Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Generali’s Talks to Buy MetLife’s Europe Assets Stall over Price Differences: Sources
Dec 3 2019 // Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali has held talks with U.S. rival MetLife Inc to buy the bulk of its European assets but discussions have stalled due to differences over price, four sources told Reuters. Generali,...
Argo Group Hires QBE’s Grange to Join U.S. Leadership Under New Structure
Dec 3 2019 // Specialty insurer Argo Group International Holdings has named Jeff Grange to serve as an executive vice president for U.S. operations. In this role, Grange will lead the following businesses: Argo Casualty, Argo Pro, Argo...
Was It an Act of War? That’s Merck Cyber Attack’s $1.3 Billion Insurance Question.
Dec 3 2019 // By the time Deb Dellapena arrived for work at Merck & Co.’s 90-acre campus north of Philadelphia, there was a handwritten sign on the door: The computers are down. It was worse than it seemed. Some employees who...
Reuters Special Report: Powder Keg- Regulators Bowed to Industry for Decades Over Talc Risks
Dec 3 2019 // At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The...
Reinsurers Pressure Life Insurers Over Vaping Health Risks
Dec 3 2019 // Global reinsurers are stepping up their warnings to life insurer clients about the potential risks of vaping, putting pressure on underwriters to charge certain vapers higher rates than smokers, or even exclude them...
Judge Blocks Facebook Data Breach Victims from Suing for Damages as Group
Dec 2 2019 // A federal judge said up to 29 million Facebook Inc. users whose personal information was stolen in a September 2018 data breach cannot sue as a group for damages, but can seek better security at the social media company...
Massachusetts Adopts Tough Ban on Flavored Vaping, Tobacco Products
Dec 2 2019 // Massachusetts on Wednesday adopted the country’s toughest ban on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes, in response to a rise in youth vaping and an outbreak of vaping-related...
Argo Shareholders Not Alone in Wondering About CEO Corporate Jet Use
Dec 2 2019 // As U.S. corporate jet use approaches pre-financial crisis levels and chief executives take an increasing number of personal trips on the company tab, many investors are being kept in the dark about the true cost of the...
California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts
Dec 2 2019 // California utility PG&E Corp. has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages...
McDonald’s Will Pay $26 Million to Settle California Wage, Overtime, Break Claims
Dec 2 2019 // McDonald’s Corp. agreed to pay $26 million to settle a nearly seven-year-old lawsuit accusing the fast food chain of underpaying U.S. staff at its corporate-owned restaurants in California. The preliminary settlement...
More Storms. Less Damage. But 2019’s Slow Hurricanes Leave Sense of Foreboding.
Nov 30 2019 // 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...
Opioid Makers, Distributors Could Face U.S. Criminal Charges
Nov 27 2019 // 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...
Dive Boat on Which 34 Died in Southern California Exempt From Safety Rules
Nov 27 2019 // 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...
Uber’s London License Ban Marks Global Regulatory Backlash for Ride-Hailing Firms
Nov 27 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc. and its rivals disrupted global transport, riding on a lack of regulation to drive exponential growth. Now, regulators are closing in. London’s transport authority banned Uber for a second time...
Texas Orthopedic Surgeon to Pay $300K to Settle False Claims, Kickback Case
Nov 27 2019 // The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma reported that a Texas surgeon has agreed to resolve False Claims Act allegations that he accepted illegal kickback payments from OK Compounding LLC for...
McDonald’s Will Pay $26 Million to Settle California Wage, Overtime, Break Claims
Nov 26 2019 // McDonald’s Corp. agreed to pay $26 million to settle a nearly seven-year-old lawsuit accusing the fast food chain of underpaying U.S. staff at its corporate-owned restaurants in California. The preliminary settlement...
California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts
Nov 25 2019 // California utility PG&E Corp. has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages...
Trump Regulatory Rollback Targets Safety Rules Prompted by Industrial Disasters
Nov 25 2019 // The Trump administration’s move to relax an Obama-era chemical safety regulation put in place after an explosion at a fertilizer plant is the latest example of the White House easing rules established in the wake of...
U.S. Offers $30 Million in Grants to Help Coastal Areas Mitigate Flooding, Rising Seas
Nov 22 2019 // The U.S. government’s oceans and waterways agency will provide $30 million to improve coastal resilience, officials said, aiming to reduce the impacts of worsening storms, flooding and rising seas in nearly half of...
Former Ironshore, Lexington CEO Kelley to Retire at Year’s End from Liberty Mutual
Nov 22 2019 // Liberty Mutual Insurance today announced that long-time industry leader Kevin H. Kelley, vice chairman, Global Risk Solutions, will retire at the end of this year. In 2017, Kelley joined Liberty Mutual following the...
