Brooke Gray could be either of two things: an insufficiently educated opportunist, trying to pass herself off as an equine dentist, or a young woman dedicated to horses, performing an age-old practice for an honest wage.
A circuit court judge recently said the former. Her attorney, a St. Louis-based litigator with a history of challenging the government’s licensing power, says the latter — and believes the judge’s ruling could limit everyone from cattle hands to dog groomers.
A Clinton County Circuit Court judge ruled in December that Gray had to stop a practice called “teeth floating” after the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board, which oversees veterinary licenses in the state, sued Gray because she does not have a veterinary license.
Her attorney plans to appeal the ruling, saying that Gray is merely practicing something that unlicensed lay people have done for hundreds of years.
“Up until 15 years ago no one in Missouri considered these animal husbandry practices veterinary medicine,” said Gray’s attorney, David Roland, who helms the libertarian Missouri Freedom Center. “That’s how animal agriculture has always been done.”
Roland calls Gray’s case “the tip of the iceberg” and says it could have ramifications for anyone who wants to perform “basic animal husbandry” without a license.
But state law, veterinarian groups and the board say veterinary practices are regulated for a reason: to protect animals and their owners from untrained, unskilled workers. They say the practice of teeth floating, which often requires sedation, should be done either by, or under the supervision, of a licensed veterinarian.
“The public seems to think the licensing board is there to protect veterinarians,” said Bruce Whittle, chair of the equine committee for the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association, the group that represents the state’s vets. “It’s to protect the public against veterinarians that are doing harm.”
Gray, who lives north of Kansas City, grew up on an Iowa farm and always wanted to work with horses. So, about eight years ago, she got two months of training at an equine dentistry school in Idaho, then moved to Missouri and opened B & B Equine Dentistry.
She built a steady clientele floating horses teeth, which involves filing down the sharp points that emerge on the enamel. Sharp edges can make it difficult for the horse to eat. Her customers, she says, liked her work.
“I’ve never had a complaint from a client,” Gray said.
She did, however, get a complaint filed against her from a local Clay County vet, David Leighr, whose clients told him that Gray was improperly sedating horses and, in some cases, extracting teeth. Under state law, sedation by anyone other than an owner or licensed vet is illegal, while extraction is a surgical practice, which makes it a veterinary practice, and therefore also illegal for someone to perform without a license.
“One of my clients told me that Brooke had sedated an animal and hit a vein,” Leighr said. “Brooke also had them sign a piece of paper that said she was not responsible for anything that happens. A vet doesn’t do that. That raised a red flag with me.”
When asked if she had extracted teeth, Gray said: “I’ve taken some things out of horses mouths that didn’t belong there.” When asked if she had sedated horses, she said: “I’ve been informed not to say anything about the sedation issue.”
Leighr called the board, and eventually, it began to pursue the matter.
After sending two cease-and-desist letters, the board sued Gray to make her stop. She didn’t. So in September, the matter went to trial.
Roland says he believes the board pursued the case on behalf of veterinarians who felt they were in danger of losing income to untrained teeth floaters, not because they were concerned about animal welfare.
“One of the quirks of the law is that it’s not illegal to do the work on the animals,” he explained. “But if they get paid for it, it’s a criminal offense. So this is not a health issue.”
Several states, he said, have recently changed laws to allow teeth floating by nonvets, and he’ll push for Missouri to do the same.
He also points to a number of cease-and-desist letters sent by the board aimed at stopping everything from branding to pet grooming practices. These, he says, are evidence the state is trying to regulate practices that should not require licensing.
“This is an issue that’s been gaining momentum for a couple of years,” he said.
Gray believes the board is merely requiring a costly education — vet school runs an average of $150,000 — for something she specifically trained to do.
But veterinarians, including Leighr — a fourth-generation vet who said news coverage of the issue in his practice area had cost him business — maintain this issue centers on animal welfare and training.
“Her attorney is trying to convince the public that lay professionals have been doing this for years and that it’s safe,” he said. “I don’t think it’s safe. … And the fact that’s she’s using sedation and there’s no oversight makes it even less safe.”
“I went to school for eight years,” Leighr added. “I’ll put my records out there all the way back to high school, and I challenge her to do the same.”
Gray said she would continue floating teeth, only under the supervision of vets, until the appeal is resolved. That, Leighr insisted, is all he’s wanted all along.
“I said to her: ‘You can do this all day long by having a vet present,’” he said. “Missouri is full of vets retiring every day. They’d be tickled to death to get in the truck with you and go on a farm call.”
