Latest USA Headlines

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

Goldman Sachs Says Insurers Need Hedge Funds to Diversity Investments

May 12 2016 // Mike Siegel, who oversees about $190 billion at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s asset-management arm, said insurers should stick with hedge funds even after their recent slump, because the industry needs investing...

Investigation of $81M Bangladesh Bank Heist Uncovers 3 Hacker Groups: Sources

May 11 2016 // Investigators examining the theft of $81 million from Bangladesh’s central bank have uncovered evidence of three hacking groups — including two nation states — inside the bank’s network but say it...

Medical Device Firm to Pay Massachusetts $1.9M in Kickback Settlement

May 10 2016 // Authorities announced that a medical device distributor has agreed to pay nearly $1.9 million to Massachusetts’ Medicaid program (MassHealth) over an alleged scheme to pay kickbacks to health care...

Insurer’s Hospital Claims Study Corroborates High Death Risk from Medical Errors

May 10 2016 // Death claims are the most common hospital liability claims, according to an insurance company study released after researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reported that medical errors are the third...

Alberta Wildfires Could Hit Canada Economy Harder than Hurricane Katrina in US

May 10 2016 // Intact Financial Corp. may post insured losses of as much as C$1.1 billion ($850 million) from the wildfires in Alberta, which could dent the Canadian economy harder than Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Intact,...

Hiscox Launches New US Flood Cover

May 9 2016 // Hiscox London Market has launched a new flood product for U.S. homeowners — FloodPlus. Working with wholesale brokers in the US to distribute the new product, FloodPlus offers higher limits and a wider scope of cover...

FAA Creates Drone Advisory Panel, Lifts Barrier to Education

May 9 2016 // The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is establishing a broad-based advisory committee to provide advice on key unmanned aircraft integration issues. Also, under a new policy, the agency will also make it easier for...

How P/C Insurers Fared in 2015

May 9 2016 // The U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry marked a third consecutive year of underwriting profitability, with $6.2 billion in underwriting income in 2015. However, the lower level of underwriting income and an 11.2 percent...

U.S. Justice Dept. to North Carolina: LGBT Law Violates Federal Civil Rights Act

May 6 2016 // A North Carolina law limiting protections to LGBT people violates federal civil rights laws and can’t be enforced, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday, putting the state on notice that it is in danger of being...

JLT Re Enters U.S Mortgage Insurance Market

May 5 2016 // Reinsurance broker JLT Re has launched a new operation in North America – JLT Re Global Mortgage Solutions — to offer insurance and reinsurance to government-sponsored entities, mortgage insurers, mortgage lenders and...

Natural Disaster Losses Hit Five-Year High in April: Aon Catastrophe Report

May 5 2016 // The global economy suffered the worst April natural disaster losses for five years, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. Earthquakes, convective storms and flooding...

U.S. Insured Catastrophe Losses from 13 Events in Q1 Add Up to Worst in Decade

May 5 2016 // Catastrophe activity in the U.S. led to $3.8 billion in insured losses in 29 states during the 2016 first quarter, with much of the damage hitting Texas. Those events were the worst in a decade in terms of frequency and...

Judge Rejects Uber’s Independent Contractors Claim in Sex Attacks Suit

May 5 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc.’s denial of responsibility for sexual assaults by drivers failed to derail a lawsuit brought by two women who say they were attacked last year. A San Francisco federal judge on Wednesday...

Takata Ordered to Expand Recall in U.S. to 40 Million Air Bags

May 5 2016 // Takata Corp. has been ordered to replace as many as 40 million additional air bags linked to deadly malfunctions, more than doubling what was already the biggest auto recall in U.S. history and putting more pressure on the...

U.S. Consumer Rules Would End Mandatory Arbitration Clauses That Limit Class Actions

May 5 2016 // A U.S. consumer watchdog on Thursday proposed new rules to block credit card companies, banks and other companies from forcing customers to waive their rights to join class action lawsuits and only settle disputes through...

Health Insurers Next on Justice Department’s Antitrust Agenda

May 5 2016 // Bill Baer was the ultimate Washington antitrust insider when he came to the Justice Department in 2013: At law firm Arnold & Porter LLP, he’d counseled the biggest U.S. companies, including deal machine General...

MAPFRE Appoints Tamayo as CEO of International; Castelo Named CEO of US Unit

May 5 2016 // Madrid-based MAPFRE S.A. has promoted Jaime Tamayo as CEO of the international territorial area. In his new responsibilities, Tamayo will oversee three regions at MAPFRE: the North America region; the EMEA region,...

Hartley to Lead U.S. General Liability for Liberty International Underwriters

May 4 2016 // Liberty International Underwriters (LIU) has named Casey Hartley as U.S. General Liability product line leader. Based in Atlanta, Miss., Hartley will have responsibility for the technical underwriting, portfolio...

Japanese Insurers Expected to Continue U.S. Spending Spree: Investment Bankers

May 4 2016 // Japanese insurers made more than $18 billion worth of acquisitions in the U.S. last year, and their spending spree isn’t over yet, industry dealmakers said on Tuesday. Japan has a number of large, healthy insurers...

Buffett Has No Love for High-Priced Money Managers; Says Even a President Trump Couldn’t Derail U.S. Economy

May 4 2016 // Warren Buffett’s biggest investment tip: Be wary of fees. At the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the billionaire warned about the enduring risk of derivatives, defended stocks in his portfolio and...