United States News

Madison Ranked Safest Metropolitan Area to Live

Madison, Wis., is the most secure U.S. community among large metropolitan areas (population of 500,000 or greater) according to the seventh annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live rankings from Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. Olympia, Wash., is the most …

WTO’s Lamy Tells Negotiators to Push for Doha Deal

Members of the World Trade Organization are showing new energy and determination to reach a global trade deal but must now abandon fixed positions to clinch the agreement, the head of the WTO said on Tuesday. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy …

Droughts, Floods, Snow and Cold Hit Global Commodities

Droughts and deluges in Australia, snow in Europe and cold snaps in the United States are pushing up prices of a range of commodities from sugar to heating oil and soybeans. Australia typically ranks as second in the league of …

Senate Expected to Pass Tax Cuts; House Democrats Balk at Estate Tax

President Barack Obama’s sweeping plan to extend expiring tax cuts for millions of Americans headed for overwhelming passage in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday as it moved through Congress. While the Senate neared a rare bipartisan vote on the bill …

An Analysis on Climate Talks: 18 Years, too Little Action?

“I was born in 1992. You have been negotiating all my life. You cannot tell us that you need more time,” Christina Ora of the Solomon Islands complained to delegates at U.N. talks on fixing global warming. Her line from …

Cancun Climate Talks End with Modest Steps, No Kyoto Deal

The world’s governments agreed Saturday to modest steps to combat climate change and to give more money to poor countries, but they put off until next year tough decisions on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The deal includes a Green Climate …

Appeals Court in California Reverses Itself in Armenian Insurance Suit

A federal appeals court last Friday reversed itself and now says the heirs of Armenians killed in the Turkish Ottoman Empire can seek payment from companies that sold their relatives life insurance. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in …

Thomas, Wilson Named Senior VPs at Great American Insurance

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Great American Insurance Group’s Property and Inland Marine Division has promoted two insurance executives: Grace Thomas and Cecil Wilson. Thomas was promoted to divisional senior vice president, with responsibility for the Northeast area of the United States with …

Brown & Riding, Alexander, Morford & Woo Merge

Privately-owned wholesale insurance firms, Brown & Riding of Los Angeles and Alexander, Morford & Woo of Seattle have announced that they will merge their operations as of Dec. 31, 2010. The combined entity will serve retail brokerage clients throughout the …

Bankers Expect Tough Year Ahead for Insurance M&A Market

Investment bankers expect another tough year for insurance sector deals in 2011, although there is hope for the M&A market as insurers come under increasing pressure to show growth coming out of the financial crisis. Large strategic insurance mergers, if …