INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Wednesday, 11/22/06

[acinatech@yahoo.com]

INSURANCE NEWSCAST can be read online at www.insurancebroadcasting.com

INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Headlines Only Edition" for: Wednesday, 11/22/06  

Here is a quick look at the stories that will be in Wednesday's INSURANCE NEWSCAST.

 

1) Ex-AIG CEO Greenberg sells more than $1.5 bln in shares - NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Former American International Group Inc. (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg and companies he controls have sold more than $1.5 billion in shares of AIG since their last filing in May, a Monday regulatory filing shows.

 

2) Four more firms get subpoenas in muni GIC probe - By Anastasija Johnson - NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Four more companies confirmed on Friday they received subpoenas from the antitrust division of the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a probe of bid rigging for deals to invest municipal bond proceeds.

 

3) The Willis Accountants and Auditors Index: No Further Rate Reductions From Insurers - London, UK, November 21, 2006 ? The results of the Autumn Willis Accountants and Auditors Index market survey indicate that insurers have not offered further rate reductions to those already introduced earlier this year, and nor do they anticipate doing so in the coming three months.

 

4) Fitch Credit Derivative Update: CDS Trends and Recent Developments - Fitch Ratings has just published two reports on credit derivatives:

a) ?CDS Roundup: Volumes Expand Across Most Sectors While Spreads Ratchet Tighter? - The number of entities referenced on a regular basis, as well as the number of trades across most industrial sectors, continue to grow, with our data suggesting that growth in Europe has been much more robust than in the US.

b) ?CDS Update: Cash Settlement Protocol, LCDS Index, Successor Events?

 

5) Demand for ADRs at Record Levels Despite Globalization, Says TABB Group  - US Secondary Market Trading Activity Surpasses $1.06 Trillion Record Set in 2000  -- NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to TABB Group in a new report published today, ?Global Exchanges and Depository Receipts: Can They Co-Exist??, recent global exchange consolidation will have little short-term impact on depositary receipts (DR), the primary vehicles for cross-border investing. In the US secondary market alone, trading activity, currently at $1.1 trillion for the first eight months of 2006, has already surpassed the $1.06 trillion record set in 2000.

 

6) EU lawmakers want hardball financial approach to US - By Huw Jones - BRUSSELS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers called for tougher dealings with the United States over financial rules as key regulatory deadlines slip, but the bloc's top market watchdog said such tactics would backfire.

 

7) FDIC says Q3 US bank profits fell from record high - By John Poirier - WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Third-quarter profits at U.S. banks declined from a record high in the second quarter due to a 17 percent rise in loan-loss provisions and a drop in servicing income and trading revenue, U.S. banking regulators said on Tuesday.

 

8) Tredegar to change employee pension and savings plan - Oct 26 (Reuters) - Tredegar Corp. (TG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday said it will change its pension and savings plan for employees and sees a reduction to its projected benefit obligation by about $10 million as of Dec. 31.

 

9) Starbucks says laptops with employee info missing - LOS ANGELES, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday said four laptops, two of which contained the names and social security numbers of about 60,000 U.S. employees, have gone missing from its corporate headquarters.

 

10) Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance (FAMI) to deploy YASU Technologies? QuickRules BRMS Technology - Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - YASU Technologies, a provider of innovative cross-platform BRM solutions for Java/J2EE and .NET technologies, announced that Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance (FAMI) will be deploying the QuickRules BRMS technology as part of its new ?Endorsement Management? systems.

 

11) ChoicePoint(R) Introduces New Auto Insurance Verification Tool to Help Insurers Verify Claimant Insurance Coverage - Insurance companies will benefit from new service designed to help carriers with growing problem of uninsured motorist claims.  -- ALPHARETTA - November 21, 2006 - ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS), a leading provider of data solutions to the insurance claims industry, has launched the industry's first contributory database of insurance policy information for use by auto insurance carriers.  The new solution hosted by ChoicePoint is known as Carrier Discovery and allows a claims adjuster to instantly identify critical insurance carrier information on claimants or other involved parties in an accident.

 

12) HALO Closes Acquisition of Unify Insurance Risk Management Division - GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HALO Technology Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB:HALO) announced today that it has closed its acquisition of the Insurance Risk Management (IRM) and ViaMode divisions of Unify Corp. (OTCBB: UNFY) as part of a simultaneous transaction in which Unify acquired HALO?s Gupta subsidiary. HALO received a total of $6.1 million in cash and acquired the IRM and ViaMode divisions of Unify. In return, Unify acquired HALO?s Gupta subsidiary. The final terms of the acquisition agreement were amended as part of this transaction to eliminate Unify?s issuance of five million common shares and a warrant for 750,000 common shares to HALO in exchange for increasing the cash consideration paid by Unify to $6.1 million from $5.0 million.

 

13) AIG to Webcast Domestic Life Insurance & Retirement Services Presentation on December 4 - NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American International Group, Inc. (AIG) will present an overview of its Domestic Life Insurance & Retirement Services operations at 8:30 a.m. EST on Monday, December 4, 2006.

