million from $87.8 million in the same quarter last year.
The McLean-based business software company (NASDAQ: MSTR) product licenses revenue for the second quarter was $28.9 million versus $20.5 million for the second quarter of 2009, a 41 percent increase. Product support and other services revenue for MicroStrategy's core business intelligence business in the second quarter was $74.5 million versus $64.1 million for the second quarter of 2009, a 16 percent increase.
MicroStrategy saw gains in both software licensing sales and product support and services, which now accounts for the majority of its revenue.
Operating expenses for the second quarter were $68.8 million versus $55.3 million for the second quarter of 2009, a 24 percent increase. During the second quarter, MicroStrategy capitalized $2.2 million in research and development costs associated with the development of its MicroStrategy Mobile software, while no software development costs were capitalized during the second quarter of 2009.
MicroStrategy Mobile, a platform that extends business intelligence apps to the iPhone and iPad, was made generally available on June 30, and introduced at MicroStrategy's user conference in Cannes, France, on July 6.
In a statement MicroStrategy President and CEO Michael Saylor said: "The mobile Internet is the next wave of information technology. Many people prefer to consume business intelligence on their mobile devices rather than on their desktop computers, since mobile devices are more portable, always on, and always connected."
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Business First rated 287 public and private elementary schools that participate in the statewide testing program for fourth graders.
Each school’s rating was based on four years of data from the New York State Education Department, covering the period from 2006 through 2009. The greatest weight was given to results from the most recent academic year.
Fifty percent of each school’s rating was determined by its students’ scores on the statewide English test for fourth graders. The other 50 percent was based on the statewide math test for fourth graders.
Each test from each year was analyzed twice. The formula considered the percentage of students who demonstrated superior skills, as well as the percentage with basic skills.
Superior is defined as a Level 4 score on either test. Basic is defined as a Level 3 or Level 4 score.
A total of 16 statistical indicators were analyzed for each school — two results per test, two tests per year, for four years.
Three types of schools were not rated:
1. Elementary schools that don’t extend to fourth grade.
2. Schools that have been open for less than two years, or that have not generated at least two years of test data.
3. Private schools that don’t participate in the statewide testing program.
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The Federal Reserve has a more optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday, but the central bank is still debating how to shrink its massive balance sheet.
The Fed now expects U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, to increase at an annual rate of between 3.2% and 3.7% in 2010. That’s up from the Fed’s previous estimate of between 2.8% and 3.5% in January.
GDP rose at a 3.2% annual rate in the first three months of this year, the government said last month.
At the same time, the Fed reduced its forecast for the nation’s unemployment rate to a range between 9.1% and 9.5% this year, versus 9.5% to 9.7% in January. The unemployment rate currently stands at 9.9%.
The minutes were from the Fed’s most recent Open Market Committee meeting, which took place last month. That meeting happened before the financial markets were rocked by an escalation of fears about the economic crisis in Europe.
Still, Fed members also acknowledged the growing turmoil in Europe leading up to its last meeting, noting that "fiscal strains in Greece intensified during the intermeeting period."
The Fed subsequently announced plans to expand currency swaps with the European Central Bank and other central banks in the region to help contain the crisis.
When will the Fed raise rates? Despite the improved outlook, the Fed cautioned that the U.S. economy remains vulnerable enough to maintain an "accommodative stance of monetary policy."
In addition, committee members discussed ways to reduce the central bank’s balance sheet, which swelled during the financial crisis as the Fed bought billions worth of government and corporate bonds.
In March, the Fed completed a $1.25 trillion program to buy mortgage bonds backed by government-sponsored lenders. It also purchased about $175 billion of agency debt.
Last year, the Fed bought $300 billion of long-term U faxless payday loans.S. Treasury bonds to help keep mortgage rates down.
"Meeting participants agreed broadly on key objectives of a longer-run strategy for asset sales and redemptions," according to the minutes. "Reducing the size of the balance sheet would decrease the associated reserve balances to amounts consistent with more normal operations of money markets and monetary policy."
