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 […]
A day after New York’s attorney general took aim at UnitedHealth Group’s health-care reimbursement procedures, the ultimate financial implications for the nation’s largest insurer were yet to come into focus.
But there is little doubt that Andrew Cuomo’s probe has handed company executives a significant distraction and a bit of a black eye.
Although some analysts believe […]
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 […]
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 […]
Health care remains a top voter concern. Here’s some help on candidates’ stated positions:
Q Will all Americans be covered by health insurance?
Clinton: Yes. Huckabee, McCain, Obama: No.
Clinton would mandate that all individuals have health insurance. She has not specified how this would be enforced. Obama proposes a stepped approach starting with a mandate to cover […]
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 […]
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 […]
EAGLE, Idaho
- What they didn’t know before moving to Idaho could fill a house, and in many ways it does.The kitchen table holds stacks of legal papers. Medication bottles litter a nearby countertop. The two-story home Robert Ryan, 42, shares with his partner, Ralph Martinelli, 53, overlooks […]