Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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....
World Bank Head Warns No Region Immune to Europe Debt Crisis
Jul 19 2012 // World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Wednesday warned that most regions of the world will be hurt by the debt crisis enveloping the euro zone and said it was vital to protect the strong economic gains of the past decade in...
Iran Offers to Insure Foreign Ships to Skirt EU Ban
Jul 18 2012 // Iran said it would insure any foreign ships that enter its waters, in an effort to skirt a European Union ban on insuring ships carrying Iranian crude that has hampered the country’s oil exports. “The Islamic...
Finaccord Survey Finds Growth in EU Commercial Non-life Brokerage Receipts
Jul 17 2012 // Newly released data from Finaccord, a London-based market research consultancy specializing in financial services, reveals that the market for commercial non-life insurance broking reached a value of €9.89 billion...
IMF Cuts Global Growth Forecast as Emerging Economies Slow
Jul 17 2012 // The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for global economic growth and warned that the outlook could dim further if policymakers in the euro zone do not act with enough force and speed to quell their...
Best Affirms SCHWARZMEER UND OSTSEE (SOVAG) Ratings; Outlook Stable
Jul 16 2012 // A.M. Best Europe Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘B++’ (Good) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” of SCHWARZMEER UND OSTSEE...
EU under Pressure to Delay Solvency II Insurer Capital Rules
Jul 16 2012 // The European Union may be forced to put back the January 2014 start date for its Solvency II capital regime for insurers after talks to agree a final draft of the strict new rules collapsed, Europe’s top insurance...
South Korea Considering Resuming Iran Oil Imports: Gov’t. Sources
Jul 13 2012 // South Korea will soon decide on whether to resume Iranian crude imports after Tehran offered to ship and insure the oil to get around the impact of EU sanctions, two Korean government sources said on Friday. The EU oil...
Ironshore Europe Makes 3 Executive Appointments for London Office
Jul 12 2012 // Ironshore Europe Limited announced three executive appointments in its London office, effective immediately, “to align management leadership with business development opportunities within European markets,”...
Iran Oil Shipments Skirting Tanker Insurance Ban
Jul 12 2012 // Iran is shipping oil to China, its top buyer, despite a row over freight terms, and Japan has taken steps to resume imports in August as Tehran finds ways to get around Western sanctions on ship insurance for its...
Japan Insurers Expand Cover to Boost Iran Oil Shipping Capacity
Jul 11 2012 // Japanese insurers are expanding their maritime coverage to allow more domestic tankers to transport Iranian crude, as Tokyo looks to keep oil flowing despite tough Western sanctions, industry sources said on...
US Lawmaker Asks Tuvalu to Stop Reflagging Iran Oil Tankers
Jul 10 2012 // A prominent U.S. lawmaker has asked the small South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu to stop reflagging Iranian oil tankers and warned its government of the risks of running afoul of U.S. sanctions. The European Union...
