Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Austin, San Antonio to Share $400K to Fight Intellectual Property Theft
Oct 5 2012 // United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas Robert Pitman announced that the San Antonio Police Department and the Austin Police Department will each receive $200,000 in federal grant money to combat the...
Facebook IPO Lawsuits to Be Heard in Court in New York
Oct 5 2012 // Dozens of lawsuits against Facebook Inc., the NASDAQ exchange and various underwriters will be centralized before a federal judge in New York, who must sort through the legal aftermath of Facebook’s botched initial...
Lawmaker Warns of New Cyber Threats to U.S. Financial Networks
Oct 5 2012 // The head of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Thursday that significant new cyber threats to U.S. financial networks appeared to be emerging from an “unusual” source. Committee...
Surplus Lines: Regulators Vetting of Alien Nonadmitted Insurers
Oct 4 2012 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a non-profit entity that acts as the trade association for state insurance commissioners. Although the NAIC may play a central role in regulation of the...
P/C Insurers’ Profits Jump in First Half as Catastrophe Losses Drop
Oct 4 2012 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes jumped to $16.4 billion in first-half 2012 from $4.8 billion in first-half 2011, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their annualized rate...
Insurance Institute Names 4 Car Models Top Safety Picks
Oct 4 2012 // The Dodge Dart, the model Chrysler is betting on becoming a top-selling small car, was among four new vehicles on the U.S. market to receive a top crash-test rating by an influential safety group on Wednesday. The 2013...
Health Plan Cost Rate Hikes Lower for Large Employers in 2012: Aon
Oct 3 2012 // In 2012, large U.S. companies and their employees saw the lowest health care premium rate increases in six years, according to an analysis by Aon Hewitt, the global human resources firm. The average health care premium...
Finaccord Analyzes Prof. Indemnity Insurance in Australia, Canada, So. Africa
Oct 3 2012 // New research, conducted by market research consultants Finaccord, reveals that “competition among underwriters of professional indemnity insurance in Australia and Canada is at least as strong as in Europe’s...
New York’s Fraud Suit Against JPMorgan May Aid Private Lawsuits
Oct 3 2012 // New York state’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. alleging fraud in mortgage-backed securities sold by Bear Stearns may be one of the broadest cases to come out of the financial crisis, but its impact is...
Supreme Court Weighs Government Liability Under Credit Reporting Law
Oct 3 2012 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday considered whether the federal government could be liable for money damages by printing confidential credit card information on a customer’s receipt, increasing the risk of identity...
US Fidelis Founders Sentenced to Prison in Missouri
Oct 2 2012 // The co-founders of defunct St. Louis-area auto service contract seller, US Fidelis, has been sentenced to prison on charges of stealing consumers’ refunds, insurance fraud and consumer fraud. Missouri Attorney...
Best Affirms QBE’s U.S. Subsidiaries Ratings; Upgrades Some ICR’s
Oct 2 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of the pooled and reinsured members of QBE North America Insurance Group...
Supreme Court Lets Black Brokers’ Bias Case Against Merrill Proceed
Oct 2 2012 // The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal by Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit of a ruling that allowed black brokers who accused it of bias to pursue their lawsuit as a class action. Without...
WTO Director Lamy Says Doha Round Rescue in US, China’s Hands
Oct 2 2012 // World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy on Monday acknowledged the Geneva-based grouping has been a “disappointing” forum for trade liberalization but placed the blame for moribund world trade...
Best Affirms QBE Insurance Group ‘A’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Oct 1 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of UK-based QBE Insurance (Europe)...
Supreme Court to Hear Employer Liability, Class Certification in New Term
Oct 1 2012 // The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review close to 40 cases in its new term that begins on Monday, roughly half the number the court is expected to hear this year. Below are some of the more prominent cases that the...
Former FDIC Chair Bair Reveals Financial Bailout Details in Book
Sep 26 2012 // When Sheila Bair showed up for a meeting in then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s office in October 2008, the bank regulator had no idea she was about to be asked to guarantee the debts of the entire $13 trillion...
Court Certifies Gender Bias Class Action Against Costco
Sep 26 2012 // A U.S. judge has certified a class action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp. over allegations of gender discrimination in the store’s promotion practices. Three women plaintiffs say Costco’s promotion...
Court Revives Ex-Chrysler Executives’ Age Bias Claims
Sep 26 2012 // Hundreds of former Chrysler LLC executives claiming they lost retirement benefits because of age bias can sue the company’s former parent Daimler AG, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday. More than 450 former auto...
USI Completes Acquisition of TD Bank’s U.S. Insurance Subsidiary
Sep 25 2012 // USI Insurance Services, a brokerage and financial service firm based in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., said Monday it has completed the acquisition of TD Insurance Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of TD Bank, N.A. The transaction was...
