February 26, 2019
The U.S. Supreme Court turned away the tobacco industry’s effort to derail lawsuits by thousands of Florida smokers, leaving cigarette makers exposed to potentially billions of dollars in liability. The justices on Monday rejected appeals by units of Altria Group …
February 26, 2019
A funny thing is happening on the way to the future. As consumers’ and carriers’ behaviors, attitudes and expectations have been changing, independent agents are evolving to better serve both customers and carriers. In terms of customers, agents who have …
February 26, 2019
A Missouri Supreme Court ruling on talc lawsuits could reduce the liability and number of large trials Johnson & Johnson faces over allegations its talc products, including baby powder, cause cancer. The ruling will likely offer some respite to the …
February 25, 2019
In the conglomerate’s annual report published on Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway’s Chair Warren Buffett recommended that readers focus on operating earnings, reviewing a year in which insurance operations contributed $6.1 billion to a $24.8 billion total. While total operating income rose …
February 25, 2019
It was still dark on a Friday morning in November when a California Highway Patrol officer started following a Tesla Model S on Route 101 between the San Francisco International Airport and Palo Alto. The gray sedan was going 70 …
February 25, 2019
Bayer AG is set to face a second U.S. jury over allegations that its popular glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup causes cancer, six months after the company’s share price was rocked by a $289 million verdict in California state court. A …
February 25, 2019
There’s no dispute that a $48.9 billion merger announced in 2015 between health insurers Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. imploded two years later over antitrust concerns. Now, the question is whether one owes the other billions for the deal’s failure. …
February 25, 2019
The legal loopholes that have allowed Catholic bishops to escape sanction when they cover up clergy sex abuse cases may be closing. Two U.S. cardinals have confirmed that the Vatican is working on a “clarification” to a 2016 law that …
February 25, 2019
Warren Buffett used his annual letter to heap praise on Tony Nicely, the long-time chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s GEICO insurance unit. The letter also offered some perhaps surprising news: Nicely retired as CEO last year. Nicely handed …
February 22, 2019
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is in advanced discussions to sell its Applied Underwriters workers compensation unit to a consortium of insurance firms, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The deal would be a rare divestment by Buffett, …