Latest USA Headlines

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

Ratings: Argo Re, Heddington, La Colonial, Trinidad & Tobago, Lancashire, Brit

Jun 25 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Bermuda-based Argo Re Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiaries. Best also affirmed the ICR...

Steamship Mutual Publishes 2009 ‘Management Highlights’

Jun 24 2009 // Steamship Mutual, a major Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Club, has released its 2009 Management Highlights. “The visual theme of the Highlights this year is the illustration of Steamship Mutual’s...

Obama Flexible But Says Public Health Option Would Control Costs

Jun 24 2009 // President Barack Obama said Tuesday his healthcare overhaul needed a public insurance option to enforce market “discipline,” but stopped short of saying he would veto legislation without one. Obama, who has...

SEC Rejects Madoff Customer Damage Claim for $1.7 Million; Lawsuit Likely

Jun 24 2009 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected an attempt by a Bernard Madoff customer to get the agency to pay $1.7 million she lost in the fraud, setting the stage for a federal lawsuit, the investor’s...

AIU Holdings Names Schimek Global CFO; Vows No Breakup of P/C Group

Jun 24 2009 // AIU Holdings, the property/casualty division of insurer AIG and one of the world’s largest commercial insurers, has tapped Robert Schimek to be its first global chief financial officer, a role that includes preparing...

Best Affirms Fairfax, Subs Ratings

Jun 23 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” and the unsecured debt ratings of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, as well as the financial strength ratings (FSR) of...

Texas Court: Employer Not Liable for Fatigued Worker’s Off Duty Activity

Jun 23 2009 // The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that employers generally do not owe a duty to third parties for the activities of off duty employees that occur away from the work site, even if those activities ultimately lead to a...

Veterans Denied Damages from Government Computer Breach

Jun 22 2009 // Two Vietnam veterans are not entitled to damages from a 2007 Department of Veterans Affairs computer security breach in Birmingham, Ala., a federal appeals court panel in Georgia has ruled. Jim Henry Perkins and Jessie...

AIG vs. Greenberg Trial: AIG Never Involved in Management of Starr

Jun 22 2009 // Former American International Group Inc. chief Maurice “Hank” Greenberg told a federal jury on Friday that his former company at no time played a role in the management of Starr International, a private company...

AIG’s Taiwan Life Insurer Drawing Interest From J.C. Flowers, Fubon

Jun 19 2009 // Several U.S. private equity firms and Taiwanese financial groups are showing early interest in the sale of AIG’s Taiwan life insurance unit, banking sources said on Friday, in a deal the seller hopes could raise...

AIG vs. Greenberg Trial: Worries About Privately-Funded Pension Plan

Jun 19 2009 // International Group Inc. had questioned for years a retirement bonus plan for top managers because it was funded by a private company at no cost to AIG and that may have violated good governance standards, AIG’s...

Employers Holdings To Be Added to S&P 600

Jun 19 2009 // Reno, Nev.-based Employers Holdings Inc. announced Standard & Poor’s will add it to the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. The S&P 600 is considered the preferred small capitalization-market index in the United...

Gov. Manchin Names Commission to Study West Virginia Judiciary

Jun 18 2009 // Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will serve as honorary chair of a new study of West Virginia’s judiciary commissioned by Gov. Joe Manchin, the governor announced. Manchin named...

AIG Picks Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley for Joint AIA IPO Role

Jun 18 2009 // Bailed out U.S. insurer American International Group has chosen Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley as its joint global coordinators for a more than $4 billion IPO of its Asian life insurance unit, sources said on...

AIG vs. Greenberg Trial: Stock Flown to Bermuda to Avoid Seizure

Jun 18 2009 // The former head of ailing U.S. insurance giant AIG told a court Wednesday that he had a private jet fly a large block of the company’s stock to Bermuda from New York to prevent AIG from seizing it. “It was a...

Florida Judge Rules Out Punitive Damages in Accounting Malpractice

Jun 17 2009 // A Miami judge ruled on Tuesday that BDO International B.V. should not have to pay $352 million in punitive damages awarded against its U.S. member, BDO Seidman, in an ongoing landmark audit malpractice trial. Closing...

Obama Unveils Plan for Financial Regulation Today

Jun 17 2009 // President Barack Obama will unveil on Wednesday his plans for reshaping U.S. financial regulation, with proposals to close one bank regulator and create new overseers for big-picture economic risk and consumer financial...

Ex-CEO Greenberg: No Fiduciary Duty to Fund AIG Compensation Plan

Jun 17 2009 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, former chief executive of insurer AIG, testified before a federal jury on Tuesday that he did not have a fiduciary duty to fund an AIG compensation plan. “I did not view myself...

Lawyers Hurl Opening Volleys in Trial of AIG Against Ex-CEO Greenberg

Jun 17 2009 // Witnesses began testifying Tuesday in the civil trial of American International Group Inc.’s former top executive, accused of plundering an AIG retirement program of billions of dollars. Attorney Theodore Wells told...

Obama Seeks Doctors’ Support But Opposes Caps on Malpractice Awards

Jun 17 2009 // President Barack Obama warned doctors Monday the U.S. healthcare system was a ticking time bomb and urged them to support his overhaul, which includes a public insurance plan that many of them view with skepticism. Obama...