But the minutes showed that Fed bankers had a variety of opinions on how and when to begin selling the securities. Most members wanted to delay asset sales "for some time," but a few members preferred to begin sales "relatively soon."
A majority of members were in favor of selling assets gradually over a period of five years — but not until after the Fed begins increasing interest rates since that would mean the economic recovery is firmly established.
If that’s the case, the Fed may not wind up selling any of these assets anytime soon. The Fed also lowered its outlook for inflation, suggesting the central bank will be able to maintain the low interest rate policy it has had in place for over two years.
In April, the FOMC voted to hold the federal funds rate, its key overnight lending rate, near 0%. At that time, the Fed said it expects to keep rates "exceptionally low" for an "extended period" — which has been the central bank’s mantra for months.
However, one member of the committee voted against holding rates low indefinitely.
Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, indicated that rates should be increased toward 1% this summer, at which time the Fed could "further assess the economic outlook," according to the minutes.
Healthcare Trust of America Inc. has bought Sugar Land Medical Building II from Houston-based The Mission Cos. for approximately $12.4 million.
The 60,000-square-foot building is located at 15400 Southwest Freeway South, at the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 59 and Sugar Lakes Boulevard.
Sugar Land Medical Building II is located within one mile of several acute-care hospitals including Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital and Sugar Land Medical Center.
The three-story building is 100 percent leased with 83 percent of the space leased by Texas Children’s Hospital through 2019.
The real estate investment trust said it acquired the three-story building because of the quality of the main tenant and the facility’s proximity to three hospitals in Sugar Land.
The building was developed by Mission Equities Inc. with two floors in 1999 cash advances pay day loan. A third floor was added to the structure in 2006.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Healthcare Trust is a self-managed, publicly registered, non-traded REIT.
This marks the second area acquisition for the company, which acquired the Cypress Station Medical Office Building in March 2008.
Mark Engstrom, executive vice president of acquisitions for Healthcare Trust of America, said this acquisition expands the company’s Texas healthcare portfolio to approximately 965,000 square feet with a total investment of approximately $275 million.
In 2010, HTA has acquired approximately $88 million in medical office assets nationally. These assets include a total of four acquisitions, representing approximately 454,000 square feet.
Renters who are caught up in foreclosures or short sales may get more time to get out before the sheriff shows up to evict them, if a proposed bill gets traction in the Florida Legislature.
HB 125, sponsored by state Rep. Hazelle Rogers, D-Lauderhill, and co-sponsored by state Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, is scheduled to be taken up Tuesday by the Civil Justice & Courts Policy Committee. Its companion bill is SB 854.
Soto, an attorney who is handling more than 250 foreclosure defense cases, said tenants often get served the same paperwork from the bank as the owner, which causes stress and confusion.
“They basically receive a complaint, but it doesn’t tell them their rights, other than that they have to respond,” he said. “They don’t know to not pay the rent or to pay the rent, and their landlord is usually pretty mum.”
However, some worry that the bill could limit owner rights by requiring the owner or lender to give the tenant first right of refusal to buy the property.
“A lease with a tenant has a beginning and an end date,” said Stephen Weiss, VP of business development for Fort Lauderdale-based Foreclosure Response Team, a private company specializing in short sales. “It doesn’t give tenants a right or obligation to own my property. This is hindering and impairing on the value of real estate.”
The bill:
Scott Coloney, president of the Foreclosure Response Team, added that if the tenant is awarded the first right of refusal, it could prolong short sales, which are already long, creating problems for buyers.
However, he did like the provision that requires the lender to give notice.
“It’s one less thing that the landlord has to do,” he said.
How’s this for a stocking stuffer?
Canadians are generally tightening their purse strings this Christmas shopping season, but some are shelling out a pretty penny for bars of gold.
ScotiaMocatta, the precious metals division of the Bank of Nova Scotia, is enjoying "record sales" of small precious metals products during this holiday season, even though the price of gold continues to trade above $1,100 (U.S.) an ounce.
"By far, the most popular product we are selling is the one-ounce Scotia Gold Bar," said Richard Maskobi, managing director of ScotiaMocatta.
