Financial News

Taiwan Regulator to Rule on AIG Taiwan Unit Sale By End of First Half

Taiwan’s financial regulator said it will make a decision on American International Group Inc’s sale of local unit Nan Shan Life Insurance Co in the first half of this year. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) had asked Ruen Chen Investment, …

RBS Recovery Undermined by Irish Losses

Royal Bank of Scotland’s high bad debt charges in Ireland and a drop in investment banking income overshadowed the bank’s return to profit in the final months of 2010. Stephen Hester, chief executive of the partly nationalised bank, said on …

Fairfax Financial Posts Q4 Loss on Investments

Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings said Thursday it fell to a fourth-quarter loss as its stock and bond portfolios were hurt by rising interest rates and a decision to hedge investments. The Toronto-based property and casualty insurer lost $364.6 million, or …

State Auto Sees Improvements in Q4 2010

State Auto Financial Corp., headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, reported fourth quarter 2010 net income of $37.6 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, versus $14.4 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2009. STFC’s GAAP combined ratio …

Berkshire Hathaway to Buy Rest of Wesco Financial

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will buy the 19.9 percent it does not own of Wesco Financial Corp., in a deal worth about $547.6 million, the companies said Monday. In September, Buffett submitted a takeover bid for Wesco, run by …

ACE Reports Q4 Net Income of $1 Billion; $3.1 Billion Full Year

ACE Limited reported net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, of $2.92 per share, compared with $2.81 per share for the same quarter last year, totaling over $1 billion. Income excluding net realized gains (losses) was $2.05 per …

PartnerRe Provides January 2011 Non-Life Renewal Data

Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd. announced that during the January 1, 2011 treaty renewal season it “expects to write and bind approximately $1.8 billion of Non-Life treaty premium. On a constant foreign exchange basis, this represents a decline of 16 percent from …

U.S. Lays Out Factors to Designate Risky Firms

U.S. regulators proposed using six different factors Tuesday to help them gauge when a non-bank financial firm poses risks to the system and merits additional oversight. The Financial Stability Oversight Council agreed in a unanimous vote to open a 30-day …

Mercury General to Report Results on February 7

Los Angeles-based Mercury General Corp. reported that on Monday, Feb. 7, 2011, the company will release results for its fourth quarter and 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2010. The company will host an investor conference call and Webcast that same …

AIG Recapitalization to Close Friday; Offering Expected in May

Banks will meet in New York City Thursday to make their case for the right to sell the U.S. Treasury’s stake in American International Group, three people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The Treasury will own 92.1 percent of …