Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Omega Raises NZ Quake Estimates to $16.8 Million; Australia Floods
Jan 7 2011 // Bermuda-based Omega Insurance Holdings Limited, which is also a leading LLoyd’s insurer, has issued a revised estimate of the losses it expects to incur from claims related to the earthquake, which struck New Zealand...
Swiss Re Concludes $170 Million Successor X Cat Bond Placement
Jan 5 2011 // Swiss Re has obtained another $170 million in protection through the Successor X Ltd. catastrophe bond program, covering Australia earthquake, North Atlantic hurricane and California earthquake risks. “The...
Australia Floods Cause ‘Catastrophic Damage’
Jan 5 2011 // Australia’s record floods are causing catastrophic damage to infrastructure in the state of Queensland and have forced 75 percent of its coal mines, which fuel Asia’s steel mills, to grind to a halt,...
Relief Flights Reach Flood Stricken Australian City as Waters Rise
Jan 4 2011 // Military flights rushed Monday to restock an Australian city before it is cut off by floodwaters that have turned a huge swath of the Outback into a lake, while police confirmed two more deaths in the crisis. Drenching...
Rising Rivers Prompt Evacuations of Australian Towns
Dec 30 2010 // The military flew out a town’s entire population of 300 people by helicopter Wednesday in eastern Australia where waters continued to rise after days of drenching rain. A total of 1,000 people were evacuated from the...
Heavy Rains, Floods Disrupt Australia Coal Mining, Port, Freight Operations
Dec 29 2010 // Heavy rains and flooding in Australia’s key coal-producing Queensland state have impacted mining operations and brought parts of the coal infrastructure, including rail and ports, to a standstill, operators said on...
Japan’s Dai-ichi Life to Take over Australia’s Tower Group for $1.2 Billion
Dec 28 2010 // Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co said it would buy the shares it does not already own in Tower Australia Group Ltd for 99.6 billion yen ($1.2 billion) as it seeks expansion overseas. Japan’s No.2 life insurer...
Droughts, Floods, Snow and Cold Hit Global Commodities
Dec 15 2010 // Droughts and deluges in Australia, snow in Europe and cold snaps in the United States are pushing up prices of a range of commodities from sugar to heating oil and soybeans. Australia typically ranks as second in the...
Qantas Grounds A380s for 3 More Days to Inspect Engines
Nov 8 2010 // Australia’s Qantas Airways has grounded its A380 fleet for at least another three days as it investigates oil leaks as a possible cause of the explosion which tore apart one of the super jumbo’s engines last...
Qantas Grounds A380s after Engine Failure Causes Emergency Landing
Nov 4 2010 // Qantas Airways suspended flights of its Airbus A380 fleet on Thursday after engine failure triggered an emergency landing in Singapore, one of the most serious incidents for the world’s largest passenger plane in...
IAG Reaffirms Fiscal Year 2011 Earnings Guidance
Oct 28 2010 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) Managing Director and CEO, Mike Wilkins has advised the Group’s shareholders that, after the completion of the first quarter of its fiscal year, IAG was on track to meet its...
Tight Market Drives Australian Companies into Deals Abroad
Oct 21 2010 // Cash rich Australian companies are being forced to search offshore for takeover targets as the small local market has become too consolidated to get deals past the competition watchdog. With the Aussie dollar at a 28-year...
Australian Mines, Sugar Growers Face Increased Cyclone Threat
Oct 19 2010 // Australia faces almost double the number of destructive tropical cyclones, possibly as many as 22, across oil and gas, iron ore and sugar production regions during 2010/11 cyclone season, the weather bureau said. The...
Aon Sees Catastrophes, Consolidation, Regulation in Asian Re Market
Oct 19 2010 // Aon Benfield launched a market update for the key Asia Pacific reinsurance hubs of Australia/New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and China at the recently concluded East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) in Bali. The announcement...
Best Affirms ‘A’ Ratings of QBE Insurance Group and Subsidiaries
Sep 30 2010 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength ratings of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of UK-based QBE Insurance (Europe)...
Australia Regulator Blocks NAB’s $12 Billion AXA Asia Pacific Bid
Sep 9 2010 // Australia’s competition regulator has again blocked National Australia Bank’s $12 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific, dealing a blow to NAB’s 9-month efforts to cement its dominance in the world’s...
RMS Releases ‘Australia Severe Convective Storm Model’
Aug 19 2010 // Risk Management Solutions has completed work on a model dealing with Australia’s three greatest perils. RMS announced the phase one release of its “Australia Severe Convective Storm Model®, covering damage...
China’s Economy Set to Pass Japan’s as World’s Second Biggest
Aug 2 2010 // China is set to overtake Japan as the world’s second-largest economy in a resurgence that is changing everything from the global balance of military and financial power to how cars are designed. By some measures it...
Supreme Court Decision Limits Non-U.S. Companies’ Exposure to U.S. Securities Litigation
Aug 2 2010 // Securities lawsuits against BP and Toyota may be substantially narrowed, thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision. On June 24, 2010, in a long-awaited decision that will affect the circumstances under which non-U.S....
A.J. Gallagher Buys Remaining Interest in Australia’s Specialised Broking
Jul 30 2010 // Chicago-based global insurance brokerage firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired the remaining 60 percent equity interest in Specialised Broking Associates Pty. Ltd, (SBA) headquartered in Perth, Western Australia....
