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American International Group Inc. (AIG) spokesman Nick Ashooh in the “Wall Street Journal” was quoted as saying that the insurer will cut its lobbying activities. This comes on the heels over questions from Capitol Hill over the use of a $120 billion federal bailout.      AIG will also reduce events it had planned for the… Continue reading AIG to Suspend Lobbying Efforts in Cost-Cutting Steps

Carl Baranowski has been named as president, CEO and secretary of Brooke Corp. after a housecleaning that has left the company with a board of directors consisting of one person. Baranowski has served as general counsel for the company.    A filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlined a complete turnover of the… Continue reading Bank Assumes Ownership of Brooke Stock; Baranowski Named as CEO

Demand for applications to buy homes and refinance mortgages sank 16.6 percent last week, according to Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA).         The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, slid last week to 408.1.        The trade group’s purchase index fell 10.9 percent to 279.3 in the… Continue reading Mortgage Apps Dropped 16.6% Last Week

Nearly one in six U.S. homeowners are finding themselves in the the position of not being able to pay their mortgage, threatening the U.S. economy with a new wave of foreclosures and bankruptcies.        About 12 million U.S. homeowners owe more than their homes are worth, compared with 6.6 million at the end of last… Continue reading Foreclosures Growing U.S. Threat

Echoing declines in Europe and Asia as fears of a global recession continued to hit investor confidence, U.S. stocks fell in opening trading in New York.      Wall Street’s main Dow Jones index was down 3% in initial exchanges, while in Europe the UK’s FTSE 100 had lost 3.7%, and Germany’s Dax had dropped 3.6%.  … Continue reading Recession Worries Stoke Fears Worldwide; Global Summit Meeting Set

Marred by the clash of equity and credit-related losses on their asset portfolios, catastrophe losses resulting from an active hurricane season and an anticipated spike in directors and officers liability (D&O) claims, the U.S. property & casualty industry’s reported statutory surplus at the end of the third quarter is projected to decline as much as… Continue reading Towers Perrin: Third-Quarter P&C Insurer Surplus Decline Could Reach $42 Billion

As American International Group’s (AIG) new chief executive officer, Edward M. Liddy, prepares to break up the embattled insurance giant, he has declared that one piece is not up for sale: commercial insurance. With its lucrative multimillion-dollar policies for some of the world’s largest companies, the unit has long been viewed as AIG’s crown jewel. … Continue reading AIG’s Breakup Sparks a Price War

Superintendent of Insurance Eric R. Dinallo today announced that the New York State Insurance Department has licensed Municipal and Infrastructure Assurance Corporation (MIAC), a new financial guaranty insurer. MIAC will be authorized to write financial guaranty insurance policies for municipal and infrastructure bonds.    “Especially in today’s turbulent credit market, any option that helps municipalities… Continue reading NY Department Licenses New Financial Guaranty Insurer

People are worried about the drops they see in their IRAs and 401(k)s, but the credit credit crisis could also be affecting auto and home insurance premiums. Some of the blame for rising auto and homeowners falls on the swooning financial markets. Insurers invest some of customers’ premiums in stocks and bonds to make money… Continue reading Auto and H/O Rates to Rise in Kansas, Missouri

The Federal Reserve will help finance purchases of up to $600 billion in assets from money-market mutual funds roiled by redemptions from investors seeking the safety of government debt. “The short-term debt markets have been under considerable strain in recent weeks as money market mutual funds and other investors have had difficulty selling assets to… Continue reading Fed Sets Up New Program to Help Finance Money-Fund Assets