U.S. stocks were headed for a slightly higher open Monday, looking to extend last week's advance, as investors breathed a sigh of relief that Hurricane Irene caused less damage than expected.
Investors will be focused on insurers, who could be footing a massive bill as a hurricane bears down on the East Coast.
When Bill Nygren talks about value (the art of finding stocks trading for less than the business is worth), take notes: Under Nygren, the Oakmark and Oakmark Select funds have trounced the S&P 500. He sees plenty of opportunities now, with some big stocks offering dividend yields higher than bonds do. Many of Nygren's picks also have extra capital to buy back stock and boost per-share earnings. Nygren spoke with contributor Laura Lallos.
When Bill Nygren talks about value (the art of finding stocks trading for less than the business is worth), take notes: Under Nygren, the Oakmark and Oakmark Select funds have trounced the S&P 500. He sees plenty of opportunities now, with some big stocks offering dividend yields higher than bonds do. Many of Nygren's picks also have extra capital to buy back stock and boost per-share earnings. Nygren spoke with contributor Laura Lallos.
Allstate Corp. retracted a press release on Wednesday that was meant to be a joke, displaying the accident rates of drivers according to their zodiac signs.
A 1965 Volkswagen van stolen 35 years ago in Spokane, Washington, was found by customs agents in a shipping container in the Los Angeles port last month, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said.
Treasury is offering bailout funds to big insurance companies, but some of the insurers are responding with little enthusiasm.
updated: Wed Mar 18 2009 14:40:00
CNN's Bill Schneider takes a look at the polls and how support for President Obama's stimulus plan is holding up.
Edward Liddy, chief executive officer of American International Group, is known for straight talking, consistent profit-making and innovative thinking.
Across the country, insurance companies, trial lawyers and legislators are closely watching a November referendum in the state of Washington that could change how insurers are required to treat their customers.
Silver-haired and 62, Jim Donelon has never worked so hard. The New Orleans-born lawyer and politician has suddenly become a traveling salesman of sorts. His pitch: "Come sell insurance in New Orleans."
Among the many obstacles homeowners in New Orleans face as they rebuild is the challenge of finding affordable homeowners insurance - by some estimates, premiums have doubled since the storm.
U.S. stocks pushed into negative territory at Friday's open after an employment report that was weaker than expected.
Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded home insurer in the United States, said Wednesday that net earnings rose 16 percent in the second quarter, helped by increased auto insurance sales, but it missed analyst estimates for operating earnings by four cents a share.
Allstate on Monday reached a settlement with Mississippi customers whose homes and property were damaged by 2005's Hurricane Katrina, resolving one of the largest groups of outstanding claims in the two-year-old wrangle.
It's hasta la vista Allstate. The third-largest California insurer said last week it will stop writing new homeowner policies starting in July, pointing at the high risk of catastrophes in the state.
» When Jacqueline Epcar of Valley Glen, Calif. turned 19 last year, she no longer qualified for coverage on her parents' health plan. So her mother, Ellyn, signed her up for a new individual policy...
Are insurers more hard-nosed with claims than they used to be?
When Jacqueline Epcar of Valley Glen, Calif. turned 19 last year, she no longer qualified for coverage on her parents' health plan. So her mother, Ellyn, signed her up for a new individual policy with Blue Shield of California.
If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.
Here are some of the companies whose shares were active in Tuesday trading:
As I write this column in the third week of October, not a single hurricane has made landfall in the eastern U.S. this summer or fall. It's still possible that a major storm will plow through the G...
Mary Alice and José Martín's bungalow survived Katrina - but got hit in June. That's when Allstate informed the couple that their home, a mile from the glistening Gulf of Mexico, would no longer be...
Allstate ranks no. 160 on FORTUNE's Global 500 this year, with $35.4 billion in revenues, up 4.3% from the previous year. The Northbrook, Illinois-based company was ranked no. 143 on the 2005 list. Its 2005 profits were $1.8 billion, down 44.5% from a year earlier.
Mary Alice and José Martín's bungalow survived Katrina - but got hit in June. That's when Allstate informed the couple that their home, a mile from the glistening Gulf of Mexico, would no longer be covered for windstorm or hail. "Here it is the middle of hurricane season," Mrs. Martín fumes. "Who in the world is going to sell me a windstorm policy right now?"
Imagine you're having a really bad week: Monday, your tire blows out. Tuesday, you lock your keys in the car and Friday, your car battery dies.
Owning a car these days is becoming more expensive. Driving a car costs about $7,834 a year according to the Automobile Association of America.
What distinguishes an architect from an artist, actuary from insurance adjuster? According to a new study conducted by Allstate Insurance, architects and actuaries are simply better behind the wheel.
