Latest USA Headlines

All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Governments Struggle with Financial Crisis as the Planet Warms up

Jan 11 2013 // The global economy has been through economic recessions before, and has eventually recovered from them. This time around, however, it must do so while coping with the ever increasing menace of climate change – that makes...

Double-Digit Returns Absent From Year-End, 2013 Financial Forecasts

Jan 11 2013 // Although analysts following the property/casualty insurance industry expect underwriting results for 2012 to be better than 2011 when full-year numbers are tallied, double-digit overall returns-on-equity are still not...

Study Urges National Healthcare Spending Target

Jan 11 2013 // The United States could save $2 trillion in healthcare spending over the next decade, if the U.S. government used its influence in the public and private sectors to nudge soaring costs into line with economic growth, a...

Confie Eyes More Expansion, Push Into Standard Lines

Jan 10 2013 // In the coming year Confie Seguros plans to up its buying spree and expand into standard personal and small commercial lines, while broadening its demographic from being primarily Hispanic focused, the president of the...

3rd Defendant in W Financial Group $17M Fraud Sentenced to Prison

Jan 10 2013 // A man who, along with two others, falsely used the names of two well-known insurance groups in a scheme to swindle elderly people out of millions of dollars has been sentenced to prison in North Texas. Adley Husni...

Surplus Lines Regulatory Picture for 2013

Jan 10 2013 // State implementation of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), effective July 21, 2011, proceeded relatively smoothly during 2012, albeit with a few hiccups as industry and regulators navigated the transition...

Drought-Ridden Wheat Belt Declared Disaster; Record Crop Insurance Claims Seen

Jan 10 2013 // The government declared much of the central and southern U.S. Wheat Belt a natural disaster area on Wednesday due to persistent drought that imperils this year’s winter wheat harvest. In its first disaster...

Peak Re Launched in Hong Kong for ‘Underserved’ Asia Pacific Markets

Jan 10 2013 // Peak Reinsurance Company Limited formally announced that it has opened for business. The new reinsurer, established to capture the growing demand for modernized reinsurance solutions in Asia Pacific, said it has...

Multilateralism in Trade is ‘Dead’ Says French Industry Minister

Jan 10 2013 // Multilateral trade deals are “dead”, France’s industry minister said on Tuesday, professing a preference for bilateral accords as the 27-nation European Union and the United States prepare to begin talks...

Why U.S. Lags Other Wealthy Nations in Health Measures

Jan 10 2013 // Overeating, lack of health insurance access and comparatively high poverty are among the many reasons why Americans are less healthy and die younger than people in other wealthy countries, a report requested by the U.S....

Supreme Court Weighs Government’s Statute of Limitation in Civil Penalty Cases

Jan 9 2013 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to curtail the power of the top federal securities regulator to seek civil penalties after exceeding the usual time limit for fraud investigations. In oral argument,...

U.S. Insurers Should Be Stable in 2013, Says S&P

Jan 9 2013 // U.S. insurance sectors are generally poised for stable credit trends in 2013, resulting from strong balance sheets, a stable business climate, and improved enterprise risk management, according to Standard &...

AIG Says It Has Obligation to Consider Bailout Lawsuit; Critics Pounce

Jan 9 2013 // American International Group Inc., the insurer rescued by the U.S. government in 2008, said on Tuesday it is considering joining a lawsuit that claims the bailout terms were unfair, drawing angry condemnation from...

AIG May Join Suit Against Federal Government Over ‘Unfair’ Bailout Terms

Jan 8 2013 // American International Group Inc., the insurer rescued by the U.S. government in 2008 with a bailout that ultimately totaled $182 billion, may join a lawsuit against the government alleging the terms of the deal were...

Supreme Court Considers Travelers Insurance Case on Limiting Class Actions

Jan 7 2013 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday weighed whether to impose new limits on class-action lawsuits, as it reviewed whether a homeowner’s lawsuit against his insurer belonged in a state court considered friendly to...

NOAA: 2012’s U.S. Billion-Dollar Extreme Weather Events ‘Impressive’

Jan 4 2013 // Last year may not have measured up to 2011 in terms total damages or havoc wreaked, but the nearly dozen recorded billion-dollar weather related events still ranks as impressive. That’s according to the National...

FDA Proposes New Food Safety Rules

Jan 4 2013 // U.S. regulators proposed new food safety rules on Friday that aim to make food processors and farms more accountable for reducing foodborne illnesses that kill or sicken thousands of Americans annually. The new rules,...

Transocean to Pay $1.4B to Settle Over BP Oil Spill

Jan 4 2013 // Transocean Ltd. agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges over BP Plc’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 and the rig contractor admitted that its crew on the Deepwater Horizon was partly...

Transocean to Pay $1.4 Billion to Settle Charges from BP Oil Spill

Jan 4 2013 // Transocean Ltd agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges over BP Plc’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 and the rig contractor admitted that its crew on the Deepwater Horizon was partly...

Drought Persists in U.S. Plains; Slight Improvement in Midwest

Jan 3 2013 // Snowfall in parts of the U.S. Plains last week had little impact on historic drought gripping the region, but parts of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin showed slight improvement, weather experts said. A weekly...