Investors threw cold water on the New Year’s rally, with U.S. stocks set for a modest pullback at Wednesday’s open.
Dow Jones industrial average () and S&P 500 () futures were down 0.3%, while Nasdaq () futures were flat. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Jitters surrounding Europe’s debt crisis have resurfaced, leaving investors on edge. Uncertainty about Greece, along with reports that Spain might seek rescue funding, weighed on sentiment.
A spokeswoman for the Spanish government told CNN the reports were "a complete lie" and "radically false," and separately Greek officials said Tuesday that progress had been made.
"We’re still watching Europe simmering now. We have another summit coming up and the problems are all still there," said Scott Brown, chief economist for Raymond James.
Europe: Still a huge pain for investors
European Union leaders hold their first summit of 2012 on Jan. 30. Political leaders hashed out a fiscal agreement in early December, but investors remain skeptical about how effective it will be.
Stocks rallied Tuesday following strong manufacturing reports from China, India and the United States.
Bank stocks — one of last year’s worst-performing sectors — led the Dow higher in the prior session. Bank of America (, Fortune 500), Citigroup (, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan (, Fortune 500) all posted strong gains.
World markets: European stocks fell in midday trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 () lost 0.1%, while the DAX () in Germany shed 0.8% and France’s CAC 40 () slid 0.7%.
Asian markets finished mixed. The Nikkei () gained 1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite () fell 1.4% and the Hang Seng () lost 0.8%.
Economy: The Census Bureau will release data on factory orders for the month of November before the opening bell business cards. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect orders to have risen 2.1% in November, after dropping by 0.4% in October.
In the afternoon, the Commerce Department will release data on auto and truck sales for December. Auto sales stood at a 4.36 million annual rate in November, while truck sales were at a 5.98 million rate.
Companies: Before the opening bell, Yahoo (, Fortune 500) shares dropped 1.6% on reports that the search engine will name eBay’s (, Fortune 500) PayPal President Scott Thompson as its new CEO. Shares of eBay fell 1.1%.
Caterpillar (, Fortune 500) shares fell 1% in premarket trading, after the construction equipment manufacturer announced it will expand its research and development center in Wuxi, China.
Dunkin’ Brands () shares climbed 1.5% ahead of the bell, after the company announced it plans to double the number of its Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the United States in the next 20 years. The chain currently operates about 7,000 restaurants nationwide.
Cabot Oil & Gas () announced a two-for-one stock split, after its stock rallied 105% over the last year. The company also plans to increase its quarterly dividend 33%. Shares rose 3.3% in early trading.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro and British pound, but fell versus the Japanese yen.
Oil for February delivery slipped 70 cents to $102.26 a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $2.60 to $1,597.90 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.96%.
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits took an upswing just before Christmas.
About 381,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ended Dec. 24, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was more than economists had expected and marked an increase of 15,000 from the prior week, when claims had fallen to their lowest level since April 2008.
The Labor Department adjusts the figures to account for seasonal trends, but still, the holidays can sometimes distort the numbers slightly. Economists look to the four-week average to smooth out volatility. In the latest report, that number decreased to 375,000, its lowest level since mid-2008.
"Around the holidays, initial claims tend to be volatile, so I think we don’t have to read too much into the small rebound today," said Aichi Amemiya, an economist with Nomura cheap pay day loans. "We believe the labor market continues to improve."
Meanwhile, continuing claims — which include Americans filing for their second week of claims or more — increased 34,000 to 3,601,000 in the week ended Dec. 17, the most recent data available.
Investors seemed to shrug off the numbers, optimistic that next week’s monthly jobs report will show employers ramped up their hiring slightly in December.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com predict the report will show employers added 150,000 jobs in December, up from 120,000 the month before. The unemployment rate, however, is expected to rise from 8.6% to 8.7%, as discouraged workers re-enter the labor force to look for jobs again.
The U.S. Treasury again shied away from labeling China a currency manipulator on Tuesday, but it rapped the country for not moving quickly enough on exchange rate reforms.
The United States also chided Japan for stepping into the currency market to stem the yen’s rise, and urged South Korea to use such interventions sparingly.
Some U.S. politicians have argued that China has gained an unfair competitive edge in global markets by keeping the yuan artificially low to boost exports, and pressure has mounted in Congress for President Barack Obama to punish China.
