Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
US Financial Bailout Watchdog Examining AIG Payments
Apr 8 2009 // The in-house watchdog for the U.S. Treasury Department’s massive financial rescue program is examining billions of dollars in counterparty payments made by bailed-out insurer AIG to major banks, such as Goldman...
U.S. Judge Halts Washington Mutual Fraud Lawsuit
Apr 7 2009 // A federal judge on Monday halted a consumer class-action fraud lawsuit against Washington Mutual Inc, saying it may be more appropriate for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to handle claims against the failed savings and...
Guy Carpenter: Rates Rising on U.S. Property Catastrophe Reinsurance
Apr 7 2009 // A new industry briefing shows reinsurance rates continuing to increase for the U.S. property-catastrophe reinsurance market for April 1, 2009 renewals. According to Guy Carpenter & Co.’s “Rates Up on...
U.S. Forecaster Lowers Atlantic Hurricane Prediction
Apr 7 2009 // Citing cooler seas and the prospect of a weak El Nino, Colorado State University’s hurricane team lowered its 2009 Atlantic forecast Tuesday to 12 tropical storms, of which six could become hurricanes. The research...
Rising Sea Levels in Northeast Putting Cities At Risk to Storm Damage
Apr 6 2009 // Global warming should lift sea levels along the U.S. Northeast nearly twice as fast as global rates this century, putting New York City at risk to damage from hurricanes and winter storm surges, scientists said. “The...
Business Moves
Apr 6 2009 // CAA, Bridges Group Inc. Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) has added Bridges Group Inc., based in Kansas, to its roster of agency members. Since 1894, the Bridges Group has served the region...
Business Moves
Apr 6 2009 // AIG American International Group is taking down the most prominent sign at its downtown Manhattan offices. According to a Reuters report, a spokesman said the company had decided to replace the large AIG sign —...
Measurement of Success
Apr 6 2009 // Planning, People and Dedication Equal Success for Top 100 Agency Bollinger Insurance Top 100 Agency Profile Ranking No.: 14 Agency Name: Bollinger Insurance Inc. Headquarters: Short Hills, N.J. Year Founded:...
An Awakened Washington Promises More Stress for Directors & Officers
Apr 6 2009 // Corporate Leaders Brace For Fallout From Heightened Regulation, Even Corrupt Foreign Practices Corporations and their directors and officers are living in fear. Fear of the next financial scandal, the next stock market...
KPMG Hit With Billion-Dollar U.S. Lawsuit Over Audits of Subprime Lender
Apr 2 2009 // Accounting giant KPMG was hit with a billion-dollar lawsuit Wednesday over claims its “grossly negligent audits” helped trigger the collapse of a top subprime mortgage lender at the start of the U.S. housing...
Key U.S. Senators Agree on Patent Litigation Reform
Apr 2 2009 // Leaders of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday they had reached agreement on key elements of a bill to revise U.S. patent law. One of the changes would require judges hearing patent infringement cases to...
U.S. Health Secretary Nominee Sebelius Vows Food Safety Upgrade
Apr 1 2009 // Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius vowed Tuesday to make the Food and Drug Administration a “world class” regulatory agency and to work with industry to improve food safety if she is confirmed as health and...
Angry Investors Take Aim at U.S. Bank Board Members
Apr 1 2009 // U.S. activist investors are seeking to oust board members at beleaguered banks whom they blame for helping cause the companies’ financial woes, setting the stage for drama at upcoming annual shareholder...
Nevada Irrigation District Faces Flood of Trouble
Mar 31 2009 // The failure of a century old earthen canal in northern Nevada that sent flood waters into hundreds of homes on a frigid night in January 2008 was only the beginning of a nightmare for a rural irrigation district. The flood...
U.S. Mining Safety Officials Look to Reduce Number of Contested Cases
Mar 31 2009 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced that settlement conferences held between mine operators and MSHA personnel to resolve enforcement disputes will be deferred...
Lawsuit by a Father in Indiana Targets Polluters
Mar 27 2009 // Ron Kurth, who grew up in Gary, Ind., and worked in the steel mills, raised his family in the region near the outskirts of Chicago. He always wondered about the smoke and smog that overcast the Lake Michigan...
Obama Plan Would Tighten Regulation of Large Financial Firms
Mar 27 2009 // Wall Street faces curbs on risk taking and the prospect of lower profits under sweeping U.S. proposals to prevent a repeat of the credit crisis. The Obama administration’s plan to rewrite financial rules, announced...
Ratings Recap: Generali, XL, Blue Fin (Cat Bonds), Sun Hung Kai, B&B, Risk Re
Mar 27 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services stated that its ratings on the core operating companies of Italy’s Generali Group (AA/Negative/–) are unaffected by the termination of the agreement relative to the...
Democrats’ Bills Would Create U.S. Financial Product Safety Commission
Mar 26 2009 // Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday introduced legislation that would create a financial products watchdog to crack down on unsafe lending practices. Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts and Brad Miller of...
Sen. Nelson Seeks U.S.Help on Florida Hurricane Losses
Mar 25 2009 // U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has asked the U.S. Treasury to provide assurances to private market lenders that any loans they make in Florida would be repaid at fair market interest in the event of a catastrophe. Nelson, however,...
