Latest USA Headlines

All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Even Low Blood Alcohol Level ‘Buzz’ Unsafe for Driving: Study

Jun 21 2011 // In the United States, the blood-alcohol limit may be 0.08 percent, but no amount of alcohol seems to be safe for driving, according to a University of California, San Diego sociologist. A new study has found that...

Banks Lose Bid to Limit ‘Hot News’ Republication of Analysts’ Research

Jun 20 2011 // A federal appeals court handed a major defeat to Wall Street banks in ruling that a financial news service did not misappropriate their analyst research for its website.Reversing a lower court ruling, the 2nd U.S. Circuit...

Zurich Issues Loss Estimate for Spring Storms in U.S.

Jun 20 2011 // Zurich Financial Services Group said it currently estimates aggregate claims of approximately $295 million for both Zurich North America and Farmers Re relating to the series of severe weather-related events that hit the...

Hackers Might Face Stiffer Sentences in U.S.

Jun 20 2011 // Even before a loosely organized group of hackers broke into the CIA’s and Senate’s public websites, the White House asked for stiffer sentences for breaking into government and private computer networks.Last...

Kidnapping for Ransom: A Fateful International Growth Industry

Jun 20 2011 // A global economy offers enormously rich rewards, along with more than enough dangerous risks. Although accurate statistics are difficult to come by, estimates indicate there are anywhere from 12,500 to 25,000 kidnappings a...

Cyber World

Jun 20 2011 // Barely a day goes by without news of yet another data breach at a major corporation or institution. From Sony to Citicorp and the International Monetary Fund to the U.S. Senate, systems have proved vulnerable to hackers...

Federal Appeals Court Reverses Lower Court on Texas ‘Ambulance Chasing’ Bill

Jun 20 2011 // A federal court of appeals has overturned a lower court’s ruling that an “anti-ambulance chasing” bill in Texas is unconstitutional.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that U.S....

Hurricane Season Could Bring Rate Relief

Jun 20 2011 // Property and casualty insurers craving respite from a long-running drop in prices eyed the start of the U.S. hurricane season on June 1 in the hope that summer windstorms will finally turn the market. The June 1 to Nov. 30...

U.S. Retailers Report Rise in Organized Crime, Cargo Theft

Jun 20 2011 // Sophisticated technology, less staff at stores and more gang activity are all contributing to more U.S. stores being hit by organized crime, according to a survey by an industry group.Of 129 retailers, primarily national...

Missouri Grand Jury Indicts Former US Fidelis Owners

Jun 17 2011 // The brothers who formerly owned one of the nation’s top marketers of auto service contracts have been indicted on charges that include stealing and insurance fraud. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster on June 15...

General Star Appoints Marsh US Consumer Administrator of Real Estate Programs

Jun 16 2011 // Marsh U.S. Consumer, a service of Seabury & Smith, Inc., has been appointed the exclusive program administrator for General Star Management Co.’s Real Estate Agents and Brokers and Real Estate Appraisers Errors...

U.S. Industry Reserve Redundancy at $22 Billion: Aon Benfield

Jun 16 2011 // The overall U.S. insurance industry reserve redundancy is $22.0 billion versus $21.9 billion at year-end 2009, after the industry released $10.5 billion of reserves during 2010, a new study of year-end 2010 data shows.The...

SEC Says Brokerage Fund Should Compensate Stanford Victims

Jun 16 2011 // In a major victory for victims of Allen Stanford’s alleged Ponzi scheme, U.S. regulators have concluded that they should be compensated by a brokerage industry-backed fund.The decision announced Wednesday by the U.S....

Michigan Insurer Questions FBI Story About Wrecked Ferrari

Jun 15 2011 // A Michigan insurance company suing to force the federal government to pay $750,000 for wrecking a rare Ferrari in Kentucky questioned whether it was simply an accident.Motors Insurance said its investigation showed the...

Businesses Seek Changes in U.S. Anti-Bribery Rules

Jun 15 2011 // The Obama administration defended its stepped up enforcement of a U.S. law banning bribery of foreign officials, and warned lawmakers that changes could open loopholes for wrongdoers.“Foreign corruption remains a...

Hacking Blitz Drives Cyberinsurance Demand

Jun 15 2011 // The recent string of sensational hacker attacks is driving companies to seek “cyberinsurance” worth hundreds of millions of dollars, even though many policies can still leave them exposed to claims.Companies...

AEGIS London Approves $1 Million in Premium Credits for Members

Jun 14 2011 // AEGIS London, the UK- based subsidiary of mutual insurer AEGIS (Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Limited) has announced the approval of $1 million in premium credits which will be returned to members...

Ascot Appoints Karns to Houston Underwriting Unit

Jun 14 2011 // Lloyd’s Ascot Underwriting Ltd announced the appointment of John Karns as an Underwriter for Ascot Underwriting Inc. in Houston. He is a local resident with “19 years of experience in the US Energy market, most...

Record Wildfire Season Affecting Arizona, Rest of U.S.

Jun 14 2011 // As Arizona continues to battle several wildfires, every state in the country now has the potential for a wildfire, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Center said nearly every state in the U.S. has...

Anthony Clark Sells Southern California Agency

Jun 13 2011 // Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based Anthony Clark International Insurance Brokers Ltd., has announced the sale by its United States subsidiaries Addison Low Cost Insurance Brokers Ltd. and Addison Bay Insurance Brokers Ltd. of...