But the administration prefers to tread softly and use diplomacy. The U.S. Treasury, in a semi-annual report, as usual said that statutes covering a designation of currency manipulator “have not been met with respect to China.”
It repeated its standard line that appreciation in the yuan has been too slow, calling it “insufficient.”
“Treasury will closely monitor the pace of appreciation and press for policy changes that yield greater exchange rate flexibility, a level playing field, and a sustained shift to domestic demand-led growth,” it said in the report to Congress on international economic and exchange rate policies.
The value of the yuan, which Beijing manages closely, has risen 4 percent against the dollar this year and 7.7 percent since China dropped a firm peg against the greenback in June 2010. The Peterson Institute for International Economics recently estimated the yuan was undervalued by 24 percent against the dollar, down from 28 percent earlier in the year. It attributed the change to both Beijing’s policy of gradual currency appreciation and higher Chinese inflation.
At the heart of the friction between the two countries is a U.S. trade deficit with China that swelled in 2010 to a record $273.1 billion from about $226.9 billion in 2009. The cumulative Jan-Oct deficit with China is on track to top that this year, running at around $245.5 billion.
The U.S. Senate this year for the first time passed a bill that would require the administration to slap penalties on Chinese imports if it fails to adopt market-based exchange rates. While the measure has made no progress in the lower chamber and is unlikely to become law, it shows the mounting U.S. frustration with its vital trade partner.
President Obama at the November APEC meetings, in his toughest words yet, told President Hu Jintao that China must play by global trade rules and act like “a grown-up.”
Beijing has warned the United States not to “politicize” the currency issue, and some economists have pointed out that nations such as Japan and Switzerland have intervened in currency markets without drawing Washington’s ire.
TARGETING TOKYO
The report did point the finger at Japan this time, criticizing Tokyo for its solo yen-selling interventions in August and October that followed a joint Group of 7 action in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake.
“The unilateral Japanese interventions were undertaken when exchange market conditions appeared to be operating in an orderly manner and volatility in the yen-dollar exchange rate was lower than, for example, the euro-dollar market,” the report said.
“In contrast to the post-earthquake joint G7 intervention in March, the United States did not support these interventions,” the Treasury said, adding that Tokyo should pursue reforms to revive its domestic economy rather than try to influence the exchange rate.
A senior Japanese government official said the report did not change Tokyo’s position that its currency policy was in line with G7 agreements.
“This report does not make it more difficult for Japan to intervene,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic. “We are committed to doing whatever is necessary.”
Japanese exporters have complained that the ultra-strong yen puts them at a competitive disadvantage. The yen was trading at just under 78 to the U.S. dollar on Wednesday morning, about 3 percent weaker than it was on October 31, when Tokyo aggressively intervened to cap the rise.
The report also noted that South Korean authorities “should limit their FX interventions to exceptional circumstances of disorderly market conditions and adopt a greater degree of exchange rate flexibility.”
MORE OF THE SAME
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the law on the FX report, which requires the administration to determine whether U.S. trade partners are deliberately undervaluing their currencies, is a poor tool to push Beijing on the yuan.
Instead, the United States prefers to argue for change at regular closed-door meetings with Chinese officials. It also uses international economic forums, such as the Group of 20 leading nations and the International Monetary Fund, to ramp up public pressure on Beijing to move more quickly to a more-flexible currency.
China is the biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries, with about $1.1 trillion, a position that gives it leverage in international economic negotiations. Foreign exchange traders had not expected a change of U.S. tactics.
“It’s not very surprising. It’s sort of sliding it in under the radar. They’re (Treasury) really not in a position to make any major moves at this point,” said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4Cast in New York.
The Treasury Department has not labeled a country a currency manipulator since July 1994, when it cited China. A designation would require the United States to step up negotiations with Beijing on the yuan’s value.
The yuan slipped on Tuesday as strong dollar demand from corporations offset a record high mid-point fixed by the People’s Bank of China. The central bank set an all-time high dollar/yuan mid-point in an apparent move to let the yuan rise a little more at the end of 2011 so as to make the yuan’s full-year nominal appreciation look bigger, traders said.
Some U.S. manufacturers, which have been hit hardest by competition from China and other emerging economies, would still prefer the U.S. government to take a harder line.
“China’s currency is still enormously undervalued,” said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, an industry lobby for hard-hit textile, steel and labor groups.
“I’m disappointed that President Obama has now formally refused six times to cite China for its currency manipulation, a practice which has contributed to the loss of hundreds of thousands of American manufacturing jobs.”
