Standard & Poor’s downgrading of Italian debt hit the euro on Tuesday, although stock investors shrugged off the move to push European stocks higher. Markets remain on edge about Greece’s rickety finances and French banking stress and world stocks as …
In an announcement that received slightly less notice than the downgrading of the U.S.’ ratings from ‘AAA’ to ‘AA+’, Standard & Poor’s also announced that it has revised its outlook on Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance Inc. and Platinum Underwriters Bermuda Ltd. …
Standard & Poor’s reiterated Thursday it sees a real risk that future U.S. government deficits may meaningfully miss discussed targets and that there is a 50-50 chance the U.S. ‘AAA’ credit rating could be cut within three months, perhaps as …
Ratings agency A.M. Best may lower its outlook on the U.S. life insurance and annuity sector to “negative” from “stable,” it warned Tuesday, as American and European sovereign debt concerns continue to grow. Life insurers, with long-duration liabilities and a …
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 …
European politicians accused credit rating agencies on Wednesday of anti-European bias after Moody’s downgrade of Portugal’s debt to “junk” cast new doubt on EU efforts to rescue distressed euro zone states without debt restructuring. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso …
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its rating on Mariah Re Ltd.’s Series 2010-1 notes to ‘CCC+(sf)’ from ‘B(sf)’. S&P has also revised the CreditWatch status of the rating on the notes to developing from negative. “We placed the …
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Kuwait’s First Takaful Insurance Co. to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BB+’, and assigned the ratings a negative outlook. S&P then withdrew the ratings on First Takaful at the …
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its rating on the Class 2009-1 notes issued by Residential Reinsurance 2009 Ltd. to ‘B+(sf)’ from ‘BB-(sf)’. S&P explained that the rating action “is related to the changes in AIR Worldwide Corp.’s model …
A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘D’ (Poor) from ‘B-‘ (Fair) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “c” from “bb-” of Universal Casualty Company (UCC). The outlook for both ratings is negative. Best has also …
