Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
ING’s Good Results Reduce Pressure to Sell Insurance Arm
May 18 2010 // A strong start to the year has taken enough pressure off Dutch bancassurer ING Group to allow it to substantially delay or even potentially scrap the expected 2011 flotation of its insurance business. The talk of ING...
Bermuda Signs Tax Accord with Italy
May 18 2010 // Bermuda’s Minister of Finance, the Hon. Paula A. Cox, announced that Bermuda has concluded negotiations for a bilateral agreement with the Italian Republic that will, “upon signing later this year, provide for...
ECB’s Plan to Buy Bonds Risks Making it Europe’s ‘Bad Bank’
May 18 2010 // The European Central Bank’s decision to buy tarnished debt in the euro zone risks turning it into Europe’s de facto “bad bank” and putting cash-strapped governments and taxpayers on the hook for yet...
Zurich Announces Restructured Senior Management Appointments
May 17 2010 // Zurich Financial Services Group has announced a “streamlined” management structure and related senior management appointments. “At the core of the new structure is a reaffirmation of Zurich’s...
Volcanic Ash Grounds European Flights
May 17 2010 // Volcanic ash from Iceland caused widespread disruption at airports in Britain and other parts of northern Europe on Monday, grounding 1,000 flights and delaying hundreds of thousands of passengers, aviation officials...
S&P Affirms Alterra’s Ratings Following Max Cap, Harbor Point Merger
May 17 2010 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its ‘BBB’ counterparty credit rating on Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company Alterra Capital Holdings Ltd., which was...
Volcker Worries about Euro’s Future
May 14 2010 // Europe’s debt troubles could undermine its currency, White House Economic Adviser Paul Volcker said Thursday. Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman and a widely respected economist, told students at the London...
Best Upgrades Alterra Capital and Subs Ratings to ‘A’
May 13 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a” from “a-” of the operating...
Life products, Asset Mgmt. Buoy Allianz, Generali, Aegon, Ageas in Q1
May 13 2010 // European insurers were buoyed by strong sales of life insurance and asset management products on the back of a reviving economy in the first quarter, offsetting big disaster damage claims. Germany’s Allianz,...
Tardy Greek Debt Bailout Spreads Financial Crisis beyond Europe
May 12 2010 // Last weekend the leaders of the European Union finally realized that their dithering over a financial aid package for Greece had imperiled the entire continent’s financial structure. They acted to stem the tide by...
Willis Research Warns of Costly Consequences of Volcanic Eruptions
May 12 2010 // The world’s attention has been focused on the plumes of ash that continue to rise into the sky from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The microscopic grit in the ash cloud poses an ongoing threat to...
Europe’s Travel Firms Count Costs of Volcanic Ash Disruptions
May 11 2010 // Europe’s travel industry is counting the cost of air traffic disruption caused by a volcanic ash cloud which forced thousands of flights to be cancelled and is braced for more stoppages this month. British travel...
‘Shock and Awe’ Halts Euro Market Slide – for Now
May 10 2010 // A $1 trillion global emergency rescue package to stabilize the euro reversed the slide in world financial markets on Monday but left longer-term questions about whether Europe’s weakest economies can manage their...
ABI Advises Travelers After Latest Volcano Ash Cloud Disrupts Flights
May 10 2010 // Heightened eruptions from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused periodic closures of a number of European airports, as flights were cancelled, delayed or rerouted. Transatlantic air traffic between Europe and the...
Marsh Finds Europe’s Financials Buying Less Insurance to Save Costs
May 6 2010 // According to a report from Marsh’s London office, “European financial institutions are buying less insurance or decreasing their sums insured in an effort to reduce costs, despite an increase in claims...
UK’s Amlin to Establish European Reinsurance Company in Switzerland
May 5 2010 // London-based Amlin plc, one of Lloyd’s and the UK’s best known insurers, has announced plans to establish a reinsurance company in Switzerland to serve European clients. Amlin said it believes that the company...
Somali Pirates Hijack China-bound Oil Tanker off of Yemen
May 5 2010 // Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked the China-bound oil tanker MV Moscow University 350 miles (565 km) off the coast of Yemen with 23 Russian crew and crude oil worth $52 million on board. “The oil is Chinese. It...
Volcanic Ash Cloud Again Grounds Flights in Scotland and Ireland
May 5 2010 // A cloud of abrasive volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland disrupted flights to and from Ireland and Scotland anew on Wednesday. Two airports serving Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, were closed until at least...
Volcanic Ash Closes Irish, UK Airports; Summer Chaos Feared
May 4 2010 // Airports in Ireland and parts of Britain were closed again for some hours on Tuesday because of the cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland that wreaked havoc on European air travel last month. Flights in much of...
EU, IMF Agree on $147 Billion Greece Bailout; PM Warns of ‘Sacrifices’
May 3 2010 // European finance ministers triggered a record €110 billion ($147 billion) bailout for debt-stricken Greece on Sunday, May 2, when Athens committed itself to years of painful austerity. After weeks of tough talk and...