While the retail price for that product fluctuates daily, it is based on the spot price of gold plus a premium to cover other costs such as manufacturing, shipping and storage. On Friday afternoon, the rectangular bar – which has a gold purity of 0.9999 or 24 karats – was selling for about $1,233.90 (Canadian).
ScotiaMocatta does not release specifics about its sales data. Maskobi, however, said sales remain robust during final days before Christmas.
Gold is generally seen as a "safe haven" during financial crises, and demand for the precious metal has been increasing over the past few years.
Earlier this month, gold hit a record above $1,200 (U.S.) an ounce. The price has retreated in recent weeks but consumer demand is not slowing down.
"There isn’t a typical buyer," Maskobi said. "It is varied. Some people are buying a lot of smaller products just as gifts; some people are buying it as (investment) diversification; some people are buying just because they like gold instant personal loans guaranteed."
Scotiabank is one of the world’s largest precious metals dealers. While it is not the only bank selling gold in Canada, it is the only one that does so both through its branches and an online system.
Launched earlier this year, The ScotiaMocatta Precious Metals eStore is currently offering extended holiday hours. Volume is also up at its branches. Said Maskobi: "I know our phone stats are through the roof as well."
Scotiabank is not alone. In November, the U.S. Mint suspended sales of its popular American Eagle one-ounce gold coin after consumers snapped up its entire supply.
While the Royal Canadian Mint has not suspended bullion sales, it has sold out of some gold collector pieces such as two of its "Fine Gold Kilo Coins." One such coin entitled "Toward Confederation (2008)" has a price tag of $49,000 (Canadian). Other gold coins are on back order.
Mint spokesperson Alex Reeves said it is normal for limited edition products to sell out. Still, he notes consumer demand has increased in recent years.
The mint is also recording "much higher" sales but the increase is not necessarily linked to Christmas, Reeves said. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop him from dropping Santa a big hint: "I’d love to find gold bullion coins in my stocking."
AXA Asia Pacific rejected a $10.3 billion bid from parent AXA SA and Australian rival AMP Ltd on Monday, an initial hurdle for the French insurer’s bold ambitions to expand in Asia.
AXA SA, Europe’s second-largest insurer it would raise $3 billion to buy out its Asian assets in a two-stage deal which would see AXA Asia Pacific sold to AMP, then divided on geographical lines with the Australian firm keeping the Australia and New Zealand assets and selling the Asian assets back to AXA SA.
But AXA Asia Pacific’s independent directors rejected the main plank of the deal saying the deal “significantly undervalued” the company.
AXA SA had tried to buy out the minorities in AXA Asia Pacific five years ago but was knocked back.
“They’ve obviously wanted to have at least some of the assets of AXA Asia Pacific for some time. They wanted to do it cheaply before and they’re probably wanting to do it cheaply again,” said Ross Barker, managing director of Australian Foundation Investment Co.
AXA Asia Pacific shares jumped 30 percent on news of the takeover bid, with the market punting on AMP and AXA improving the offer.
AXA SA holds its Asian operations through its stake in Australia-based AXA Asia Pacific Holdings but now wants to own these assets outright, doubling its exposure to Asian life insurance savings, including in China and India.
“The proposal has been received against the backdrop of recent weakness in global financial markets and before the growth of our Asian operations is fully reflected in our profitability,” AXA Asia Pacific Chairman Rick Allert said in a statement.
With the buyout, AMP would buy all of the shares in the Asia Pacific unit, including the parent’s 53 percent stake in a deal worth $10.3 billion, and then sell AXA Asia Pacific’s Asian assets back to the French parent.
“The Asian assets are attractive,” said Mark Daniels, head of Australian equities for Aberdeen Asset Management.
“That’s one of the reasons why you’d hold AXA (Asia Pacific). They’ve got a very good business in Hong Kong and other Asian businesses are coming on track,” Daniels added.
