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Case Against Strauss-Kahn Near Collapse: Investigators have turned up serious doubts about the credibility of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s accuser, undermining the case against him. The New York Times reports that “forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn,” the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and the woman, an immigrant from the African nation of Guinea; “But prosecutors now do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself.”

She seems to have given incorrect information about her application for asylum, saying it included the story of a previous rape, which was missing, and offering a different account of her experience with forced genital mutilation in Guinea. Read full post…

July 4 – The Treasury is more downbeat about economic growth figures this week, saying it expects gross domestic product grew 0.3% in the first three months of the year.

The government department’s forecast, which matches the Reserve Bank’s, assumes the service sector took a major hit from the Canterbury earthquakes, and Treasury officials expect less than 1% growth in the first half of the year, according to their June monthly indicator.

That assessment is softer than a Reuters survey, which is picking 0.4% growth in the first quarter, showing the fastest expansion since the same period a year earlier.

Officials expect economic growth to speed up later in the in the year as tourists arrive for the Rugby World Cup, and the reconstruction of Canterbury becomes more certain.

The forecast comes out ahead of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s June quarterly survey of business opinion tomorrow morning, which is expected to show firms are more optimistic about the country’s economy.

Though agricultural exporters are still enjoying record prices for locally-produced materials, private consumption is expected to increase at an annual pace of 2% this year.

High debt levels, which are slowly being worn down, and sluggish income growth are holding back spending, officials said.

Industry expert and the Insurance Information Institute’s Senior Vice President, Steven Weisbert, gave a presentation last month which highlights the rise in car insurance quotes over the past three years. This disappointing information is detailed in the article “Report: Car Insurance Price Trends Are Out of Sync with Economy” by Ben Zitney found on OnlineAutoInsurance.com.

Weisbert believes the auto insurance market started struggling at the end of 2007 after four consecutive years of dropping car insurance rates. The national average costs on car insurance coverage has increased steadily for three years now which is directly affecting stuggling consumers in this down ecomony. The report shows an approximate increase of 12% from ’07 to ’10 and this is causing huge impacts on families.

The presentation “Mega-Trends Influencing the Future of Auto Insurance” by Weisbert was addressed back in October 2010 at the National Auto Insurance ExecuSummit in Connecticut. Read full post…

After a year or two of quiet, the mammoth online savings account comment thread has come to life again. I conducted that savings account round-up in March 2007, back when banks were offering interest rates as high as 5% for their online savings accounts. GRS readers chimed in with their own favorite savings accounts, and in the four years since I wrote the article, it’s received nearly 1750 comments.

But for the past year, the discussion has been quiet. Interest rates are hovering near historic lows, and I’ve received few questions about saving. That’s started to change lately. For example, Stefanie recently wrote with this question:

My husband and I are both young (24 and 23, respectively) and inexperienced when it comes to money marketing. Becau

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Today’s electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• GameStop.com: PS3 Slim 160GB Bundle w/ Call of Duty Black Ops + $50 Gift Card $299.99, free ship

Entertainment

• Amazon: Mafia II (PC) $5.56 + $4 ship
• Buy.com: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PC) $1 + $4 ship

According to the Geisinger health plan website, Geisinger Health System has been named to the 2011 SDI IHN 100, which is a list of the most integrated healthcare networks in the US. Modern Healthcare Magazine recognizes the 100 top ranked health plans in their January issue and Geisinger makes the list.
Glenn Steele Jr, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Geisinger Health System says how gratifying it’s been to be recognized. He is proud of their high level of performance and integration for healthcare systems. It’s a testament to their ongoing efforts to increase quality of patient care over time. There are eight categories measured including integration, outpatient utilization, hospital utilization, integrated technology, financial stability, services & access, physicians and contract capabilities.
The rankings are completed by SDI Health LLC, which happens to be a nationally recognized healthcare consulting firm located in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Read full post…

June 30 – Headline-attracting Wellington PR shop Saunders Unsworth has scored again, with the appointment of principal Barrie Saunders to the board of state-owned Television New Zealand Ltd.

Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman announced the three-year appointment today.

A former journalist and broadcaster who first turned to lobbying as press secretary for Labour’s Opposition leader Bill Rowling in 1976, Saunders more recently advised the New Zealand Business Roundtable for eight years and is deeply connected in business and political circles, and at the most senior levels of the bureaucracy.

The media spotlight has been on Saunders in recent weeks because, with his business partner, Mark Unsworth, he enjoys security swipe card access to the Parliament Buildings, a privilege otherwise reserved for MPs, parliamentary staff, and the Press Gallery.

Saunders told the privilege was over-stated. “I don’t go swanning around in there lightly. For one

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Connie Loizos is a contributor to PE Hub, a Thomson Reuters publication. This story originally appeared here. The views expressed are her own.

The company is growing so fast, in fact, that it’s reportedly raising $100 million at a whopping $1 billion valuation — a mighty addition to the $8 million in capital it has previously raised from Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and numerous individuals.

Unfortunately for Airbnb, all the hype has captured the attention of the Samwer brothers, who’ve famously created a number of successful clones. Indeed, just two weeks after rumors of Airbnb’s massive fund-raise surfaced, the Samwers’ months-old European clone, Wimdu, announced it raised $90 million.

Considering that the majority of Airbnb’s business comes from Europe, one might consider the development troubling. But Brian C

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