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With a sharp attack on the industry by a heavyweight national consumer advocate, state lawmakers on Tuesday opened their own investigation into why homeowners’ insurance rates haven’t dropped to expected levels.     One year after lawmakers acted to combat skyrocketing premiums, the Senate Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability invited J. Robert Hunter, director… Continue reading FL Lawmakers Open Investigation on H/O Rates

Bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. said it was in talks with “very credible” potential partners that could help it boost its capital reserves. This comes on the heels of yesterday’s posting of fourth-quarter losses of $3.26 billion in losses and triple-A credit rating cut by Fitch Ratings. Ambac still remains rated triple-A by Standard… Continue reading Ambac in Talks with Potential Partners to Help Boost Reserves

Swiss Re announced on Wednesday that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has taken a 3% stake in the reinsurer and will assume 20% of its property and casualty business for the next five years. This move allows the company to increase its share buyback, but also concerns the reinsurer was giving a rival too much… Continue reading Buffett Gives Swiss Re a Boost with P/C Deal

The Federal Reserve yesterday stepped in with a 75 percent basis point cut and helped spare stock markets from a dramatic decline. However, today futures suggested that equities were again likely to turn substantially lower amid continuing anxiety about the economy. Today, about an hour before the start of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average… Continue reading Wall Street Braces for More Losses Today After Roller Coaster Ride Yesterday

Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday affirmed its triple-A and Prime-1 ratings on Nightingale Finance, a structured investment vehicle, after the vehicle received full backing from AIG Financial Products Corp.     SIVs raise funding through short- and medium-term debt issues and invest the proceeds in longer-term securities, mainly asset-backed securities and bank debt. They have… Continue reading Moody’s Affirms Nightingale SIV on Backing from AIG Financial

Under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Patricco in the Gen Re trial in Hartford, CT, Jay Morrow, an AIG senior vice president and actuary told a federal jury yesterday that former AIG Christian M. Milton told another AIG official that he did not expect losses on a 2000 reinsurance deal with General Re Corp.… Continue reading Gen Re – AIG Deal Unusual, Actuary Testifies in Trial

China’s financial regulators have formally agreed to allow banks to invest in insurance firms, removing one of the barriers between the two sectors. The move would help to improve the overall competitiveness and risk management capacity of China’s financial industry, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said in a statement on its Web site on… Continue reading China Allows Banks to Invest in Insurance Companies

Private-equity company J.C. Flowers & Co. announced that it’s considering purchasing British insurer Friends Provident PLC in an arrangement that could be valued at about £4 billion ($7.8 billion). J.C. Flowers, which also said an entity it advises has acquired a stake of about 2.7% in Friends, said it intends to approach the insurer’s board… Continue reading Flowers Considering Acquisition of Friends Provident

Fourth-quarter net income for Bank of America Corp. fell 95% as the company recorded a higher-than-expected $5.28 billion in collateralized debt obligation write-downs and said credit costs soared. In November Bank of America executivesestimated pretax CDO write-downs of at least $3 billion. The nation’s largest retail bank and credit-card issuer recorded net income of $268… Continue reading Bank of America’s Fourth-Quarter Net Income Drops Significantly

The Federal Reserve cuts target rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.50 pct, citing weakening economic outlook. As more news is released, we will update you.     The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate in an emergency move for the first time since 2001 after tumbling global stock markets and a… Continue reading Wall Street Journal, CNBC Reports Breaking News on Emergency Fed Cut