In a separate development, AXA’s 15.6 percent stake in China’s No.4 life insurer, Taikang, attracted foreign and domestic bidders, including Temasek and Blackstone, valuing the holding at more than $1 billion, sources told Reuters.
“A BIT LIGHT”
AMP’s cash-and-shares offer for all of AXA Asia Pacific, the first stage of the deal, implied a bid of A$5.34 per AXA Asia Pacific share, valuing the target firm at A$11.2 billion ($10.3 billion), based on AMP’s closing share price on Friday. AMP is offering a 26 percent premium to AXA’s close on Friday.
AXA’s shares surged 33 percent to close at A$5.70, their highest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Reinhard Mohn, who turned his family’s religious publishing company into Bertelsmann AG, one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, died Saturday, the firm announced Sunday.
He was 88.
Mohn and his family were worth $2.5 billion, Forbes magazine estimated in its annual rich list in March, making them the 261st wealthiest family in the world. They own 23% of Bertelsmann, with the rest controlled by a trust Mohn established.
The company owns Random House, publisher of Dan Brown’s "The Lost Symbol," as well as authors ranging from Stephen King and John Grisham to Toni Morrison and John Updike.
It also controls RTL Group, Europe’s largest broadcasting company; magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, which publishes the German magazine Stern; and Direct Group, a media-marketing firm.
"Bertelsmann mourns the loss of one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our age," Bertelsmann chairman and CEO Hartmut Ostrowski said in the statement announcing the death.
"He embraced his responsibility to society and developed new ideas systematically, and with impressive consistency. Reinhard Mohn’s concept of leadership was based on values like liberty and humanity," Ostrowski said.
"In his over 60 years of active service, Reinhard Mohn built Bertelsmann into an international enterprise, which today employs more than 100,000 people in over 50 different countries," the firm said.
Mohn, the fifth generation of his family to head the company, took over after serving as a German officer in World War II, when he was captured and imprisoned by the Allies.
In 1950, he presided over the publisher’s creation of its own book club, which became the company’s "silver bullet," attracting 3 million members by 1960, according to an official company history.
Bertelsmann expanded into encyclopedia publishing and the music business in the 1960s, and introduced an employee profit-sharing scheme in 1970, earning its head the nickname "Red Mohn."
"Only those enterprises whose employees can identify with their company will be fit to master the challenges of the future, and such an attitude requires material justice," Mohn said at the time, according to the company history.
The company’s other businesses have included Sony BMG and AOL Europe.
Mohn retired in 2001, according to Forbes. His widow, Liz, remains on the firm’s supervisory board.
Stocks slumped Thursday, falling for the second straight session, as a surprise drop in existing home sales and tumbling commodity prices gave investors a reason to sell into a rally that pushed the major gauges to one-year highs.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 41 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index fell 10 points, or 1%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) declined 24 points, or 1.1%.
Declines were broad based, with 2 out of every 3 Dow stocks sliding, including GE (GE, Fortune 500), Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500), Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) and United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500).
Stocks gained in the early going after the Labor Department reported that jobless claims fell for the third week in a row. But the market abandoned gains after the housing report. A slide in oil and gold shares on the back of a stronger dollar dragged on commodity stocks.
Stocks slipped Wednesday, falling from almost one-year highs, after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and essentially maintained its recent economic outlook. A week ago, Fed chief Ben Bernanke said the recession was very likely over, but the labor market still has a long way to go.
In the short term, "there’s not a whole lot of bad news that could derail equities," said Robert Siewert, portfolio manager at Glenmede. "But the rally since March has been the sharpest since the 1930s and it’s not surprising to see occasional pullbacks."
However, Siewert said that longer term, there are a lot of headwinds that could challenge stocks, with 2010 likely a tougher year for equities. He cited challenges including the eventual rising of taxes, the labor market weakness, the still-tight credit market and the struggle of a consumer that chooses to save at the expense of personal spending.
Friday brings government reports on new home sales and durable goods orders, as well as the University of Michigan’s September consumer sentiment index
Housing: Existing home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.1 million unit rate in August from a 5.24 million unit rate in July, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that sales would rise to a 5.3 million unit rate in the month.
