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The world’s biggest securities firm by market value, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., reported a smaller-than- estimated 53 percent drop in first-quarter profit after asset write-downs and lower fees from investment banking.    et income fell to $1.51 billion, or $3.23 a share, in the three months ended Feb. 29 from $3.2 billion, or $6.67, a… Continue reading Goldman Reports Lower Losses than Anticipated

The question on Wall Street is whether the Fed will make another major cut in lending rates at its regularly scheduled FOMC meeting today. The bet is on a full-point cut in the federal funds rate, to 2 percent, putting the key lending rate indisputably below key inflation gauges. Another cut in the discount rate… Continue reading The News on the Street: The Fed to Cut Big

The American Insurance Association (AIA) today said the ”National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2008,” which would nationalize insurance agent licensing only, would not result in the comprehensive insurance regulatory reform that is needed. “A better, and more complete approach to reforming insurance regulation would be to adopt the ‘National Insurance… Continue reading AIA: Agent Licensing Bill A Weak Substitute for National Insurance Act

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) last week urged members of Congress to consider legislation that would streamline licensing requirements for insurance agents and brokers. The bill, The National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2008 was introduced by Reps. David Scott, D-Ga., and Geoff Davis, R-Ky., and would establish… Continue reading NAMIC Urges Congress to Consider Reforms to Agent/Broker Licensing

Investor Wilbur Ross has reached an agreement to acquire the mortgage loan servicing business of H&R Block’s Option One Mortgage, forming the second largest mortgage servicing company in the United States. The $1.1 billion deal adds to the acquisition by WL Ross & Co. of American Home, giving the company $95 billion in mortgage financing.… Continue reading Ross Acquires Option One Mortgage

PMI Group Inc. recorded fourth-quarter huge losses due to its stake in Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., as well as losses at its U.S. mortgage insurance operations amid turmoil in the housing and credit markets. The company also slashed its quarterly dividend 76% as the nation’s largest mortgage insurer looks to conserve capital. PMI reported a… Continue reading PMI Posts Huges Losses for Fourth Quarter

H.R. 5633, which would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the use of consumer information in connection with some personal lines of insurance, could lead to premium increases for many consumers by depriving insurers of one of the most predictive underwriting tools at their disposal. Insurers’ use of credit scoring to price insurance… Continue reading Credit Reporting Amendment Could Increase Premiums

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut to its lending rate to financial institutions to 3.25 percent from 3.50 percent, effective immediately, and created another lending facility for big investment banks to secure short-term loans.    The moves were part of a series of new steps to help provide relief to a spreading credit crisis that threatens… Continue reading Fed Takes Steps to Protect Financial Institutions

On Monday, as investor jitters are increasingly shaken that more financial institutions could become casualties in the widening U.S. financial crisis that led to JPMorgan Chase acquiring investment bank Bear Stearns, the U.S. dollar tumbled to a record low against the euro.    The market shrugged off news late Sunday that the Federal Reserve had… Continue reading Dollar Continues its Decline as World Market Worries Over US Financial Markets

On Sunday JPMorgan Chase announced that it will acquire rival Bear Stearns in a deal valued at $236.2 million–or $2 a share–a stunning collapse for one of the world’s largest and most venerable investment banks. The last-minute buyout was aimed at averting a Bear Stearns bankruptcy and a spreading crisis of confidence in the global… Continue reading JPMorgan to Buy Bear Stearns at $2 Per Share