debt ceiling News

Sovereign Debt Pressure Spreads to Insurers’ Balance Sheets: A.M. Best

Continuing economic weakness in Europe and the debt crisis in the United States have elevated the risk profile of U.S. insurers, stirring insurance rating agency A.M. Best to stress test insurers for how they might be affected by the ongoing …

How Debt Ceiling Politics Impact P/C Insurance Industry

As they watched Congress struggle to put a debt deal in place by Aug. 2, U.S. insurers worried about their companies’ portfolios, short- and long-term interest rates and a decline in equity markets. The leading concern among insurers in the …

Death of the Treasury Benchmark: James Saft Commentary

A U.S. default or debt downgrade may set off market fireworks but the longer-term effects of the death of Treasury bonds as a universal benchmark of risk may ultimately be more significant. The U.S. appears to be slouching towards a …

S&P Threatens Downgrade of Insurers, Financial Firms Over Debt Ceiling

Standard & Poor’s Friday raised the pressure on debt negotiators in Washington, saying it could downgrade insurers, securities clearinghouses, mortgage agencies and a laundry list of other firms without a deal soon to lift the U.S. debt ceiling and cut …