Jobs: A report from the Labor Department showed weekly jobless claims fell for the third week in a row. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell to 530,000 last week from a revised 551,000 in the prior week. Economists thought claims would rise by 5,000.
Continuing claims, a measure of Americans who have been receiving benefits for a week or more, fell to 6,138,000 from 6,261,000 in the previous week. Economists expected a rise.
IPOs return: Shares of A123 Systems (AONE) surged as much as 56.6% from their initial pricing, before trimming the gain to just over 50% at the close. The company, one of a small group of electric-car battery makers, raised $380 million in an initial public offering Wednesday that priced above forecasts. The company trades under the ticker symbol AONE.
A123 was one of 5 companies that went public Thursday, the biggest day for the IPO market since Nov. 15, 2007, when 6 debuted.
Among the other debuts, online pharmacy Vitacost.com (VITC) was little changed Thursday and asset management firm Artio Global Investors (ART) added 4 no fax cash advance.8%.
Two REITs also debuted: Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (ARI), which fell 7.5% Thursday, and Colony Financial (CLNY), which fell 2.5%.
Three more IPOs are due by the end of the week and eight over the next two weeks. The recharged market could be seen as another indicator that a broader economic recovery is taking hold. Alternately, it could attest to how few financing options are available to companies.
Other company news: Rite Aid (RAD, Fortune 500) reported its ninth consecutive quarterly loss Thursday morning, although the results were not as weak as analysts had expected. However, the drugstore chain also said it would see a wider fiscal-year loss than it initially thought because of falling sales.
Shares fell 12.3%.
Among other movers, Chelsea Therapeutics (CHTP) tumbled 60% after its experimental drug to treat a neurological disorder showed disappointing results in a late-stage trial.
One-year highs: The major indexes ended Tuesday’s session at the highest levels since just after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September.
Since bottoming at a 12-year low March 9, the S&P 500 has gained 56.8% and the Dow has gained 48.9%, as of Thursday’s close. After hitting a six-year low, the Nasdaq has gained 68%.
The stock advance was driven by signs that the economy is slowly starting to recover — and by extraordinary amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus.
Despite predictions of a big September selloff, stocks have seen only modest pullbacks that have been met with renewed buying.
Fed: The Federal Reserve said Thursday it was dialing down a pair of emergency programs in the wake of an improving economy. The central bank is cutting back the amount of money available to banks under the Term Auction Facility, a short-term loan program.
The Fed is also pulling back on a program that lets investment banks trade bad debt for safe Treasury debt.
G-20 summit begins: The Group of 20 leading developed and emerging countries are meeting in Pittsburgh to discuss financial reforms in the wake of the global financial market collapse. It is the third such meeting, following earlier events in April and last November.
World markets: Global markets were mostly lower. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 lost 1.2%, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX both lost around 1.7%. Asian markets ended lower, with the exception of the Japanese Nikkei.
Currency and commodities: The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen. The greenback has repeatedly hit one-year lows against a basket of currencies over the last few weeks.
A stronger dollar hit dollar-traded commodities, including oil and gold.
U.S. light crude oil for October delivery fell $3.08 to settle at $65.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for December delivery fell $15.50 to settle at $998.90 an ounce. Gold closed at a record high of $1,020.20 last week.
Bonds: Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.38% from 3.41% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
As President Obama turns up the heat on health care reform, one new and surprising detail to emerge is his pledge to tackle medical malpractice.
"I don’t believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs," Obama said Wednesday night.
Obama’s decision to wade into the issue has some insiders scratching their heads, because cutting down on medical malpractice lawsuits is a Republican tenet.
But the president’s idea of reducing health care costs by cutting down on lawsuits isn’t the same as Republicans, who want to cap lawsuit damage awards. Instead, Obama plans to run with an idea left over from his predecessor’s administration and fund pilot projects in states that trumpet patient safety.
In one approach, the Department of Health and Human Services would fund projects aimed at limiting lawsuits by encouraging doctors and clinics to disclose accidents early and apologize to patients when appropriate.
