Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Goofy Gordon Going Wrong Way; Storm Heads for Europe
Aug 17 2012 // The most recent bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami focuses on highly unusual Tropical Storm Gordon. It’s not unusual as a tropical storm, except for one detail – Gordon is heading directly east...
Insurance Deal Lets India Resume Shipping Iran Oil
Aug 15 2012 // India has joined Japan in offering government-backed insurance for ships carrying Iranian crude in order to bypass European sanctions that have nearly halved Iranian oil exports to key markets. The first Indian ship to...
Euro Zone Skirts Slump; Reprieve Seen Short-lived
Aug 14 2012 // The euro zone economy narrowly skirted recession in the first half of the year, but austerity programs across the region and a debt crisis weighing ever more heavily on its periphery suggest the reprieve will be...
Allianz Central and Eastern Europe Operations 1st Half Results
Aug 14 2012 // Allianz said its Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) operations “produced solid underlying results for the first six months of 2012 in challenging economic circumstances.” The regional companies reported total...
Ratings Recap: Electrical Contractors’, Scotia, Société Centrale, Adamjee
Aug 10 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of UK-based Electrical Contractors’ Insurance...
ING Sees Quick Sales in Asian Insurance Break-up
Aug 9 2012 // Dutch banking and insurance group ING now expects a quick sale of parts of its $7 billion Asian insurance business as it seeks to repay state aid and meet European requirements for its 2008 state bail-out, its chief...
Ratings Recap: Mapfre Panama, Infrassure, Lemma
Aug 8 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Mapfre Panama, SA, both with stable outlooks. Best said the “ratings reflect...
Peak Sun Cycle Threatens Satellites, Power Grids from Space Storms
Aug 6 2012 // The delicate threads that hold modern life together are dramatically cut by an unexpected threat from outer space, with disastrous effects. It’s the stuff of science fiction usually associated with tales of rogue...
Conference: Risk, Returns, Regulation and More Regulation
Aug 6 2012 // Coming off a rough few years of recession, then a disaster prone 2011 — and then more global uncertainty in 2012 — the world and the insurance industry have a few things to look forward to in the next year. They also...
Ratings Recap: Sunderland Marine, ENI
Aug 3 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of...
RBS Confirms Firing Employees over Libor Rigging Scandal
Aug 3 2012 // The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is majority owned (82 percent) by the UK government, confirmed on Friday it has dismissed a number of employees for misconduct as a result of its investigations into the Libor interest...
Recession, Libor, Facebook Punish Europe’s Banks
Aug 1 2012 // Leading European banks reported dismal profits on Tuesday, blaming everything from the continent’s debt crisis and Spain’s property market crash to Facebook’s disastrous stock market debut. Within a space...
Willis Opens New ‘Superyacht’ Office in Barcelona
Jul 31 2012 // Willis Group Holdings announced the imminent opening of new Superyacht insurance brokerage office at the prestigious MB92 shipyard in Barcelona, planned for September. In connection with the new facility Willis said it...
South Korea May Resume Iranian Crude Oil Imports Soon
Jul 27 2012 // South Korea may soon resume Iranian crude imports after having completely halted shipments in July because of a European Union ban on insuring tankers carrying oil from the Islamic Republic. A resumption would suggest top...
Conference: Risk, Returns, Regulation, and More Regulation
Jul 26 2012 // Coming off a rough few years of recession, then a disaster prone 2011 – and then more global uncertainty in 2012 – the world and the insurance industry have a few things to look forward to in the next year. They also...
ECB Head Sends Strong Signal Bank Will Act to Protect Euro Zone
Jul 26 2012 // European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his...
Indiana Physician Who Hid in Europe Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Jul 25 2012 // A former northwestern Indiana nose surgeon who was once the subject of an international dragnet before being captured on an Italian mountainside after five years on the run has pleaded guilty to 22 counts of health care...
Insurance is Key as Investment Frontiers Open, Says World Bank Exec
Jul 25 2012 // Political risk insurance against conflict or breach of contract has become a key factor for investors seeking higher returns in developing markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Indeed, the euro zone economic crisis...
Willis Creates New Units for Asia, Australasia, Middle East & Africa Operations
Jul 23 2012 // Willis International, the broker’s’ retail division, announced that in “recognition of the size, growth and strategic importance of its Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa operations, it has created...
Ratings Recap: CIBC Re, ACS (NZ) Ltd, CCR (Algeria)
Jul 19 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a+” of Barbados-based CIBC Reinsurance Company Limited (CIBC Re), both with stable outlooks....
