Monthly Archives: <span>November 2019</span>

More Storms. Less Damage. But 2019’s Slow Hurricanes Leave Sense of Foreboding.

The Atlantic Ocean has spawned lots of storms this season while doing much less damage than prior years. But warming waters promise trouble ahead. The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30, has been the eighth most-active in named …

Texas Chemical Plant Fire Brought Under Control

AUSTIN, Texas , NOV. 29 —Officials lifted evacuation orders Friday for around 50,000 people on the Texas Gulf Coast, determining a massive fire was finally under control at a chemical plant rocked by two major explosions three days earlier. “We …

Coastal Damages from Climate Change Could Cost U.K. Economy Billions by 2050: WWF

The U.K. economy could face hits of more than 12 billion pounds ($15.4 billion) a year by 2050 from coastal damages alone if no action is taken to combat climate change, according to the WWF. The calculations — made on …

Argo Activist Shareholder Voce Renews Battle to Elect Independent Board Members

Activist shareholder Voce Capital Management LLC is renewing its fight with the board of Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. This time, Voce is calling for a special meeting of Argo shareholders to elect five independent board members. Argo has been …

Opioid Makers, Distributors Could Face U.S. Criminal Charges

Federal prosecutors are investigating six pharmaceutical companies for potential criminal charges in connection with shipping big quantities of opioid painkillers that contributed to a healthcare crisis, according to regulatory filings. Five companies have received subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney’s office …

Winds in the Sierras Reach 94 Mph Ahead of Big Snow Storm

Dangerous winds in the Sierra toppled a semi-trailer truck, downed power lines and closed a stretch of highway in Southern California on Monday ahead of a winter storm expected to bring up to 2 feet of snow to mountain tops …

Oregon High Court Rules .09% Not Enough to Convict for Drunken Driving

The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that a driver whose blood alcohol content registered .09% nearly two hours after he was stopped should not have been convicted of drunken driving. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the legal limit for driving is .08 …

Dive Boat on Which 34 Died in Southern California Exempt From Safety Rules

The diving boat that caught fire on Labor Day off Southern California, killing 34 people, was among hundreds of small vessels exempted by the U.S. Coast Guard from stricter safety rules designed to make it easier for passengers to escape, …

Wholesale Broker H.W. Kaufman Acquires UK MGA Barbican Protect

H.W. Kaufman Group, the Farmington Hills, Mich.-based wholesale broker and managing general agent, announced the acquisition of Barbican Protect Ltd., as part of its continued expansion into the UK market, subject to regulatory approval. Purchased from Barbican Insurance Group for …

Wildfire Crisis is Roiling California’s Insurance Market

Lauris Bye, a homebuilding industry veteran who moved to Southern California’s wildfire-prone hills decades ago, felt confident about the newly built house he was buying about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. It had safety features tucked into the …