Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Alabama Sports Trademark Infringement Claim Set for Court
Feb 6 2012 // A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in the trademark infringement case between sports artist Daniel Moore and the University of Alabama, whose football program is portrayed in a number of his works. They...
Investors Suing Bank of America Win Class-Action Status
Feb 6 2012 // Investors suing Bank of America Corp. won class-action status for their lawsuit accusing the bank of fraudulently misleading them about the 2008 takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. and the size of Merrill’s losses...
P/C Insurers’ Combined Ratio for 2011 Estimated at 107.5%
Feb 6 2012 // The U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry reported its largest underwriting loss since 2006 and saw its operating performance deteriorate sharply in 2011, as catastrophe-related losses throughout the year wreaked...
China Tightens Rules for Auditors of Listed Firms
Feb 6 2012 // China has tightened the qualifying criteria for firms wanting to audit listed companies, to protect investor interests, according to new regulations published on Monday. The new regulations, made jointly by the finance...
Carlyle Group Drops Controversial Arbitration Requirement for Shareholders
Feb 6 2012 // Carlyle Group LP, a giant private equity firm that has filed for an initial public offering, has dropped a controversial effort to require its future shareholders to resolve claims through arbitration rather than in...
BP Fails to Shift Gulf Oil Spill Costs to Transocean
Feb 6 2012 // Oil giant BP has lost its attempt to shift over $15 billion of costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill onto contractor Transocean, increasing the possibility BP may have to foot the entire $42 billion clean up...
Increase in U.S. Tort Costs Driven by Gulf Oil Spill: Study
Feb 6 2012 // The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico were the key drivers in the 5.1 percent increase in U.S. tort costs in 2010, according to a new report. The 2011...
Ground Shifting for Medical Liability Insurers: Moody’s
Feb 6 2012 // Although it comprises just over 2 percent of annual direct premiums for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry, the medical professional liability (MPL) insurance business is integral to the U.S. healthcare system,...
Tougher U.S. Commercial Market Conditions in 2012: Marsh
Feb 6 2012 // U.S. commercial insurance rates are expected to climb across many lines of business in 2012, continuing a trend that began in the second half of 2011, according to a report by insurance broker Marsh. Substantial...
U.S. Offers Small Businesses Free Cyber Security Tool
Feb 6 2012 // The U.S. government is making it easier for small businesses to beef up defenses against cyber criminals through a free, online tool. The Small Biz Cyber Planner allows business owners to create customized cyber security...
Google Captive in Hawaii on Track
Feb 6 2012 // Web search giant Google Inc. has been granted tentative approval from the Department of Labor to form a captive insurance company in Hawaii to cover employee benefits for thousands of the Mountain View, Calif.-based web...
BP Fails to Shift $15 Billion of Gulf Oil Spill Costs to Transocean
Feb 6 2012 // Oil giant BP has lost its attempt to shift more than $15 billion of costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill onto contractor Transocean, increasing the possibility BP may have to foot the entire $42 billion cleanup...
People
Feb 6 2012 // Marsh & McLennan Companies has appointed AIG executive Julio Portalatin as CEO of Mercer, MMC’s human resource consulting unit. Portalatin succeeds M. Michele Burns who left the firm last October. Portalatin...
Nonprofits Show Job Growth Despite Decade of Turmoil
Feb 6 2012 // Defying two recessions, the nonprofit sector posted a remarkable 10-year record of job growth, achieving an average annual growth rate of 2.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, while for-profit jobs declined by an average of minus...
Business Moves
Feb 6 2012 // IMAC, Specialty Service Solutions Randolph, Mass.-based International Marketing and Administration Co. (IMAC) purchased Specialty Service Solutions LLC, an insurance brokerage headquartered in Chicago. Specialty Service...
Whistleblower Law Does Not Protect Mutual Fund Employees: Court
Feb 5 2012 // A U.S. law protecting whistleblowers at publicly traded companies does not cover employees of mutual funds, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday in a case involving two former Fidelity Investments employees. The U.S....
Judge Certifies Investor Class Action Against Goldman Sachs
Feb 3 2012 // Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was ordered by a federal judge to face a securities class-action lawsuit accusing it of defrauding investors about a 2006 offering of securities backed by risky mortgage loans from a now-defunct...
Aon Expands U.S. Tenant Rent Default Offerings
Feb 3 2012 // Aon has expanded availability to new states for its Aon Rent Protect product that reimburses landlords for lost income when tenants default on rent payments. The product was initially launched in California, Colorado,...
Family of Slain Border From Arizona Agent Files $25M Claim
Feb 3 2012 // The family of a slain U.S. Border Patrol agent filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against the federal government on Wednesday. The 65-page document that’s a precursor to a lawsuit was filed in Phoenix and...
Coal Mines Becoming Safer But Some Still ‘Don’t Get It,’ Says U.S. Regulator
Feb 3 2012 // Coal operators across the country are changing the way they work, and mines are becoming safer, but the head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Thursday there are still too many who...