When it's time to renew your car insurance, don't automatically sign up with your old insurer: You may miss a chance to save. You can shop multiple insurers at insweb.com, but major players like Al...
When it's time to renew your car insurance, don't automatically sign up with your old insurer: You may miss a chance to save.
Faced with over $3 billion in claims from the barrage of hurricanes last year, Allstate is going on the defensive by pulling out of of high-risk markets as the industry prepares for increasingly severe hurricanes over the next two decades.
After facing a slew of insurance scandals, mounting catastrophe losses from Hurricane Katrina and the prospect of losing its terrorism insurance backstop, the insurance industry will hardly be sorry to bid adieu to 2005.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Unprecedented damage from natural disasters is a new addition to the list of reasons why a lot of critical and recurrent costs in your life will be going up next year.
St. Paul Travelers and its competitor Allstate just can't agree on what the future of the insurance industry will be.
American International Group expects reinsurance premiums to rise significantly in 2006 and the company will pass the higher costs to consumers, AIG's Chief Financial Officer Steven Bensinger said.
What's the insurance industry to do now that 2005 is going down as the worst year on record for catastrophe losses? Blame someone else.
Allstate will take its battle for higher rate increases in Florida to arbitration after regulators denied the company's request for an 18 percent hike, the company's top executive said Wednesday.
For insurance investors, it's a perverse reality: bad news is good news.
If you thought your business had a rough fall, consider Ed Liddy, CEO of Allstate, the second-largest property-and-casualty insurer in the United States. The unprecedented hurricane season hit Allstate particularly hard, resulting in a $1.55 billion net loss in its most recent quarter. (The stock is 17 percent off its July high.)
For all the optimists hoping insurers won't be raising rates too much, Hurricane Wilma should finally put those hopes to rest.
Allstate, the largest publicly traded homeowners and auto insurer in the U.S., said it plans to scale back its exposure to the Gulf Coast homeowner's market following the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita this summer.
Allstate observers may want to brace themselves for a particularly dismal third quarter earnings report.
Jim Rhoades, a securities broker from Erie, Colo., heard about a great rate on insurance last spring. He thought he had a decent deal with State Farm for coverage on his two cars and his home, but ...
Investors are shying away from shares of insurance companies amid predictions that Hurricane Katrina's path of devastation could cost the industry between $12 and $25 billion.
Still reeling from last year's hurricane season, Allstate Insurance said it will not renew about 100,000 insurance policies in Florida and plans to gradually discontinue most commercial property coverage in the state.
In the insurance business, the storm season that batters the Florida coast each year is an unavoidable fact of life. But this autumn the entire industry was pounded by the arrival, far up the north...
Less than a month after Hurricane Charley became one of the most expensive storms in the nation's history, Hurricane Frances could be ready to become the most costly, according to one forecast.
Investors start September looking to see if stocks can extend Tuesday's late rally by weighing the latest readings on manufacturing, construction and auto sales.
Insurers were trying Monday to sharpen loss estimates for Hurricane Charley, which could emerge as the second-costliest storm in the nation's history.
Rosy news about the job market notwithstanding, few employees are counting on hefty raises, big bonuses or stock option awards any time soon.
Following in the footsteps of a legend sounds tough, but for Bill D'Alonzo it's business as usual. Although the 49-year-old D'Alonzo took over as lead manager of the $3.8 billion Brandywine fund (a...
Many drivers are overpaying for liability insurance by as much as 15%, according to a new study. The culprits? SUVs and pickup trucks. Studies show that larger cars do more harm to drivers in colli...
While pedestrians do their best to avoid sidewalk warriors riding the Segway Human Transporter, insurance companies are grappling with another vexing issue: how to insure the new $5,000 vehicles.
Vickie Alleman was surprised when her mortgage lender called last May to warn her that she didn't have enough cash in her escrow account for her homeowners insurance payment. She was stunned when s...
Pitney Bowes' decision last December to spin off its office services business as a new company called Imagistics International seemed like an obvious way to dump a dog of a division. Earnings at th...
When Edward Liddy became CEO of Allstate in January 1999, he embarked on a campaign to reinvigorate the nation's second-largest property and casualty insurer (behind State Farm). He cut costs, bega...
After years of flat or falling home and auto insurance rates, premiums are on the rise. Last year, they increased by an average of 6%. Now Allstate has said it will raise both home and auto rates b...
Insurance companies are giving consumers yet another reason to keep their credit histories clean. Virtually all of the largest home and auto insurers now check your credit when you apply for a poli...
Major auto insurers are changing the way they calculate premiums, and the likely result is lower rates for the safest vehicles--specifically those that protect their occupants well in an accident a...
Last month, I got home from work to find that a thief had broken into my apartment and left me with little more than a pile of clothing. I'm a personal-finance reporter, so you might assume my rent...
