By Dena Aubin
NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Moody’s Investors Service on
Thursday steeply cut its “AAA” ratings on FGIC Corp’s bond
insurance arm, making FGIC the first big bond insurer to lose
its top rating from all three major ratings agencies.
The action on FGIC, the fourth largest bond insurer, raised
fears among investors of even [...]
“I think it’s rapid growth. The fact is, he’s starting from zero. Whether he’s going to be insuring as many on a weekly basis, I don’t know,” said Lee Epstein, chief executive officer of Money Market One, a San Francisco-based investment dealer.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) only started insuring municipal bonds in late [...]
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Food company shares regained a bit of their defensive luster on Friday when several showed they still have pricing power in the weak economy on the same day that investor Warren Buffett disclosed an 8.6 percent stake in the largest company in the sector.
On Friday, ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co (HNZ.N: Quote, [...]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - FGIC Corp’s plan to split its municipal bond business into a separate company could eventually lift values of state and local government debt it guaranteed, investors and issuers said on Friday.
The move by FGIC, which on Thursday became the first insurer to lose its top “AAA” rating from all three rating [...]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The recapitalization of U.S. bond insurers hit by the subprime crisis may occur soon, but if it fails, insurers can be forced to separate riskier activities from their municipal bonds business, New York state officials said on Thursday.
“The clear preference is a recapitalization of the companies, something that could happen at some [...]
By Stanley Carvalho
ABU DHABI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab investors offered
3.6 billion dirhams ($980 million) towards the initial public
offering of an Abu Dhabi-based Islamic insurer, 43 times more
than the firm was seeking, the IPO adviser said.
Mithaq Lil Takaful sold 82.5 million shares at 1 dirham
each, equivalent to 55 percent of the [...]
TORONTO (Reuters) - Insurance company Manulife Financial
Corp (MFC.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) is in the best shape it has been in years, but
management still worries about how financial market turmoil
will affect the wealth-management side of the company, its top
executive said on Thursday.
“We’re operating in a backdrop of very unsettled markets,
our wealth businesses are going [...]
Led by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a phalanx of interests charged Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth and its Ingenix division with denying millions of dollars in claims for millions of Americans when they use doctors outside of their insurer’s network.
Cuomo said Wednesday that he plans to sue UnitedHealth, launch an industrywide investigation into billing procedures and [...]
The office of Andrew Cuomo, attorney general for the state of New York, has been the source of a number of major consumer and civil investigations in recent years, including:
%26bull; 2002 - 2003: An investigation of Wall Street investment firms resulted in a $1.4 billion settlement by 10 firms accused of conflict of interest in [...]
TUESDAY, FEB. 19
Midwest Society of Association Executives third annual speakers showcase: A speed-learning event. 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, 3131 Campus Drive, Plymouth. $45 members, $65 nonmembers. Call Kathy Gatliff, 651-647-6388. Showcase features more than a dozen people delivering high-impact, 15-minute presentations on their favorite topics. Bonus educational session topic: [...]
