In an unprecedented move that some are comparing to gambling on the legal system, a $4.6 billion lawsuit is being packaged as the sole asset of a special-purpose company that is preparing an initial public stock offering.
The Hartford (Conn.) Financial Services Group Inc. today announced that it has applied to the Office of Thrift Supervision to become a savings and loan holding company.
Consumer sentiments improved slightly in November, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.
Shareholders will receive an annual dividend of 58 cents per share of common stock Dec. 19, down by about 50% from the dividend paid out in 2007.
Retail sales fell 2.8% in October to a seasonally adjusted rate of $363.7 billion, marking the largest decline since the data were first tracked by the Department of Commerce in 1992.
The number of individuals receiving unemployment benefits reached 3.9 million last week — an increase of 65,000 from the previous week — the highest level since January 1983.
Legislation requiring hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission will be reintroduced by the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Agents and advisers are overlooking an opportunity for new life insurance sales: the middle market and minorities, said Catherine H .Smith, chief executive officer of U.S. insurance at ING North America Insurance Corp., in Atlanta.
Fortress Investment Group LLC posted a third-quarter loss of $57 million, or 66 cents per share, as the alternative-asset management firm proved susceptible to financial market turmoil.
“Ultimately, the consumer ought to benefit from greater regulation, provided that we heed the lesson of the current crisis,” said Christopher “Kip” Condron, president and chief executive of AXA Financial Inc. in New York.
Egregious risk taking in the name of impressive earnings has led to massive losses in the insurance industry, and now carriers need to think realistically about their pricing models and investments, executives said at a conference today.
The controversial proposal would move most EIAs from the status of insurance products, which are regulated only by states, to that of securities, which are federally regulated.
Despite vehement objections from state regulators, Conseco Inc. yesterday completed its transfer of a group of long term care policies to an independent trust.
Finra has fined Citigroup Global Markets, the brokerage and securities arm of Citigroup Inc., $300,000 for failing to reasonably supervise the commissions that its brokers charged their clients on stock and options trades.
Losses in the financial services industry since early 2007 are inching closer to the $1 trillion mark, according to data compiled by Bloomberg LP.
The company posted a third-quarter net loss of 478 million euros ($602 million), or 22 cents a share, compared with a profit of 2.31 billion euros ($2.9 billion), or 1.08 a share, in the year-ago period.
Under orders from a federal judge, Bear Stearns has paid $27.3 million to the now-defunct National Heritage Life Insurance Co., which lost money invested with Bear on collateralized mortgage-backed obligations and collateralized debt obligations.
Shares of State Street Corp. briefly soared 9% today after its CEO confirmed an upbeat fourth-quarter earnings report. They subsequently settled back near their opening levels as investors questioned the estimate.
Analysts applauded the newly restructured bailout plan for American International Group Inc., citing benefits for the insurer.
The Fed and the Treasury announced a new restructuring plan to help bolster AIG, including a $40 billion purchase of new preferred shares from the ailing insurer.
