Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Beyond the Flood Zone: Storm Surge Report Shows Coastal Vulnerabilities
May 17 2010 // Homeowners can mitigate against wind damage, but they’re powerless, really, to do anything against storm surge,” said one researcher whose job it is to develop ways to determine the vulnerability of homes and...
Economic Issues Challenge Effective Fire Protection
May 17 2010 // Since their inception in the days of Ben Franklin, our nation’s fire departments have bravely risen to the challenge of the dangerous task of firefighting. Yet, the profound impact of the current and historic...
Trains, Ships and Trucks
May 17 2010 // Maritime Law May Limit Compensation for Cargo Damages During the Inland Transportation Part of a Journey That Originated Overseas. In disputes regarding damage to cargo transported over land and water, it is important for...
Judge: LimeWire Filesharing Violates Copyright
May 14 2010 // The makers of file-sharing software LimeWire are liable to 13 major record companies that accused the service of infringing their music copyrights, a Manhattan federal judge has ruled. In a ruling made public Wednesday,...
Senators Slam Oil Executives Over Gulf Spill
May 12 2010 // U.S. senators Tuesday tried to pin the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on the companies involved, scrutinizing their safety practices and demanding full compensation be paid for the cleanup. In hearings before two...
‘Shock and Awe’ Halts Euro Market Slide – for Now
May 10 2010 // A $1 trillion global emergency rescue package to stabilize the euro reversed the slide in world financial markets on Monday but left longer-term questions about whether Europe’s weakest economies can manage their...
Best Removes Berkshire Companies from ‘Under Review;’ Affirms Ratings
May 10 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has issued three separate bulletins announcing that it has removed a number of Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance companies from the “under review with negative implications” status it announced...
Buffett’s Berkshire Q4 Profit Highest Since 2007; Geico Premiums Up 6%
May 10 2010 // Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Friday reported its largest quarterly profit since 2007, helped by an improving economy, investment and derivative gains, and the takeover of Burlington Northern Santa Fe...
BP Searches for Oil Spill Solution After Metal Dome Setback
May 10 2010 // BP Plc engineers will search for a solution Sunday after suffering a setback in an attempt to contain oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico with a huge metal dome, dashing hopes for a quick, temporary solution to a growing...
AIG Posts $1.5B Net Income in Q1; Chartis Sees 1.1% Drop in Premiums
May 7 2010 // American International Group Inc. turned a quarterly profit after a year-ago loss as the bailed-out insurer got a boost from its investments and general insurance operations appeared to stabilize. Chartis, the general...
U.S. ‘Ill-Prepared’ for Financial Crisis, Says Former Treasury Chief
May 6 2010 // Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson admitted on Thursday the United States was ill-prepared for the financial crisis that struck in 2008 and said he had not foreseen the depth of mortgage-related problems. The...
U.S. Senate Bank Reform Fight Turns to Consumers, Fed
May 6 2010 // The U.S. Senate’s debate on Wall Street reform shifted Thursday to a running battle over consumer protection and an impending challenge to Federal Reserve secrecy, with small banks also scoring a win. In the second...
H.W. Kaufman Financial Group Acquires US Reports
May 5 2010 // H.W. Kaufman Financial Group, a privately held company headed by Alan Jay Kaufman, has acquired Colorado-based US Reports Inc. – a national loss control inspection, premium audit and risk management services firm. US...
Democrats Garner More Votes in U.S. Senate for Financial Reform Bill
May 5 2010 // Democrats fought to push their Wall Street reform forward in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, slating more votes despite Republican resistance on a bill that is expected to pass within weeks. The chief negotiators for both...
Southeast Flooding Kills 22, Closes Businesses and Schools
May 4 2010 // A weekend deluge burst rivers and creeks from their banks across Tennessee and neighboring U.S. states Monday, killing at least 22 people and forcing thousands to evacuate homes and hotels. The overflowing Cumberland River...
E&S Direct Premiums Written Fall 7.5% From Prior Year
May 4 2010 // Excess and surplus insurers endured another year of declining premiums in 2009, writing 7.5 percent fewer direct premiums versus the prior year, according to SNL Financial’s analysis of the U.S. E&S market. The...
Who Pays?
May 3 2010 // Things are heating up in the world of Chinese drywall. Courts are issuing opinions, a U.S. consumer products safety agency is recommending gutting homes with the product, and a consumer watchdog group is insisting that...
OSHA to 15,000 U.S. Employers: ‘Ready or Not, Here We Come’
May 3 2010 // In early March 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent a letter to approximately 15,000 U.S. employers who had reported higher rates of and more severe workplace injuries than the national...
Who’s Going to Pay?
May 3 2010 // Things are heating up in the world of Chinese drywall. Courts are issuing opinions, a U.S. consumer products safety agency is recommending gutting homes with the product, and a consumer watchdog group is insisting that...
Insurer Wins Appeal in Lead-Contaminated Chinese Toy Case
May 3 2010 // A federal appeals court has ruled that an insurance company has no duty to defend against class action lawsuits filed in Illinois targeting the company’s insured, a Chinese manufacturer of toys sold in the United...
