Latest USA Headlines

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

U.S., European Retailers Divided on Safety Plan for Bangladesh Factories

May 16 2013 // A trans-Atlantic divide between European and U.S. retailers over how best to respond to fatal disasters in Bangladesh textile factories split wide open on Wednesday, with U.S. retailers claiming their European counterparts...

Government to Share Cyber Security Information with Private Sector

May 15 2013 // The U.S. government will use classified information about software vulnerabilities for the first time to protect companies outside of the military industrial complex, top officials told Reuters this week. Secretary of...

North American Retailers Devising Own Bangladesh Workplace Safety Plans

May 15 2013 // North American retailers on Tuesday discussed forging their own Bangladesh safety agreement–an alternative to a legally binding accord that many European retailers have signed on to–though details of any...

Hudson Insurance Group Now Writing Excess Business in New York

May 15 2013 // Hudson Insurance Group, the U.S. Insurance Division of Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. has received approval from the Excess Line Association of New York to write excess line business in the State of New York through Hudson...

Bipartisan Senators Ask SEC for Action on Credit Rating Agency Pay

May 14 2013 // A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators urged federal securities regulators to move quickly on fundamental changes to how credit-rating agencies are compensated, a step they said will reduce the type of conflicts that helped...

How Banks Will Recover Funds in $45M Cyber Heist

May 13 2013 // Because the sums were large and such attacks are relatively new, the two Middle East banks hit in a $45 million ATM heist face an uncertain path in trying to recover their losses, financial, insurance and legal experts...

10 Things to Know About the Trucking Industry

May 13 2013 // 1. Intermodal is the transfer of products using multiple forms of transportation — trucks, railroads or ocean carriers. In 2012, intermodal container volumes rose by 5.9 percent over the previous year with 13.1 million...

Crop Insurance Expansion Pushes Cost Increase in Latest U.S. Farm Bills

May 13 2013 // The federally subsidized crop insurance program, the costliest part of the U.S. farm safety net, would spin off at least three new types of coverage and could cost 10 percent more under draft farm bills pending in the U.S....

$45 Million Global Cyber Bank Theft: Who Pays the Losses?

May 10 2013 // In one of the biggest ever bank heists, a global cyber crime ring stole $45 million from two Middle Eastern banks by hacking into credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATMs in 27 countries, U.S....

Hospital Charges Vary Widely, Even Within Cities: U.S. Data

May 9 2013 // The Obama administration revealed what over 3,000 hospitals charge for common medical procedures in an early effort to challenge healthcare costs by showing consumers how prices for the same service can vary by tens of...

Hurricane Center Working to Improve Storm Surge Forecasts After Wet 2012

May 9 2013 // Last year’s hurricane season drove home some big lessons, according to the nation’s chief hurricane forecaster: Storm surge and flooding are dangerous and difficult to predict, and sometimes it’s even...

Sidelined G7 Finance Chiefs to Discuss Financial Reforms

May 9 2013 // Some of the world’s most powerful finance chiefs will meet in an English stately home on Friday and Saturday to try to speed up banking and finance reforms, with Cyprus’ near meltdown fresh in their...

Judge: U.S. Can Sue Bank of America Over Toxic Mortgages Under FIRREA

May 8 2013 // A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the United States can pursue parts of a civil lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. over its sale of toxic mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, boosting a largely untested legal...

April Brought Fewer Tornadoes But Severe Hail, Floods to U.S.: Aon

May 8 2013 // Parts of the U.S. suffered severe hail and flooding damage during April, although there were fewer tornadoes than expected. Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model center at Aon Benfield, released its monthly Global...

Sandy-Struck New Yorkers Seek Home Buyouts

May 6 2013 // Joseph Szczesny’s modest Staten Island home in New York was inundated when Superstorm Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast in October. Now six months later, the 63-year-old bridge repairman and his fiance are all...

Health Insurers Cautious About Joining State Health Exchanges

May 6 2013 // The nation’s largest health insurers are far from leaping at the chance to join new state health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama’s reform law, making it likely that some markets will have...

Flexing Antitrust Muscle; China is a New Hurdle for Mergers & Acquisitions

May 6 2013 // China’s new-found clout in regulating global mergers is causing headaches for companies seeking high-stakes deals that need Beijing’s approval. Where corporate lawyers and advisers were once primarily concerned...

Experts Weigh Boston Bombings’ Impact on TRIA Debate

May 6 2013 // The April 15 Boston bombings could have an impact on the efforts to renew the federal government’s terrorism insurance backstop. Some experts say the Boston Marathon tragedy could help the cause of supporters of the...

Fireman’s Fund Chief Tackles Sesquicentennial, Market

May 6 2013 // Choosing an historic icon that stood after San Francisco’s great earthquake and massive fire more than 100 years ago was a deft, almost poetic, public relations concept to celebrate Fireman’s Fund Insurance...

U.S. P/C Industry Posts $33.5B 2012 Income Despite Huge Catastrophe Losses of $32B

May 6 2013 // U.S. property/casualty insurers absorbed net insured catastrophe losses of more than $32 billion last year, but still managed to post $33.5 billion in net income in the aggregate — in part because catastrophe losses were...