Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Earthquake Raises Questions About Coverage, Construction Codes
May 5 2008 // Weeks after a 5.2 level earthquake rocked the Midwest from Cairo, Ill., to Atlanta, Ga., geologists and the insurance industry are still discussing the impact of the quake — such as increases in the purchase of...
S&P Revises its Outlook on Aegon and Core Subs to Negative; Affirms Ratings
May 2 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Netherlands-based AEGON N.V. and its core subsidiaries to negative from stable. Concurrently S&P affirmed its ‘A+/A-1’ counterparty...
ING to Buy CitiStreet for $890 Million
May 2 2008 // Dutch financial services group ING Groep NV announced it would buy CitiStreet, a retirement plan administrator, grabbing third place in the defined contribution business in the United States. ING said in a statement it...
Lifting the Lid: Accounting Rulemakers to Speed Up Convergence
May 2 2008 // Get ready for a flurry of new accounting rules. U.S. and foreign accounting rulemakers will soon debut a new plan to speed up the convergence of international and U.S. accounting rules, with the aim that all major capital...
McCain Pushes Tax Credit, Choice as U.S. Health Care Fix
Apr 30 2008 // Republican presidential candidate John McCain called Tuesday for greater competition for health care coverage for Americans, saying more choices for insurance will drive down costs and improve the system. On a campaign...
China’s Health Reform Creates Openings for U.S. Companies
Apr 30 2008 // China’s efforts to reform its health care system provide a major opportunity for American companies to enter the Chinese market, according to a top U.S. commerce official. As China looks toward revamping a health...
Wachovia May Face $1 Billion Charge after U.S. Court Tax Ruling
Apr 30 2008 // Wachovia Corp. expects to take a charge of $800 million to $1 billion in the second quarter because of a federal appeals court decision over the taxation of leveraged lease transactions, the bank said on Wednesday. The...
Appeals Court Sides with Forest Service in 2000 Montana Backfires
Apr 29 2008 // U.S. Forest Service firefighters have the discretion to determine the best way to fight fires and cannot be sued for negligence for setting a backfire in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley in 2000 to try to stop an...
Nevada Residents Warned Bigger Earthquake Could be Coming
Apr 28 2008 // Scientists urged residents of northern Nevada’s largest city to prepare for a bigger event as the area continued rumbling Saturday after the largest earthquake in a two-month-long series of temblors. More than 100...
Experts See Boost to Genetic Testing if U.S. Anti-Discrimination Bill Passes
Apr 28 2008 // Americans may be much more willing to get genetic tests showing predisposition to diseases with this week’s expected final passage by Congress of a bill barring discrimination based on one’s genetics, experts...
Aftershocks of Midwest Earthquake Expected for Weeks to Come
Apr 28 2008 // Geologists who gathered a week after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook the Midwest said they expect mild aftershocks to rattle the region for several weeks. The latest aftershock, a 3.7 magnitude temblor, was felt in...
US, China Accounting Standards Groups to Cooperate
Apr 28 2008 // Accounting standard setters for the United States and China have signed an agreement designed to strengthen cooperation and communication between the two countries, the Financial Accounting Standards Board said Monday. The...
Berkshire’s Buffett: U.S. Recession May Be Worse than Feared
Apr 28 2008 // Warren Buffett, the world’s richest person, said on Monday the U.S. economy is in a recession that will be more severe than most people expect. Buffett made his comments on CNBC television after his Berkshire...
Earthquakes Shake Reno, Nevada
Apr 25 2008 // Two moderate earthquakes shook the Mogul-Somerset area just west of Reno, Nev., on April 24, 2008, according to the Nevada Seismological Laboratory. While there were no immediate reports of damage, the Laboratory predicts...
La. Senator Pleads Not Guilty in Illegal Insurance Business Case
Apr 25 2008 // A Louisiana state senator pleaded not guilty to charges of helping a convicted felon launder money to conceal her operation of an illegal insurance business. Sen. Derrick Shepherd, 38, a lawyer from a New Orleans suburb,...
Survey: Medical Liability Insurers Optimistic About Short-Term Market
Apr 25 2008 // U.S. medical liability insurers anticipate their primary rate levels to decrease in 2008, compared with 2007, while the average frequency and severity of claims sustained by their firms will remain about the same as last...
Strait of Hormuz: The Potential Economic Effects of a Disruption
Apr 25 2008 // A cargo ship contracted by the U.S. military fired on an Iranian vessel in Gulf waters on Friday, raising tension between Washington and Tehran in a region vital to world oil shipments. In January, the United States said...
Liberty Mutual to Acquire Safeco Insurance in $6.2B Deal
Apr 23 2008 // Liberty Mutual Group has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Safeco Corp. for $68.25 per share in cash in a deal that will make Liberty Mutual the fifth largest U.S. property/casualty insurer and...
U.S. Watchdog Critical of FDA Foreign Drug Oversight
Apr 22 2008 // U.S. authorities increased inspections of foreign drug plants last year but still checked only a fraction of sites that supply medicine ingredients to the U.S. market, a government watchdog is set to tell Congress...
Lowery Named to Head Lloyd’s North America
Apr 22 2008 // Lloyd’s announced the appointment of LoriAnn Lowery as its new President, North America. She will report directly to Director, Market Operations and North America Sue Langley, in London. Lowery “will be...
