Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Day #2 at Oil Spill Trial: BP Drilled Despite Earlier Problems
Feb 27 2013 // BP Plc took chances drilling its doomed Macondo well long before it ruptured in 2010, a well design and pressure expert said on Wednesday in the second day of testimony in the civil trial over the Gulf of Mexico oil...
Allied World Launches U.S. Surety Unit
Feb 27 2013 // Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG’s Allied World U.S. has expanded its casualty operations with the launch of a new surety line of business, available for clients in the United States. Robert Staples has...
2nd Winter Storm in Days Blasts Central U.S.
Feb 27 2013 // The second major snowstorm in a week battered the nation’s midsection on Feb. 26, dropping a half-foot or more of snow across Missouri and Kansas and cutting power to thousands. Gusting winds blew drifts more than 2...
Blizzard Eases U.S. Plains Drought but Crops Need More Moisture
Feb 27 2013 // A blizzard this week in the drought-stricken U.S. Plains will moisten soil for major crops, but the snow storm made it difficult to feed cattle and reach some cow herds, an agricultural meteorologist said on...
Supreme Court Limits When SEC Can Levy Fraud Penalties
Feb 27 2013 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the authority of the federal government’s top securities regulator to seek civil penalties over conduct that occurred more than five years before investigators took...
U.S. Cities in Front Line of Adapting to Extreme Weather, Rising Sea Levels
Feb 27 2013 // The signs of rising water are everywhere in this seaport city: yellow “Streets May Flood” notices are common at highway underpasses, in low-lying neighborhoods and along the sprawling waterfront. Built at sea...
Strong Growth in U.S. Manufacturing Brings Supply Chain, Other Challenges: Travelers
Feb 26 2013 // Manufacturing in the United States is in a growth phase, according to a survey by Travelers Insurance that found nearly three out of four executives in the manufacturing sector have either expanded their products or...
Opening Arguments in BP Oil Spill Trial Seek to Assess Blame
Feb 26 2013 // A long-awaited trial over the biggest U.S. offshore oil spill began on Monday, with governments, businesses and individuals blaming BP Plc mostly for the 2010 disaster that killed 11 rig workers and spilled 4 million...
Australia’s QBE Profits Reduced by Higher Claims; Cuts Dividend
Feb 26 2013 // QBE Insurance, Australia’s biggest insurer, posted a lower-than-expected 8 percent rise in full-year net profit due to high claims for accidents and adverse U.S. weather, prompting it to slash its dividend and...
Long-Awaited BP Oil Spill Trial Begins; No Deal Yet
Feb 25 2013 // BP executives more focused on cost-cutting and oil production than safety should be held responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a lawyer...
Commentary: The Near Impossible Battle against Hackers Everywhere
Feb 25 2013 // Dire warnings from Washington about a “cyber Pearl Harbor” envision a single surprise strike from a formidable enemy that could destroy power plants nationwide, disable the financial system or cripple the U.S....
Report: Sandy Was 2nd-Costliest Storm in U.S.
Feb 25 2013 // Superstorm Sandy was the deadliest hurricane in the northeastern U.S. in 40 years and the second-costliest in the nation’s history, according to a report released Feb. 12. The storm’s effects reached far and...
Business Moves – West
Feb 25 2013 // Shea, Leavitt Shea Insurance in Las Vegas, Nev. has been acquired by the Leavitt Group. Terms of the deal were not made available. With the acquisition Scott Villamor, who owned Shea Insurance, joins Leavitt Group’s...
California Commissioner Fingers Insurers for Iran Investments
Feb 25 2013 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in mid-February singled out eight insurers licensed to do business in the state that continue to have investments tied to Iran’s energy, military and nuclear...
Former Wisconsin Insurance Executive Sentenced to 5 Years for Fraud
Feb 25 2013 // A former Wausau, Wis., insurance agency executive has been sentenced to five years in prison for a fraud scheme, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin said...
Ohio Personal Lines Premiums Among the Lowest in U.S.
Feb 25 2013 // Lieutenant Governor and Department of Insurance Director Mary Taylor announced that Ohio’s average auto and homeowners insurance premiums are again among the lowest in the nation. According to 2010 data, the most...
High Prices, Crop Insurance to Offset Drought Losses for Farmers in 2013: USDA
Feb 25 2013 // The seven-year-old U.S. agricultural boom, driven by record-high commodity prices and painfully tight supplies, is expected to peak this year and then come to an abrupt end as high costs start to bite, the government...
U.S., Gulf States Considering $16 Billion BP Oil Spill Deal: WSJ
Feb 24 2013 // The U.S. government and Gulf Coast states are considering offering BP Plc a deal under which it pays $16 billion to settle civil suits stemming from the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the Wall...
Insurance Australia Group Posts US$ 840 Million Half Year Insurance Profit
Feb 22 2013 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced an insurance profit of A$815 million [US$840 million] for the half-year ended 31 December 2012, compared to A$276 million [US$284.6 million], for the first half of 2012....
AIG Q4 Operating Results Beat Expectations
Feb 21 2013 // Insurer American International Group Inc. reported fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations, although Chief Executive Robert Benmosche said some employee bonuses will be smaller this year because the...
