Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
GM Bankruptcy Shield from Claims May Cut Payouts by Billions
Apr 17 2014 // General Motors Co.’s move to freeze ignition-defect lawsuits in California and Texas has solid legal precedent behind it and could help slash customer demands for compensation by billions of dollars. GM asked federal...
GM Creates New Product Safety Team
Apr 17 2014 // General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra, under fire for the company’s slow response to flawed ignition switches linked to 13 deaths, said she is creating a team that will make the company’s cars...
Boston Marathon Attacks Convinced Smaller, Midsized Firms to Buy Terror Insurance
Apr 17 2014 // For landlord Peter Zagorianakos, terrorism insurance wasn’t a necessity until the bombs went off last April at the Boston Marathon and revealed a frightening pattern. Two buildings he owns stand within a half-mile...
Agents Brewing Up Program Business for Craft Beermakers
Apr 16 2014 // Craft beers have been capturing an increasing share of the domestic beer market over the past decade and this specialty niche is still growing. By 2020, America’s craft brewers will have more than 20 percent market...
Oklahoma Congressman’s Weather Forecasting Bill Passed by U.S. House
Apr 15 2014 // The U.S. House of Representatives in early April passed a bill sponsored by an Oklahoma congressman that would enable development of technology for improving weather forecasting and predicting. Rep. Jim Bridenstine of...
U.S. Agencies Join Probe of Fatal California FedEx/Bus Crash
Apr 14 2014 // FedEx Corp. will be in the spotlight of U.S. safety investigations operating alongside local law enforcement inquiries after a fiery truck-bus collision killed 10 people in California. Two federal agencies said that they...
SeaWorld Loses Bid to Nix OSHA Limit on Contact with Killer Whales
Apr 14 2014 // SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. lost its bid to overturn U.S. limits on trainers’ contact with killer whales imposed after one of the animals drowned an amusement park employee during a 2010 show. The Occupational Safety...
Magnitude 7.6 Quake, Heavy Waves Strike Solomon Islands
Apr 14 2014 // A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake triggered large waves in the Solomon Islands on Sunday, and authorities were trying to determine if there was any serious damage or injuries. Government spokesman George Herming said...
Independent Insurance Agents Find Some Pundits, Politicians in Washington Agree
Apr 13 2014 // News flash: a conservative and a liberal in Washington agree — on quite a few matters, in fact. Before an audience of independent insurance agents last Friday, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and liberal...
Sebelius Resigning as Obama Health Chief
Apr 10 2014 // U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is resigning after overseeing the botched rollout of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reforms, a White House official said on Thursday. Her...
Forecasters See Quiet Atlantic Hurricane Season
Apr 10 2014 // Rising heat in the equatorial Pacific Ocean portends the quietest Atlantic hurricane season in five years, Colorado State University researchers said. Nine named storms, with winds of at least 39 miles (63 kilometers) per...
Axa Eyes Sale of U.S. Reinsurer
Apr 10 2014 // Axa SA is exploring the sale of a U.S. subsidiary that shoulders risks tied to variable annuities, as Europe’s second-largest insurer narrows its focus in North America, according to people familiar with the...
Auto Recalls On Rise Following Toyota-GM Cases
Apr 10 2014 // Recall first, ask questions later. After Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. — two of the largest carmakers — were criticized for dragging their feet before calling back defective models in recent years,...
Allstate, Merrill Lynch End $167 Million Mortgage Suit
Apr 9 2014 // Allstate Corp. and Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit agreed to end a lawsuit by the insurer over $167 million in mortgage-backed securities as the second-largest U.S. lender continues to resolve litigation...
Allstate, Bank of America Agree to End Lawsuit Over Mortgages
Apr 8 2014 // Allstate Corp. and Bank of America Corp.’s Countrywide unit have agreed to dismiss a lawsuit stemming from $700 million of toxic mortgage debt, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The parties “have agreed...
U.S. Warns Businesses on Major Web Technology Bug ‘Heartbleed’
Apr 8 2014 // A newly discovered bug in widely used Web encryption technology has made data on many of the world’s major websites vulnerable to theft by hackers in what experts say is one of the most serious security flaws...
IMF Sees Global Growth Gaining Along with Rising Risks in Emerging Economies
Apr 8 2014 // The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted the global recovery would strengthen this year as output in richer nations picked up, but it warned of rising risks in emerging economies. In its latest global economic...
Court Says FTC Can Sue Hotel Chain Over Data Breaches
Apr 8 2014 // A U.S. court ruled on Monday that the Federal Trade Commission can proceed with a lawsuit against hotel group Wyndham Worldwide Corp. for allegedly failing to safeguard consumers’ personal information. Wyndham had...
Jury Hits Drugmakers with $9 Billion in Punitive Damages
Apr 8 2014 // Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd said it would contest $6 billion in punitive damages imposed by a U.S. federal jury in a case alleging that Japan’s largest drugmaker had concealed cancer risks associated with its Actos...
SNL’s Top 30 E&S Writers: Berkshire On Fire with 40% Growth in 2013
Apr 7 2014 // With 40 percent premium growth in 2013, Berkshire Hathaway climbed five spots in the U.S. excess and surplus lines (E&S) ranking by SNL Financial, while QBE scaled back its North American operations and fell three...