Let's make this clear from the start: Paul McHue is no Willy Loman. The soft pitch and door-to-door handshake, the iconic image of the American insurance salesman, are his, to be sure. But McHue, a...
Might Allstate be handy for Geico?
November '99 "How to Focus Your Investing"
Here's a pop quiz: In the past 12 months, which of the following have occurred? a) a bear market b) currency crises in both Russia and Brazil c) the impeachment of the President of the United State...
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. With dog-bite incidents accounting for almost a third of liability claims against homeowners policies, insurers are increasingly canceling or refusing to ...
Chances are slim that your house will burn to the ground or blow over in a hurricane. But if the unlikely happens, at least you know your insurance company will make you whole no matter the cost, r...
Goldman Sachs wants to get into the savings and loan business. So do Paine Webber, AIG, Ford, State Farm, GE Capital, and at least 19 other companies--most of them insurers.
About a decade ago, after being rejected for a credit card (and not having the slightest idea why), I requested a copy of my credit report. Then I understood. There, among my timely payments was a ...
For the past 30 years, there's been a ghost haunting Wall Street. Just by rattling its chains, it could make high interest rates look stingy, rapid earnings growth seem lazy, and it could spook a h...
Even though financial service stocks have been Wall Street favorites for the past two years, they haven't lost their momentum. A variety of long-term trends figure to blast selected banks, insurers...
DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS
Love 'em and leave 'em: Sometime in your career, perhaps at the formative stage, you should work for the No. 1 firm in your field. You'll get training, enviable standards, contacts and a habit of o...
DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS
Is Allstate's war with its agents reaching a cease-fire? Just days after FORTUNE reported that the Good Hands people had spied on dissident agents ("Stalked by Allstate," October 2), CEO Jerry Choa...
Appointment set for [December] 14th with Texas Dept. of Insurance...I strongly believe the only way this will turn out correctly where the truth will come out and there will be a beneficial conclus...
Some people think the term "investigative reporter" is redundant, that all reporters should, by definition, be investigators. But in the real world of journalism, that's not the way it works. Just ...
Imagine you're at a dinner party with 10 of the country's best investment minds. What would you ask them? "How's the weather?" We don't think so. "Seen any good movies lately?" Maybe not. "Who's go...
Retirees in america have never been more prosperous, but one financial goblin still haunts them: inflation. Common wisdom holds that retirees depend on fixed income from bonds and pensions, leaving...
If you are like many Americans, you're probably spending more time than ever in your car. For instance, the Federal Highway Administration reports that the average auto commute in the 10 biggest me...
Say farewell this summer to tie-throttled necks and blazer-burdened shoulders. More corporate types are exchanging their formal business suits for casual khakis and cotton culottes. General Dynamic...
In the dim dawn of Aug. 24, 1992, as Hurricane Andrew raged around them, John and Bernadine Cosgrove and daughters Tiffany and Colleen spent a harrowing three hours huddled in a bedroom closet in t...
In a pattern that dismally recalls what happened after 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the insurance industry has upped its estimates of how much January's Los Angeles earthquake will cost insurers. The f...
Or, if you cuss in English, Ouch! The Big Pinch squeezed the world's 500 largest service companies last year even more tightly than in 1991. Total profits fell by 17%, and 62 of the companies -- te...
When trouble strikes a company, ordinary investors flee. Michael Price pounces instead. Litigation? No problem. Regulatory scare? He's there. Price, 41, president of Heine Securities in Short Hills...
Ever since the summer, when hurricanes Andrew and Iniki caused more than $9 billion in damage, some storm victims in South Florida, Louisiana and Kauai have complained about the sluggishness of ins...
TWO YEARS AGO, WHEN Donna and Donald Vigliotti of Hamden, Conn. bought a new ( $17,000 Jeep Cherokee to complement their valiant but aging 1981 Subaru, they knew that their auto insurance costs wou...
''I can walk out of a three-hour client meeting,'' exults Minneapolis ad man Charles Webber, ''be driving back to my office and answer all the phone messages that stacked up while I was gone. By th...
In hot pursuit of the ''elusive S word,'' as merchandise group chief Michael Bozic calls synergy, Sears spent $812 million in 1981 to acquire the Dean Witter Reynolds brokerage and Coldwell Banker ...
Inevitable as December slush, employee-benefits election forms have been popping up in workers' In boxes around the country in recent weeks. Once again, 'tis the season to make crucial decisions ab...
Motorists from coast to coast are boiling over about the runaway cost of auto insurance. In New Jersey, where premiums are the nation's priciest (estimated current average: $604), the activist grou...
-- Driving the family car home after drinking at a party, a Florida teenager crosses into oncoming traffic and slams into another car, seriously injuring all three of its passengers. One suffers pe...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|