Experts point to the University of Michigan Health Care system as a potential model. Malpractice claims in the system dropped by 55% between 1999 and 2006.
"If we make a mistake, we’ll move quickly to apologize and compensate that patient. But if we didn’t make a mistake, we talk to the patient and explain," said Richard Boothman, chief risk officer for the University of Michigan system.
Politics of malpractice
As the Obama administration knows well, medical malpractice can be a sticky issue. When the discussion centers on lawsuit damages, it pits two deep-pocketed lobbying groups against each other: trial lawyers and big business.
Advocates like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and hospital and doctor groups say that lawsuits, especially frivolous ones, drive up the cost of health care by increasing the cost of doctors’ malpractice insurance.
Trial lawyers counter that limiting their ability to hold doctors and hospitals accountable for mistakes won’t reduce costs.
More neutral agencies like the Congressional Budget Office say that efforts to curb medical malpractice lawsuits can prompt cheaper malpractice insurance premiums but don’t really affect health care spending.
In June, Obama told the American Medical Association that he was not an advocate of lawsuit caps, which he said can "be unfair to people who’ve been wrongfully harmed."
Despite his legal background, Obama hasn’t always sided with lawyers on legislation targeting the court system.
In 2005, he voted with Senate Republicans to pass a law that limited attorneys’ fees in class action suits and shifted most of those cases into federal courts to prevent attorneys from seeking more favorable state-court venues.
On Wednesday, the president made it clear that he brought up medical malpractice as a sign of good will to the "Republican side of the aisle."
That irks some left-leaning Democrats. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., said he didn’t see the need to address the issue, which is often called "tort reform."
"But you know, if the president wants to discuss tort reform — fine. I am not going to die on that hill," Ellison said.
Details and next steps
The next wave of controversy depends on the kinds of medical malpractice pilot projects the Obama administration agrees to fund.
If the projects aim to stop and prevent medical errors and accidents before they happen, the trial lawyers’ lobbying group, the American Association for Justice, is on board. If the measures limit liability, that’s another story.
"If you really want to solve the health care crisis, you need to focus your efforts on saving lives," said Linda Lipsen, the AAJ’s top lobbyist. "That’s where the most cost savings are."
The American Medical Association was more guarded in its reaction, but the doctors lobbying group applauded Obama’s intent to address malpractice lawsuits as a way of cutting health care costs.
An administration official said the types of things they’re looking to fund include two proposals contained in one of the health care reform bills now in Congress.
One resembles what the University of Michigan already does, where hospitals and clinics disclose errors and apologize when at fault. Meanwhile doctors are well-insured against lawsuits.
"I’ve the luxury of saying to our physicians, no matter how big a case is, how bad a case is, ‘You’re completely insured and your personal assets are not at stake,’ " Boothman said. "You can’t ask them them to be totally honest when they have such things at stake."
The other provision would require patients who want to file lawsuits to get a panel of experts or doctors to agree their lawsuit has merit before they go to court.
But if the Obama administration is truly thinking of running with Bush administration ideas, they’ll look at a 2002 Institute of Medicine study aimed at cutting malpractice suits.
That study offered recommendations that have yet to surface in current health care policy discussions.
In one, the federal government would offer backup insurance to provider groups who disclose mistakes and compensate patients for avoidable injuries. But the report also recommended that participating states limit pain and suffering awards.
The other option gave health care providers "immunity," or protection against lawsuits if they agreed to participate in a government-run administrative system that compensated injured patients, mostly based on a formula.
William Sage, a doctor and attorney who advised the Institute of Medicine, said the 2002 recommendations fit well with the president’s pledge, because they attack malpractice lawsuits from the bedside instead of the courtroom.
Sage said he expects that such medical malpractice reforms will go beyond pilot projects and make it into final legislation.
"This year it’s different," said Sage, vice provost for health affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. "We have to have major long-term changes, so malpractice proposals have to appeal more broadly. They have to gain the confidence of a large number of medical physicians and make them think about their work differently without always being afraid of being sued."
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