Fremont General Reports Loss, Shares Plunge

Fremont General Corp. reported on Thursday a much larger fourth-quarter loss that originally expected as the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company took a large charge to continue scaling back its workers compensation insurance operation.

Pre-tax charges total $267.8 million, including $198.0 million for goodwill. The news resulted in shares falling 34 cents, or about 9 percent, to $3.46 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The stock has lost 89 percent of its value over the last three years based on struggles with its workers compensation business.