 

14) Life Insurance Finance Association Conference to Feature Diverse Panel of Speakers - Organization Recommends Early Conference Registration; Space is Limited   -- SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Myths and realities surrounding the life insurance premium finance industry will be clarified Nov. 29 by industry experts, including state regulators, attorneys, producers, agents and lenders, who will make up the panel of speakers at the first Life Insurance Finance Association conference.

 

15) BISYS® Alternative Investment Services and Linedata?s Beauchamp Enter Strategic Alliance - ROSELAND, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BISYS Alternative Investment Services, a leading global provider of administrative, accounting and tax services for the hedge fund and private equity industry, and Beauchamp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Linedata Services, have joined forces to provide an enhanced straight-through processing solution for hedge fund managers. Together, BISYS and Linedata?s Beauchamp FundManager application will deliver a platform for trade capture, P&L portfolio analysis, custom report design and automated reconciliations.

 

16) Socially Responsible ''Blue Fund'' Selects BISYS® - - BISYS Fund Services to Provide Turnkey Mutual Fund Administrative Support -  ROSELAND, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BISYS, a leading provider of outsourcing solutions for the financial services sector, announced today that it is the mutual fund service provider of choice for The Blue Fund Group?s recently launched portfolios. Through its FundEnsemble? service model, BISYS will provide turnkey administrative services, including comprehensive treasury, board, and distribution support as well as core fund accounting, fund administration, transfer agency, and shareholder services.

 

17) Study Reveals Medicaid 'Upper Payment Limit' Policies Represent an Important Barrier to Managed Care Expansion in Many States - WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A study sponsored by Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA) and released today by its author, The Lewin Group, finds that the Federal government's formula for calculating supplemental Medicaid matching funds for states can serve as a barrier to managed care expansion in the Medicaid program. Specifically, Medicaid upper payment limit (UPL) Federal matching funds for hospitals are calculated based on fee-for- service (FFS) volume without considering care delivered in capitated managed care settings. Consequently, states expanding capitated managed care programs often stand to lose millions of dollars in UPL funds typically used to support public hospitals and other "safety net" providers.

 

18) New York Life Donates $150,000 to the MDRT Foundation - Industry Leader?s Giving Now Exceeds $1.8 Million in Support of Foundation?s Mission  -- PARK RIDGE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation today announced a donation of $150,000 from New York Life Insurance Company. The donation, to be made over three years, represents a continued strong commitment from New York Life and its agents, whose combined contributions to the MDRT Foundation since the mid-1990s now total over $1.8 million.

 

19) CAS ANNOUNCES NEW RESEARCH JOURNAL: VARIANCE ? ADVANCING THE SCIENCE OF RISK - SAN FRANCISCO, CA, NOV. 13 ? The Casualty Actuary Society (CAS) announced the name of its new research journal during the Business Session of its 2006 Annual Meeting held here.  The journal will be called Variance, and its tagline is ?Advancing the Science of Risk.? The new journal will disseminate work of interest to casualty actuaries and general insurance and other risk professionals worldwide.  Its peer-reviewed articles will be focused on original practical and theoretical research in non-life actuarial science and related areas in the science of risk.  The first issue is expected to be published in June 2007.

 

20) INSURANCE NEWSCAST ?Pictures Of The Day?

 

21) Norvax Launches Logo Bank and Premier Website Templates for Individual Health Agents - CHICAGO (PRWeb) November 19, 2006 -- Norvax Inc., a leading developer of Web-based sales and marketing technology for the health insurance industry, has launched a new Logo Bank and collection of premier website template packages.

 

22) Life settlement pioneer is first GA co. to be licensed for business in the state - Life settlement pioneer licensed in Georgia  -- Atlanta, November 17, 2006 - Habersham Funding, LLC, an Atlanta-based firm that does business nationally, has been licensed as a life settlement provider in the state of Georgia.  The company received its license from Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine?s office November 14.

 

23) E-Z Data Launches SmartPDA - New solution gives SmartOffice users browser-based data access directly from handhelds  -- Pasadena, CA, November 20, 2006 ? E-Z Data, Inc., a leading provider of front-office systems for insurance companies, banks, broker-dealers, general agents, agents, and investment advisors, announced today the availability of its new SmartPDA solution, an add-on module to its popular SmartOffice solution. The new offering gives users browser-based access to their client data directly from a handheld device.

 

24) Pitt Ohio Express And The CEI Group, Inc. Form TruckGuardian Grouptm To Offer Services To Trucking Industry - TREVOSE, PA, November XX, 2006 -- Pitt Ohio Express and The CEI Group, Inc. have created a marketing partnership to offer driver safety training, safety consulting, and risk, claims and collision management services to heavy-duty trucking industry.

 

  

INSURANCE NEWSCAST from InsuranceBroadcasting.com
9221 Ravenna Road, Suite #D8, Twinsburg, OH 44087
888-282-1765   --- 330-425-8399