Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AIG Will Sell Assets, But at What Price?
Sep 18 2008 // American International Group Inc. may not sell assets for as much as it would like, as it scrambles to meet terms of its U.S. government bailout. The giant insurer narrowly avoided bankruptcy late Tuesday after the U.S....
Japan Insurers, QBE Seen Eyeing AIG Assets; China Less Likely
Sep 17 2008 // Japan’s well-capitalized and acquisitive insurers and Australia’s top player are seen as potential buyers if reeling U.S. heavyweight AIG sells assets, analysts and fund managers said. However, China’s...
AIG Crisis Restarts Debate Over State vs. Federal Insurance Regulation
Sep 17 2008 // The crisis surrounding giant insurer American International Group has reignited the debate within insurance circles over whether state or federal regulation is preferable. The parent AIG got into trouble with credit...
U.S. Looks to Former Allstate CEO Liddy to Run AIG
Sep 17 2008 // The U.S. government is betting former Allstate chief Edward M. Liddy is the safest pair of hands to oversee the dismantling of American International Group Inc. and prevent further unraveling of the world’s stressed...
AIG Woes Offer Double Benefit for Insurance Rivals
Sep 17 2008 // Insurance rivals stand to reap the benefits from the woes of American International Group, snapping up assets AIG is forced to sell while gaining greater pricing power as AIG pulls in its claws. Zurich Financial Services...
Lloyd’s Sees NAIC’s Decision on Reinsurance Collateral ‘This Month’
Sep 16 2008 // A bulletin on the Lloyd’s web site (www.lloyds.com) notes that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has confirmed it will meet “to consider the proposal to end collateral requirements...
Update: AIG Cash Crisis Mounts; Greenberg Explores Buyout; Conservatorship Reportedly Eyed
Sep 16 2008 // American International Group Inc. shares sank 48 percent on a report that regulators might take control of the giant insurer, though a U.S. government source said federal agencies do not have legal authority to put AIG...
AIG Rescue at Hand: Government to Take 80% Stake in Exchange for $85 Billion
Sep 16 2008 // An $85 billion government rescue of insurer American International Group Inc. looked increasingly likely Tuesday to stave off a bankruptcy that would have thrown world markets back into turmoil. The Federal Reserve will...
Woman Who Started Wildfire Says It Was Symbolic
Sep 15 2008 // The former U.S. Forest Service employee who started the worst wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history testified she burned the letter blamed for igniting the blaze as a “symbolic gesture” of her failing...
Bermuda Association Explains Reinsurance Risk Spreading Role
Sep 15 2008 // “The global reinsurance market plays an integral role in spreading US hurricane risk around the world,” said a bulletin from the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR). “Without it, the...
Nearly 2,000 Brought to Safety in Texas
Sep 15 2008 // Rescuers searching the waterlogged streets and splintered houses left behind by Hurricane Ike in Galveston they had saved nearly 2,000 people – many of whom then boarded buses to shelters without knowing where they...
Hurricane Ike Idles Texas Oil Industry, Threatens Floods
Sep 12 2008 // Powerful Hurricane Ike bore down on the heart of the U.S. energy sector in Texas Friday, leaving most production idled and threatening a fifth of the nation’s refining capacity with howling winds and a possible...
U.S. Sees Insurance Clampdown on Iran Over Nuclear Program
Sep 11 2008 // The United States is discussing with allies how insurance firms can more rigidly apply sanctions on Iran to step up pressure over its disputed nuclear program, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday. Stuart Levey,...
U.S. Subprime Lawsuits Outpace S&L Cases, Study Finds
Sep 11 2008 // The U.S. subprime-mortgage crisis has now spurred more federal lawsuits than the savings and loan debacle of the late 1980s and early 1990s ever did, data released Wednesday shows. The number of new mortgage-related civil...
Ferocious Hurricane Ike in Gulf of Mexico, Headed for Texas
Sep 11 2008 // Hurricane Ike gathered strength as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters Thursday on a track that would skirt the heart of the U.S. offshore oil patch before slamming into the Texas coast late Friday or...
U.S. Court Upholds Vermont’s $183M Ambassador Insurance Judgment
Sep 11 2008 // The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued has upheld a judgment of $182.9 million in a malpractice case against the accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers for its dealings with the failed Ambassador Insurance...
Insurance Trade Group Honors U.S. Sen. Collins of Maine
Sep 11 2008 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) named Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, as its Federal Legislator of the Year. “Senator Collins has a great understanding and appreciation of the...
AIG Loses Its Position as Industry Leader by Market Value
Sep 11 2008 // Fears that American International Group Inc.’s large mortgage exposure could trigger another round of losses has rankled investors so much that the insurer has lost its iron grip as the world’s industry leader...
Feds: Civil Suits Unaffected by Mine Investigation
Sep 10 2008 // Federal officials say a criminal investigation of the Crandall Canyon, Utah, mine disaster doesn’t preclude civil suits against those associated with the mine. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration asked...
Conf. Board Urges Tech Transfer to Reduce Greenhouse Gasses
Sep 10 2008 // In a new report the Conference Board, a non-profit, business research organization, has concluded “restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are not feasible without significant productivity growth and a...
