Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AIG May Use Tax Benefits of Selling Stakes to Repay U.S. Taxpayers
Sep 11 2009 // American International Group Inc. may sell stakes in its businesses, rather than shedding entire units, to repay U.S. government bailouts, retaining huge tax benefits, according to a source familiar with the matter. The...
Aon Survey Finds UK’s D&O Premiums Still Below U.S. Rates
Sep 9 2009 // According to Aon’s Quarterly D&O Pricing Index, “US financial institutions (FI) saw premium increases of 15 percent on average in Q2,” as did a number of the UK’s financial institutions....
Fairfax to Sell Shares to Fund Repurchase of Odyssey Re
Sep 9 2009 // Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. said Tuesday it will sell $1 billion in stock to fund the purchase of the Odyssey Re Holdings Corp shares that it does not already own. [IJ Note: Neither Standard & Poor’s nor...
Down Economy Plus Smarter, Safer Vehicles Help Reduce Death Toll
Sep 9 2009 // The death toll on the nation’s highways dropped in 2008 to 37,261, a 9.7 decrease from the 2007 total and the lowest level since 1961, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The trend continued in the...
At Home and Abroad, Vacated Properties Posing Greater Risks
Sep 7 2009 // A global recession, which has led to layoffs and a sharp drop in consumer spending, has also created a glut of commercial real estate space around the world. Vacated properties are a significant concern because they are...
Mexican Buses Avoid Safety Checks When Entering U.S., Says Audit
Sep 4 2009 // Some Mexican passenger buses are not being inspected when they enter the U.S. because they cross the border on evenings and weekends, there are no inspectors or the crossings lack safe places for inspections, according to...
Louisiana Commissioner: Don’t Raise Taxes on Reinsurers
Sep 3 2009 // Now that the hurricane season is well underway, Louisianans remember when Katrina came ashore, late in August 2005, with a storm surge that eventually flooded New Orleans and leveled many Gulf Coast towns, costing more...
Doha Round Talks Now an ‘End-Game’ Says Australian Trade Minister
Sep 3 2009 // The World Trade Organization’s Doha round to free up trade is nearly complete and world leaders are voicing the political will to reach a deal next year, Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said on Wednesday. But...
Blunt-Talking AIG CEO Benmosche’s True Passion Is Wine
Sep 3 2009 // AIG’s new CEO, Robert Benmosche, has sparked just about as many headlines as one executive can in the past few weeks — and all while on holiday at his villa in Croatia looking over the Adriatic. He has been...
SEC Watchdog Blasts Agency for Fumbling Madoff Probes
Sep 3 2009 // U.S. securities regulators missed “numerous” red flags that may have led to Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme and never did a “thorough and competent” probe despite complaints dating...
Judge Says Rating Agencies Not Shielded by Free Speech Defense
Sep 3 2009 // Credit rating agencies may find it harder to argue that their opinions deserve free speech protection after a judge rejected efforts by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s to dismiss a fraud...
Best Affirms Catlin Group’s ‘A’ Ratings
Sep 2 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” of the Bermuda-based Catlin Insurance Company Ltd (CICL), Catlin Insurance Company...
Ratings: Syndicate 2003 (Catlin), La Colonial, United, Arch, Ballantyne Re
Sep 2 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the Best’s Syndicate Rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a+” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 2003, which is managed by Catlin Underwriting Agency...
Mississippi Coast Benefits from U.S. Spending on Post-Katrina Projects
Sep 2 2009 // The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has 15 post-Hurricane Katrina coastal recovery projects on the Mississippi Gulf Coast budgeted at $132 million, including projects costing $30.5 million in Jackson County. Susan Rees,...
Japanese Agents Hope to Learn Best Practices from U.S. Agencies
Sep 2 2009 // The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that the 40,000 independent agencies in the U.S. enjoy. But they can still learn best practices from...
Tennessee Rejects Recovery If Product Defect Causes Economic Loss Only
Aug 31 2009 // The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that the state does not recognize an exception to the economic loss doctrine that generally bars damages if a product defect causes only economic loss and not any personal or...
Colorado Electricity Dam Fire Results in Indictment
Aug 31 2009 // Xcel Energy, Inc., Public Service Company of Colorado, RPI Coating, Inc., and two men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver late Friday on charges that the defendants violated workplace safety and health rules...
Motor Carriers Hit Over Safety; Are Insurance Limits Too Low?
Aug 31 2009 // A new analysis of government data reveals that more than 28,000 motor carrier companies that operate 200,000 trucks have violated federal safety regulations. The trial bar association, the American Association for Justice...
AIG, Former CEO Greenberg, CFO Smith Agree to Binding Arbitration
Aug 31 2009 // American International Group Inc. and former CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg said Monday they have agreed to privately arbitrate a shareholder lawsuit, and possibly another, potentially ending a an extended legal...
Economy Leaves Some U.S. Employees Stuck in Undesirable Jobs
Aug 28 2009 // With the U.S. economy mired in recession, workers are finding themselves stuck in bad jobs with such annoyances as managers who berate employees and bosses who hold meetings in bed. Unable to make a move when jobs are...
