Industry News

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NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES AUG 13, 2009
Moody's maintains A3 long-term issuer rating on AIG after insurer reports profit

Moody's Investors Service today said it would keep its A3 long-term issuer rating on American International Group Inc. after the insurance company reported its first quarterly profit in nearly two years.

By Bloomberg
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES AUG 13, 2009
National Planning Holdings revs up recruiting, drives rep count to all-time high

Although first-half revenue may be down at National Planning Holdings Inc., the independent broker-dealer network has been actively adding to its ranks of registered representatives.

By Darla Mercado
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES AUG 13, 2009
Strong sales of annuities boosted Jackson's earnings, top exec says

Jackson National Life Insurance Co., buoyed by robust sales of annuities, saw its first-half sales and deposits reach $6.1 billion, up from $5.94 billion in the first six months of 2008.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 12, 2009
June trade deficit rose to $27B, imports increase

The Commerce Department says the deficit rose 4 percent to $27 billion, from May's $26 billion. The May imbalance had been the lowest deficit in nearly a decade.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 12, 2009
Stock futures little changed Wednesday before Fed decision

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 12, 2009
ING back in the black

ING Groep NV, the Amsterdam, Netherlands, banking and insurance company, returned to profitability in the second quarter, earning £229 million ($325.8 million).

By Darla Mercado
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 12, 2009
LPL earnings spiked in second quarter

LPL Investment Holdings Inc. saw an 8.9% increase in its second-quarter profits, mostly on the back of cost cutting and the recent improvements in market conditions.

By Bruce Kelly
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 12, 2009
The new Merrill mantra: We want brokers, brokers, brokers

As Sallie Krawcheck takes charge of Merrill Lynch's retail-brokerage firm, it is priming the pump to recruit reps of all stripes — not just the jumbo producers so coveted on Wall Street.

By Bruce Kelly
NEWS WIREHOUSES AUG 12, 2009
Wirehouse-hopping drops as reps flock to indies and regionals

The number of advisers moving from one wirehouse to another reached a nine-month low last month, according to data compiled by the Discovery-RR Database.

By Sue Asci
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 12, 2009
Stocks surge as Fed sweetens up on economy

A more upbeat Federal Reserve reassured investors that they've been making the right bets.

By Bloomberg
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES AUG 12, 2009
HSA balances increase for individuals and families

Balances in health savings accounts increased slightly in the first quarter from fourth-quarter-2008 levels, according to data from Canopy Financial Inc.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 11, 2009
Securities America feared 'bank run' from holders of Medical Capital

A former top executive of Securities America feared “a panicked run on the bank” from clients who invested in private securities of Medical Capital Holdings Inc., which was sued last month by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 11, 2009
Former Bush adviser helps open investment firm

A former member of the National Economic Council under President Bush has launched a boutique investment advisory firm, according to published reports.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 11, 2009
Productivity rises more than expected in 2Q

The Labor Department says productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, rose at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the April-June quarter.

By Bloomberg
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES AUG 10, 2009
Mutual insurers weathered downturn better than publicly owned peers, Moody's says

Mutual life insurance companies fared better than their stockholder-owned counterparts in the recent economic tumult, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 10, 2009
Krugman says world avoided second Great Depression

Aggressive stimulus spending by governments helped the world avoid a second Great Depression but full economic recovery will take two years or more, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said today.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 10, 2009
Fed likely to keep key interest rate at record low

With the economy strengthening but still fragile, Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to hold a key lending rate at a record low this week and will weigh whether to extend some programs that were created to ease the financial crisis.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 10, 2009
Sotomayor unlikely to surprise on pension rulings

By Doug Halonen
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 10, 2009
U.S. retirement assets at $13.4 trillion in Q1

Total represents a 5% drop from yearend 2008 and is 26% below 2007 peak.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS AUG 10, 2009
In sign of hope, employment index remained flat

In a positive sign for the job market, the Conference Board Employment Trends Index remained flat last month for the third month in a row, according to data released today.

By Lisa Shidler