Cooler Weather Helping Fight Large Southern California Wildfire
Cooler weather is aiding the fight against a large Southern California wildfire, one of three large fires in the region. The Bridge Fire exploded in size on Tuesday, forcing evacuations in the communities of Wrightwood and Pinion Hills. Authorities also …
Microsoft, Cyber Firms Pursue Changes After CrowdStrike Outage
Microsoft Corp. said it’s building an alternative for cybersecurity companies that now utilize the deepest layer of its operating system after a flawed update from CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. triggered a global IT meltdown. The Redmond, Washington-based technology giant announced Thursday …
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Navarro Wins Primary Election
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro won this week’s Democratic primary for the post, gaining more than 70% of the vote versus his rival, Kayode Abegunde. Navarro was first elected commissioner in 2016. He served for 20 years with the New …
Swiss Insurer Baloise Eyes Changes in Board of Directors, Chairman Says
Swiss insurer Baloise is considering changes in its board of directors, Chairman Thomas von Planta said on Thursday after the company revealed plans to boost returns to shareholders. “We want to strengthen the insurance expertise on the board,” von Planta …
Burning Houthi-Hit Oil Tanker Set for Fresh Rescue Effort
Specialist salvage teams are set to renew efforts to remove a blazing oil tanker that’s been stuck in the Red Sea for over three weeks after it was attacked by Houthi militants, the European Union naval force in the region …
Coastal Cities’ Growing Storm Vulnerability Fed by Climate Change and Growth
Warm water in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico can fuel powerful hurricanes, but how destructive a storm becomes isn’t just about the climate and weather – it also depends on the people and property in harm’s way. In …
PwC’s China Unit Suspended for 6 Months, Hit With Record Fine for Evergrande Audit
Chinese regulators on Friday hit PwC’s auditing unit in mainland China with a six-month business suspension and a record fine of 441 million yuan ($62 million) over the firm’s audit of troubled property developer China Evergrande Group. Delivering a strong …
Duffy Agency Acquires Neighboring Cowan Agency in Massachusetts
Duffy Insurance Agency, based in Lynn, Massachusetts, has acquired The Cowan Insurance Agency of Haverhill, also in Essex County. The Cowan agency, founded in 1938, is a fourth generation family business now led by Stefanie (Cowan) Guillemette. The independent agency …
Carlyle’s Sedgwick Valued at $13.2 Billion in Investment Deal With Altas
Carlyle-owned claims management company Sedgwick said on Thursday it had secured an investment from private equity firm Altas Partners via a deal that valued it at $13.2 billion. The valuation is much higher than the $6.7 billion Sedgwick was worth …
Tokio Marine Kiln Launches Specialty Reinsurance Division
Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), the international specialist insurer, announced the formation of a new Specialty Reinsurance division to support the company’s growth ambitions in the sector. The new division will be led by Phil Taylor who will be appointed head …
UK Retailer Tesco Loses Legal Battle Over ‘Fire and Rehire’ of Staff
Tesco was not entitled to terminate some employees’ contracts and offer to rehire them on less favorable terms, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. Shopworkers’ union Usdaw took legal action against Britain’s biggest retailer after Tesco sought to …
A Continent Ablaze: South America Surpasses Record for Fires
South America is being ravaged by fire from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest through the world’s largest wetlands to dry forests in Bolivia, breaking a previous record for the number of blazes seen in a year up to Sept. 11. Satellite data …
As Storm Bebinca Approaches, Taiwan Uses AI to Predict Typhoon Paths
As tropical storm Bebinca barrels towards waters off northern Taiwan gathering strength into a possible typhoon, weather forecasters in Taipei are using a new and so far successful method to help track its path – artificial intelligence (AI). AI-generated forecasts, …
OpenAI, Nvidia Executives Discuss AI Infrastructure Needs With Biden Officials
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang met with senior Biden administration officials and other industry leaders at the White House on Thursday to discuss how to fill the massive infrastructure needs for artificial intelligence …
Venture Capital Fund Ends Grant Program for Black Women After Lawsuit
An Atlanta-based venture capital fund on Wednesday agreed to stop operating a program that awarded grants to small businesses run by Black women to settle a lawsuit by an anti-affirmative action group that claimed it discriminated based on race. Fearless …
How Big Was the Cat? Investigator Warns About Claims of Clogged Toilets
Did you hear the one about cat poop clogging a toilet, resulting in thousands of gallons of sewage water in the home and a big insurance claim? Lin Werkheiser, an insurance fraud investigator, has heard that one and many more …
Buffett’s Insurance Leader Ajit Jain Sells Large Part of Berkshire Stake
Ajit Jain, the longtime top insurance executive at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N, sold more than half of his Class A shares in the conglomerate this week. According to a Wednesday night regulatory filing, the 73-year-old Jain sold 200 Berkshire …
Plumbing Supply Firm Loses Appeal Over Sales Reps’ Overtime Pay
A federal appeals court has upheld a district court ruling that a wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies has wrongly exempted its inside sales representatives from overtime pay for years. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals denied F.W. Webb’s request for …
$1 Billion San Francisco Tower’s Revival Clouded by Lawsuit
One of San Francisco’s most iconic buildings is celebrating its reopening after a four-year, $250 million makeover meant to symbolize the city’s renewal. It’s doing so under the shadow of a lawsuit from one of its key tenants. The Transamerica …
Oregon Workers’ Comp Pure Premium Rate to Drop 3.2%
Oregon employers will pay on average less for workers’ compensation coverage in 2025. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services the decline in workers’ comp rate, which marks 12 years of average decreases in the pure premium rate. Employers …