Ireland held a referendum on Thursday, May 31 – a straight yes or no vote on whether the country would write the “Stability Treaty,” the austerity measures agreed to last fall by the 17 euro zone countries, into law. It …
Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common currency. President Barack Obama, the …
The Swiss-based insurance think tank Geneva Association has followed up on its recent report as to whether or not some insurers should be considered as G-SIFI’s (globally systemic important financial institutions). The Association has sent a letter to the Federal …
Europe looks to be entering a credit crunch, with loans harder to get and those that are made coming on tougher terms. Strikingly, banks are being tight despite falling demand for credit, pointing to a nasty interaction between the economy, …
An estimated 5.6 million trees that once shaded homes, streets and parks in communities across Texas now are dead as a result of last year’s unrelenting drought, the Texas Forest Service says. The economic cost resulting from the loss is …
The latest report from the World Economic Forum highlights the “world’s vulnerability to further economic shocks and social upheavals.” Together they “risk undermining the progress that globalization has brought,” the report warns. The seventh edition of the Global Risks 2012 …
State budget director John Nixon likes getting together with fellow budget directors these days because it gives him a chance to brag about Michigan. After a decade of ongoing deficits, “we’re in a position now where we’re not in crisis …
An analysis from Willis Re, the reinsurance broking arm of Willis Group Holdings, notes that the majority of this year’s catastrophe losses arose “from un-modeled or inadequately modeled perils or territories.” As a result reinsurers “are being more forceful in …
The world economic outlook is “quite gloomy” and will require action by all countries, starting with those in Europe, to head off an escalating crisis that carries risks of a global depression, the head of the International Monetary Fund said …
Standard & Poor’s Ratings announced that it has placed its ratings on the following insurers (and certain related operating subsidiaries and certain holding companies) on CreditWatch with negative implications: • Allianz Group (including the Euler Hermes group) • Aviva Group …