NEW YORK, N.Y.
+%3Cp%3EChina%92s+home+prices+posted+their+worst+performance+this+year+with+more+than+half+of+the+70+biggest+cities+monitored+in+November+recording+declines+after+the+government+reiterated+plans+to+maintain+property+curbs.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ENew+home+prices+dropped+from+the+previous+month+in+49+of+the+cities+monitored+by+the+government%2C+compared+with+33+posting+decreases+in+October%2C+the+national+statistics+bureau+said+in+a+statement+on+its+website+yesterday.+Only+five+cities+had+gains+in+home+prices%2C+according+to+the+statement.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93Home+prices+will+fall+further+as+the+government%92s+tightening+continues%2C%94+said+Jinsong+Du%2C+a+Hong+Kong-based+property+analyst+for+Credit+Suisse+Group+AG.+%93We%92ll+see+more+small+developers+file+for+bankruptcy+or+sell+off+their+assets+next+year.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+government+said+last+week+it+won%92t+back+away+from+real-+estate+industry+curbs+that+are+damping+home+sales+and+pulling+down+prices.+China+intensified+measures+this+year+by+raising+down+payment+and+mortgage+requirements+and+also+imposed+home+purchase+restrictions+in+40+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ENew+home+prices+in+China%92s+four+major+cities+of+Shanghai%2C+Beijing%2C+Shenzhen+and+Guangzhou+each+retreated+0.3+percent+from+October%2C+the+biggest+monthly+falls+for+these+metropolitan+areas+this+year%2C+according+to+data+from+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+eastern+port+city+of+Ningbo+and+Shenyang+in+the+north+close+to+the+North+Korean+border+posted+the+biggest+month-on-+month+declines+of+0.6+percent%2C+while+Guiyang+in+the+southwest+rose+0.2+percent%2C+the+most+among+the+70+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%91Critical+Stage%92++%3Cp%3EThe+gauge+tracking+property+stocks+on+the+%3Ca+topic_url%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.bloomberg.com%2Fshanghai-se-composite%2F%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fquote%3Fticker%3DSHCOMP%3AIND%22+density%3D%22full%22+title%3D%22Get+Quote%22+ticker%3D%22SHCOMP%3AIND%22+class%3D%22web_ticker%22%3EShanghai+Composite+Index+%28SHCOMP%29+rose+0.3+percent+at+the+close%2C+the+only+industry+group+that+posted+a+gain+on+the+benchmark+measure.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+figures+came+after+private+data+also+showed+further+signs+of+cooling.+China%92s+home+prices+fell+for+a+third+month+in+November%2C+%3Ca+topic_url%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.bloomberg.com%2Fsoufun-holdings-ltd%2F%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fquote%3Fticker%3DSFUN%3AUS%22+density%3D%22sparse%22+title%3D%22Get+Quote%22+ticker%3D%22SFUN%3AUS%22+class%3D%22web_ticker%22%3ESouFun+Holdings+Ltd.+%28SFUN%29%2C+the+country%92s+biggest+real+estate+website%2C+said+earlier+this+month+based+on+its+survey+of+100+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93It%92s+more+and+more+clear+that+home+prices+are+falling+around+the+country%2C%94+said+Shen+Jian-guang%2C+a+Hong+Kong-based+economist+at+Mizuho+Securities+Asia+Ltd.+%93It%92s+still+the+critical+stage+of+China%92s+property+curbs%2C+so+the+government+doesn%92t+want+to+send+any+signals+of+easing+of+those+policies+too+early+as+it+may+reverse+the+trend.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EChinese+developers+will+face+challenges+over+the+next+12+to+18+months+including+slowing+sales%2C+tight+bank+credit+and+downward+pressure+on+prices+and+profit+margins%2C+Moody%92s+Investors+Services+said+in+a+Dec.+15+report.+%3C%2Fp%3E+Vanke%2C+Poly++%3Cp%3ENovember+contract+sales+of+China+Vanke+Co.%2C+the+country%92s+biggest+developer%2C+dropped+36+percent+from+last+year%2C+while+those+by+Poly+Real+Estate+Group+Co.%2C+the+second+largest%2C+fell+28+percent.+Developers+typically+sell+homes+before+they+are+built.+Vanke+shares+were+unchanged+in+Shenzhen%2C+after+falling+as+much+as+2.6+percent%2C+while+Poly+climbed+0.9+percent%2C+reversing+a+1.5+percent+decline.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EExisting+home+prices+in+Beijing+slid+0.7+percent+from+October%2C+while+those+in+Shanghai+retreated+0.5+percent%2C+according+to+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EChina+faces+slower+growth+in+home+sales+and+construction+next+year%2C+Fitch+Ratings+said+in+a+report+on+Dec.+13%2C+adding+that+smaller+builders+will+be+%93more+vulnerable%94+as+the+government+maintains+its+property+curbs.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EEasing+Measures%3F+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+government+may+ease+its+measures+in+the+second+half+of+next+year+if+home+prices+in+major+cities+include+Beijing+and+Shanghai+fall+20+percent+from+their+2011+peaks%2C+according+to+Mizuho%92s+Shen.