Author: Farkas Laura

In related housing news, today KB Home, the country’s No. 5 home builder, posted a loss on write-downs for land values, with revenue falling 32 percent, reflecting the increasing supply of homes and tighter standards in the mortgage market that kept potential buyers on the sidelines. The U.S. housing market has been in a steep… Continue reading KB Home Posts Loss; Says No Sign of Housing Market Stabilizing Soon

The American Insurance Association (AIA) will testify about the usefulness of catastrophe models to insurers during a hearing Sept. 28 as part of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) meeting in Washington, D.C. “We are urging state regulators to allow insurers to use the best available tools to manage natural catastrophe risks,” said Eric… Continue reading AIA to Focus on Catastrophe and Reinsurance Issues During NAIC Meeting

A bill co-sponsored and introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) will require distributors of certain imported consumer and food products to demonstrate that they have the financial ability to cover risks associated with recalls and product safety.    Under the Food and Product Responsibility Act, a manufacturer would have to… Continue reading Bill Introduced to Show Product Recall Coverage

A bill approved by the Financial Services Committee would allow states to get federal assistance selling catastrophe bonds to fund earthquake or hurricane recovery.    A national program to help issue the bonds, the Homeowners’ Defense Act, would spread the potential expense of disasters among investors who face losing their entire investment in a natural… Continue reading House Panel Approves Measure to Allow Sale of Cat Bonds by States

Scheduled to speak today and tomorrow on Capital Hill, executives of Moody’s Investors Service, owned by Moody Corp, and McGraw-Hill Cos.’ Standard & Poor will be addressing publicly for the first time their decision to downgrade hundreds of mortgage-bond ratings over the summer, a move some feel came a little too late and helped exacerbate… Continue reading Moody and S&P to Address Ratings Role in Mortgage Market

On Tuesday night, the House approved a $35 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), ignoring a veto threat by President Bush. The vote was a solid 265 to 159. But while the Senate is expected to pass the compromise bill later this week and then send it on to Bush, threat… Continue reading House Continues to Ignore Threat of SCHIP Veto

The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes rose 10.7 percent to $32.6 billion in first-half 2007 from $29.4 billion in first-half 2006. Fueled by the industry’s net income, policyholders’ surplus — insurers’ net worth measured according to Statutory Accounting Principles — increased $26.5 billion to $512.8 billion at June 30, 2007, from $486.2… Continue reading P/C Carriers’ Net Income Rose, Profitability Slips, During First Quarter 07

The largest U.S. mortgage lender, Calabasas, California-based Countrywide Financial Corp., announced yesterday that it plans to revise terms on nearly 25,000 existing loan terms in an effort to help people avoid foreclosures. Countrywide already revised more than 17,000 home loans this year, and provided assistance on about 35,000 mortgages, including through repayment plans, postponements of… Continue reading Countrywide Plans Modifications to Existing Loan Terms

U.S. House leaders will confer this week on legislation overhauling the National Flood Insurance Program, including the introduction of optional windstorm coverage, with a goal of moving the bill to a floor vote by week’s end. The House Rules Committee has granted members until 5 p.m. Sept. 25 to submit for consideration amendments to H.R.… Continue reading CBO Score Boosts Flood Bill as House Prepares Floor Vote

The largest U.S. homebuilder, Miami-based Lennar Corp., whichi sells more than a third of its homes to first-time buyers, posted its largest quarterly loss in its 53-year history after $848 million of costs to write down the value of real estate. The shares fell as much as 6.5 percent. Exceeding the most pessimistic estimates from… Continue reading Largest US Homebuilder Posts Biggest Quarterly Loss, Shares Drop