Traditionally focused on insuring municipal deals, bond
insurers got into trouble after they ventured into structured
products to boost returns.
Massive delinquencies on U.S. subprime mortgages battered
the credit quality of these products, increasing the capital
that bond insurers need to maintain their crucial “AAA”
ratings.
As bond insurers’ ratings are downgraded, so are ratings on
much of the debt […]
NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - A coalition of
environmentalists, consumer advocates and insurers has formed
to oppose proposed legislation that would expand a federal
flood insurance scheme.
The measure would add coverage for wind damage, which the
coalition says could prove costly for taxpayers and send the
wrong message about developing environmentally-sensitive,
catastrophe-prone areas.
Proponents of revamping the federal […]
Property group City Pacific (CIY.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) said yesterday that
there was no threat to A$1.1 billion in loans its First
Mortgage Fund had extended to property developments. “We’ve
never had issues with loans being repaid,’ said managing
director Phil Sullivan. He also dismissed concern over a
Victorian Government termination notice to City Pacific’s
Martha Cove development on the […]
NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - China’s major financial institutions, including its sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC), poured cold water on the idea of the possible purchase of Allianz’s (ALVG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) Dresdner, citing investment risk and political problems as major concerns, Chinese bankers told Reuters on Thursday.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SS: […]
MGIC shares shed 11% on report of huge loss
Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. dropped 11 percent, after the Milwaukee-based mortgage insurance company said that it lost $1.47 billion in the fourth quarter, believed to be the largest quarterly loss by a public company in Wisconsin. MGIC, which has been battered by the collapse of the […]
Headquarters: Eden Prairie
Revenues: $1.65 billion
Employees: 4,500 worldwide
Clients: Insurance companies, physicians, hospitals, private business, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, government agencies.
Provides: consumer tools, claims-processing data, fraud detection, risk forecasting, disease prevention programs, management of coding and reimbursement systems.
Circuit City to cut home-installation jobs
Struggling electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. said Monday it is shrinking its home installation business in response to the nationwide slowdown in home construction. Over four months, Circuit City will cut 67 jobs of workers who prewire new single-family homes, spokesman Jim Babb said.
Delta again drops $10 fuel […]
MUNCIE, Ind.
- It’s almost noon, almost time for what drew Carey Youngblood and his pals to the abandoned General Motors plant. Hands tucked deep in dirty jeans pockets, the factory men stomp their feet to stay warm as the countdown begins.(Ten … Nine …)Youngblood, a stocky 47-year-old […]
The Bush administration’s 218-page plan to overhaul financial regulation, released Monday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, would:_Expand the role of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets to include the entire financial sector rather than just financial markets._Create a federal commission, the Mortgage Origination Commission, to develop uniform, minimum licensing standards for mortgage market participants._Close […]
WASHINGTON
- It’s a Herculean task: revamping a financial regulatory system dating back to the Civil War to deal with 21st century crises imperiling the country.Under an ambitious Bush administration plan, the Federal Reserve would take on the unwieldy role of uber cop in charge of financial market […]