+Shanghai%92s+new+home+prices+gained+2.4+percent+from+a+year+earlier+in+November%2C+and+those+in+the+capital+city+added+1.3+percent%2C+according+to+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EResidential+property+investments+accounted+for+6.1+percent+of+the+country%92s+gross+domestic+product+last+year%2C+according+to+Citigroup+Inc.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFalling+home+prices+helped+drive+sales+last+month.+Housing+transactions+rose+12+percent+in+November+to+416.4+billion+yuan+%28%2465.7+billion%29%2C+rebounding+from+a+decline+the+previous+month%2C+the+statistics+bureau+said+earlier+this+month.+%3C%2F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Olympus Corp. faces a deadline to report revised earnings Wednesday to avoid being removed from the Tokyo stock market after a whistle-blower questioned fees and acquisitions that turned out to be part of a deception to hide $1.5 billion in investment losses.
Former President and Chief Executive Michael Woodford, who has been in the limelight for first raising questions about exorbitant fees and acquisitions, is back in Tokyo to meet investors and legislators, and to try to lead a turnaround at the camera and medical equipment maker.
Woodford, a 51-year-old Briton and a rare foreigner to lead a major Japanese company, was fired in October after going public with his doubts about massive consulting fees on the acquisition of British medical equipment maker Gyrus Group in 2008 and other spending.
He was in Japan last month to meet police and other investigative authorities. He has said he wants to fix Olympus and has expressed hopes shareholders will back him.
Olympus President Shuichi Takayama has said Woodford lacks the right teamwork style to lead the company, although now acknowledges the positive side of Woodford’s whistleblowing. Olympus initially denied any wrongdoing and lambasted Woodford.
No one has been charged in the scandal. But Olympus management has said several top company men were involved in the scheme and has promised to investigate 70 officials, including former and current executives and auditors, to pursue possible criminal charges.
Meeting the Wednesday deadline for a revised earnings report is a must for Olympus to stay on the stock exchange, but it could still be delisted if seriously dubious accounting is found fast cash.
A third-party panel set up by Olympus, including a former Japanese Supreme Court judge, released the findings of an investigation earlier this month, which said top executives who were “rotten to the core” had orchestrated the accounting cover-up spanning three decades.
As of 2003, Olympus had racked up 117.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in investment losses dating back to the 1990s, according to the company.
The overpriced fees for financial advice and overvalued acquisitions were part of an elaborate deception utilizing overseas banks and several funds to keep the massive losses off the company’s books, Olympus says.
Japanese magazine Facta was first to report the dubious money.
Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, who was behind Woodford’s appointment as chief executive and later his firing, has since resigned as chairman. He is among several executives suspected of knowing about the scheme.
Last month, Olympus dismissed Executive Vice President Hisashi Mori, saying he was involved in the cover-up along with Kikukawa. A company auditor also resigned.
Olympus stock plunged after the scandal broke but has since recouped some of those losses on optimism it might not be booted off the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Metropolitan Urological Specialists PC offers a full spectrum of urological services. The medical practice includes these doctors:
Globalization and technology are intensifying the growing income gap between the rich and poor in Canada, economists say.
And government policies aren
The Senate unanimously approved tough new sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank amid fears of Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.
The 100-0 vote Thursday was for an amendment to the defense bill. Lawmakers had argued that concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran outweighed reservations about driving up oil prices and hurting Americans at the gas pump.
Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Mark Kirk of Illinois offered the amendment that would target foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran, barring them from opening or maintaining correspondent operations in the United States easy payday loans. It would apply to foreign central banks only for transactions that involve the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products.
Administration officials cautioned that driving up oil prices could mean more money for Iran.
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