The National Association of Realtors reported today that pending U.S. home sales dropped to a new low in March, signaling the housing slump has yet to bottom out even as the spring selling season gets under way. The industry group’s seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes fell to 83.0 from… Continue reading Housing Market Yet to Bottom Out
Author: Farkas Laura
GAO Releases Analysis of Adding Wind Coverage to Federal Flood Program
Following is a summary of the GAO Analysis on combining a federal flood and wind insurance program: Disputes between policyholders and insurers after the 2005 hurricanes highlight the challenges of determining the cause and extent of damages when properties are subject to both high winds and flooding. Additionally, insurers want to reduce their… Continue reading GAO Releases Analysis of Adding Wind Coverage to Federal Flood Program
Liberty Mutual Posts First-Quarter Profits
Boston-based insurer Liberty Mutual Group reported profits of $360 million for the first quarter of 2008, a 3% increase compared with the same period last year. The carrier also reported net written premiums of $6.25 billion for the 2008 first quarter, a 10% increase from the same period last year. Liberty Mutual paid out $583… Continue reading Liberty Mutual Posts First-Quarter Profits
MarketScout: P/C Rates Lower in April
MarketScout reported on Monday that property-casualty insurance rates dropped by an average of 12% in April compared with the same period last year. The Dallas-based electronic insurance exchange found that general liability rates experienced the greatest decline, falling 15% from the levels of April 2007. Rates for small accounts declined 14%, while rates for the… Continue reading MarketScout: P/C Rates Lower in April
SEC Announces Start Of Distribution Process in AIG Settlement
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday the start of the process that will return more than $800 million in Fair Funds to harmed investors in American International Group, Inc., which settled SEC charges of financial fraud and improper financial reporting and disclosure over a four-year period. The U.S. District Court for the Southern… Continue reading SEC Announces Start Of Distribution Process in AIG Settlement
Wachovia Nearly Doubles its First-Quarterly Loss from Previous Report
The fourth-largest U.S. bank, Wachovia Corp, nearly doubled its previously reported first-quarter loss because of a write-down on three contracts in a bank-owned life insurance portfolio. The bank is now reporting a net loss available to common stockholders of $708 million, or 36 cents per share. On April 14, it reported a loss of… Continue reading Wachovia Nearly Doubles its First-Quarterly Loss from Previous Report
Fannie Mae Posts Loss, Cuts Dividend, Needs Additional Funds
Fannie Mae cut its dividend earlier today and is planning to raise $6 billion in new funds to stave off the severe U.S. housing market slump, driving its shares and the broader U.S. stock market lower. The largest provider of U.S. home financing, Fannie Mae also posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss, its third… Continue reading Fannie Mae Posts Loss, Cuts Dividend, Needs Additional Funds
More Lay-offs on the Horizon on Wall Street
Wall Street employees at Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and JPMorgan Chase are set to weather another wave of layoffs. According to a CNBC report, Morgan Stanley is planning another round of layoffs in the coming days, finalizing a plan to slash another 5 percent from its securities-firm workforce, or 1,500 employees. Lehman will… Continue reading More Lay-offs on the Horizon on Wall Street
The Subprime Fall-out Continues as UBS is Set to Cut 5,500 Jobs
Swiss wealth-management behemoth UBS will be cutting 5,500 jobs, one of the biggest purges seen so far in the financial markets crisis. Additionally, UBS stated that it has a preliminary deal with U.S. asset manager BlackRock to sell a $15 billion portfolio of subprime mortgages, in what the bank said was a signal the… Continue reading The Subprime Fall-out Continues as UBS is Set to Cut 5,500 Jobs
Closing Foreign Insurers Tax Break a Difficult Road for US Companies
“The Coalition for a Domestic Insurance Industry” is calling on lawmakers to close a tax loophole that helps foreign insurers. According to William R. Berkley, a member of the coalition and chairman of the W.R. Berkley Corp., foreign insurers are cutting their U.S. tax bills through reinsurance deals with affiliates in countries with… Continue reading Closing Foreign Insurers Tax Break a Difficult Road for US Companies