Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Shell Plans to Restart Europe’s Biggest Oil Refinery After Recent Fire
Aug 9 2017 // Royal Dutch Shell Plc will attempt on Friday to restart one of two crude units at Europe’s biggest oil refinery that were halted by a fire late last month, a person with knowledge of the matter said. European diesel...
Generali Agrees to Sell Panama Business to ASSA for US$172 Million
Aug 8 2017 // Generali has entered into an agreement to sell its Panama business to ASSA Compañía de Seguros S.A., for US$172 million, continuing its strategy to focus on core businesses. Under the transaction, which is subject to...
Fatalities Rising as Coal Mine Production Increases
Aug 8 2017 // Ray Hatfield Jr. was six months into his latest coal job when he was crushed to death in a Kentucky mine. Hatfield, a 23-year industry veteran, was cleaning a conveyor belt that shuttled coal to the surface of the...
Catastrophe Bond Market Breaks New Records in 2nd Quarter, 1st Half: Aon Study
Aug 7 2017 // Catastrophe bond issuance during the second quarter stood at US$6.38 billion across 20 transactions – a new record for quarterly issuance that surpassed the previous record of US$4.49 billion set in Q2 2014, according to...
Cyber Attacks Against Ships’ GPS Systems Prompts Return of Radio as Backup
Aug 7 2017 // The risk of cyber attacks targeting ships’ satellite navigation is pushing nations to delve back through history and develop back-up systems with roots in World War Two radio technology. Ships use GPS (Global...
Saudi Arabia Denies Link to 9/11 Attacks, Seeks Exit from $100B Lawsuit
Aug 7 2017 // Saudi Arabia on Tuesday asked to be dropped from a Sept. 11 lawsuit victims’ families filed, saying no evidence links it to the deadly terrorist act. Lawyers for Saudi Arabia made the request in papers filed in...
Business Moves
Aug 7 2017 // Markel, State National Markel Corp. will acquire Texas-based State National Companies Inc. for $919 million, a deal that the Virginia-based insurer and reinsurer said will help diversify its underwriting and revenue...
Surplus Lines Insurance Premium Up Nationwide
Aug 7 2017 // A mid-year compilation of excess and surplus (E&S) insurance premium amounts by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) shows a 6.6 percent increase in premium nationally compared with the same period last...
U.S. Building Owners Reviewing Structural Materials After London Grenfell Tower Blaze
Aug 7 2017 // U.S. building owners should review what materials their structures are built with following a deadly fire in London that showed how flames can quickly cover a high-rise, devouring it from the outside, fire experts said. An...
Court Rules for NBC in Defamation Suit by Oregon Sporting Goods Company
Aug 7 2017 // A federal appeals court has ruled that NBC News did not defame an Oregon sporting goods company by characterizing its exploding rifle targets as “bombs” in a report on the “Today” show. The 2nd U.S....
Wisconsin Brewer Files Suit Against 2 Large Brewing Companies
Aug 4 2017 // A Canadian company that owns a brewery in southern Wisconsin has filed a federal lawsuit alleging antitrust violations by two of the world’s largest brewing companies. Mountain Crest says in the suit filed this week...
Liberty Mutual Reports Q2 Results Including Ironshore Impact
Aug 4 2017 // Liberty Mutual Holding Co. Inc. reported net income $126 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017, an increase of $111 million over the same period in 2016 thanks to improved investment returns. The rise in net...
Captive Insurers Repeat Strong Financial Performance: A.M. Best
Aug 4 2017 // U.S. captive insurance companies rated by A.M. Best ended 2016 in strong form, with a 16 percent year-over-year increase on pretax operating income to $1.6 billion, which included more than $803 million in underwriting...
Report Calls out $361M of Euro Insurer Assets in Expanding Coal Concerns
Aug 3 2017 // A climate activist group is calling out a handful of European insurers for having significant holdings in fossil fuels despite pledges by the companies to be more climate friendly. A report released today alleges that...
Fracking-Related Water Problems Raise Issues in West Texas
Aug 3 2017 // A West Texas land baron and oilman is on the verge of pumping 5.4 million gallons of water a day from far under the desert mountains here and piping it 60 miles to the nation’s most bountiful oil field, the Permian...
MetLife ‘Too Big to Fail’ Case Remains on Hold Awaiting Trump Weigh-In
Aug 3 2017 // Any legal decision on whether the largest U.S. life insurer MetLife Inc. should be labeled “too big to fail” will probably come after the Trump administration defines its stance on the designation. A U.S....
Update: Cyber Attacks Start to Hit Earnings of Global Companies
Aug 3 2017 // The cyber attack that crippled Ukraine businesses and spread worldwide to shut down shipping ports, factories and corporate offices has taken a costly toll on the results of major U.S. and European companies in the latest...
Volkswagen Wants Judge to Reject Wyoming Lawsuit
Aug 2 2017 // Volkswagen AG, trying to put a massive emissions-cheating scandal behind it, has asked a U.S. judge to reject a lawsuit by Wyoming potentially seeking more than $1 billion in additional penalties for environment...
Crop Damage from Herbicide Dicamba a Growing Problem Across U.S. Farm Belt
Aug 2 2017 // Larry Martin in Illinois says he’s never seen anything like it in his 35 years of farming. Arkansas soybean grower Joe McLemore says he faces the loss of his life savings. They’re among farmers across the U.S....
Judicial Records on MetLife ‘Too Big to Fail’ Ruling May Be Opened to Public
Aug 2 2017 // The public may soon be able to delve into how a U.S. District Court judge came to rule that MetLife Inc is not “too big to fail,” after three appeals judges on Tuesday decided many records in the case should be...
