Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Cat Bonds Rally with Hurricane Season Advancing: Credit Market Recap
Aug 20 2013 // Gains on catastrophe bonds are poised to exceed returns on speculative-grade company debt by the most since 2008 as the Atlantic hurricane season heads into its fourth month. Notes designed to protect insurers from payouts...
QBE Net Income Falls 37% on Claims, Lower U.S. Premiums
Aug 20 2013 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd., Australia’s largest insurer by market value, posted a 37 percent fall in first-half net income as premiums fell in North America and it set aside more for unresolved claims. Net income...
U.S. Presses Japan to Open Insurance, Auto Markets
Aug 19 2013 // The United States urged Japan on Monday to open its auto and insurance markets more to foreign companies as the two countries pursue bilateral talks linked to a broader free-trade agreement that covers two-fifths of the...
Information Technology and Risk Complexity
Aug 19 2013 // In today’s legal environment, nearly every company faces some kind of litigation risk. With the growing ubiquity of technology in not just the corporate market, but the consumer marketplace as well, the risk for...
U.S. Asks Court to Block Bernanke Testimony in Greenberg’s AIG Lawsuit
Aug 18 2013 // The U.S. Justice Department on Friday asked an appeals court to reverse a judge’s ruling last month that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke must testify in a lawsuit about American International Group Inc.’s...
Former Louisiana Deputy Insurance Commissioner Sentenced
Aug 16 2013 // A former deputy commissioner at the Louisiana Department of Insurance has received a prison sentence for racketeering, according to Justice Department officials. Acting United States Attorney J. Walter Green in the U.S....
Ratings Recap: Electrical Contractors, Al-Sagr, Alliance (UAE)
Aug 16 2013 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of UK-based Electrical Contractors’ Insurance...
Quebec Demands CP Railway Help Pay for Disaster Clean-up
Aug 16 2013 // The Canadian province of Quebec has ordered Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd to help pay clean-up costs after a train disaster that killed 47 people and said on Thursday the company has no choice in the matter. The disaster,...
BP Asks Judge to Deny Investors’ Class-Action Spill Suit Bid
Aug 15 2013 // BP Plc asked a federal judge to deny U.S. investors the right to pursue a class action, or group, lawsuit claiming the company misled them before and after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The investors, led by the New...
Evacuations Start at Some U.S. Gulf Offshore Operations on Storm Threat
Aug 15 2013 // Some Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operators began evacuating workers from offshore facilities on Thursday as a low-pressure system threatened to strengthen into a cyclone. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Thursday...
Global Economic Outlook Dims as U.S. Recovery Continues: ICC-Ifo Survey
Aug 15 2013 // According to a World Economic Survey (WES) carried out by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Munich-based economic research institute Ifo, “the world economy has weakened slightly this...
Insurers, Government Grapple with Costs of Growth in Wildland-Urban Interface
Aug 15 2013 // The summer of 2013 has been another severe fire season for the United States, a trend that has insurance companies bracing for a new normal: higher rates of property damage as Americans move to wildfire-prone areas in ever...
Applied Systems Acquires Insurecom in U.K.
Aug 14 2013 // University Park, Ill.-based insurance software provider Applied Systems Inc. has acquired Insurecom, a software and connectivity solutions company focused on the insurance industry in the United Kingdom. Under the deal...
Human Activity Muddies Causes of Texas Floods
Aug 14 2013 // Periodic flooding in Texas — one the most flood-prone states in the nation — cannot be firmly linked to climate change due to numerous dams and other man-made structures introduced over the years, according to a...
U.S. Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Oklahoma Healthcare Reform Lawsuit
Aug 14 2013 // A federal judge has denied most of the federal government’s motion to dismiss Oklahoma’s legal challenge to implementation of the new federal healthcare law. In a 27-page decision, U.S. District Judge Ronald...
Report Urges Pressure on Utilities to Protect Electric Grid From Storms
Aug 14 2013 // Power companies should be pressed by government to install technologies including smart meters and energy-storage devices to shield the electric grid from more frequent disruptions tied to weather, according to a...
Atlantic Hurricane Season to Enter Most Active Phase Next Week
Aug 14 2013 // The Atlantic hurricane season is about to enter its most active phase as conditions for the powerful storms improve across the basin. Wind shear that can tear budding storms apart has been decreasing, said Dan Kottlowski,...
Lessons from U.S. Blackout of 10 Years Ago: Kemp
Aug 14 2013 // Exactly 10 years ago, at 15:05 Eastern Time on August 14, 2003, an overhead power line came into contact with an overgrown tree near Cleveland, Ohio. What happened next is a frightening case study of how vulnerable modern...
Endurance Appoints Head of U.S. Financial Institutions Insurance in New York
Aug 13 2013 // Endurance Specialty Holdings, a Bermuda-based specialty provider of property/casualty insurance and reinsurance, appointed Fred Cooper as executive vice president and head of U.S. financial institutions insurance, based in...
Kaufman Financial Group Acquires ISI Insurance Services in Pennsylvania
Aug 13 2013 // The H.W. Kaufman Financial Group announced the acquisition of ISI Insurance Services, a Uniontown, Penn.-based provider of premium audits, loss control and inspection services. ISI will join the team at US-Reports, a...
