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* FEBRUARY 13, 2009, 5:41 A.M. ET
Japanese Insurers' Earnings Slide
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TOKYO -- Japan's top five non-life insurers Friday posted dismal results in the April-December period due to securities losses totaling about $4.4 billion, revealing the extent of damage suffered from the economic downturn, and highlighting how the stock market slump has spread to domestic financial institutions.
NOTE: the tokyo japan is the top five of non-life insurance.
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Japan's largest non-life insurer by revenue, said its net profit for its first three fiscal quarters plunged 97% to 4.64 billion yen ($51.1 million) from 133.46 billion yen a year earlier.
Its net insurance premiums dropped 1.3% to 1.666 trillion yen from 1.687 trillion yen, dragged down ...
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Copyright ©2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
INSURANCE ASSET MANAGEMENT OPERATING RESULTS SEEN FLAT
Reuters UK
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Fri 13 Feb 2009 | 10:11 GMT
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UPDATE 1-Liberty sees FY headline EPS 25-35 pct lower
Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:58am GMT
Email | Print |
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[-] Text [+]
* Says well capitalised
* Insurance, asset management operating results seen flat
(Adds details)
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - South African insurance company Liberty Holdings Ltd <LBHJ.J expects to report a 25-35 percent drop in full-year basic and headline earnings per share as sliding equity markets hit profit.
The company, which is majority owned by Standard Bank (SBKJ.J) and whose only operating asset is Liberty Group, said it remained well capitalised, with a capital adequacy level marginally ahead of the 2.5 times cover it reported in November.
NOTE: The
company is the majority by standard bank (SBKJ.J)THE 2.5 times cover it reported in november.
It said Liberty Group's headline EPS was expected to fall 45-55 percent including the full impact of investment losses on its portfolios, and to drop 25-35 percent exluding the impact of some of those returns.
Insurance and asset management operating earnings are expected to be in line with 2007 results, the company said.
Shares in Liberty Holdings slipped 0.35 percent to 68.01 rand, lagging a 1.86 percent gain on the Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chips stocks .JTOPI. Continued...
View article on single page
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NOTE:In the insurance and asset management are operating the earning are expected to be in line w/our company.
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UPDATE 1-Liberty sees FY headline EPS 25-35 pct lower
Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:58am GMT
Email | Print |
Share
| Single Page
[-] Text [+]
* Says well capitalised
* Insurance, asset management operating results seen flat
(Adds details)
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - South African insurance company Liberty Holdings Ltd <LBHJ.J expects to report a 25-35 percent drop in full-year basic and headline earnings per share as sliding equity markets hit profit.
The company, which is majority owned by Standard Bank (SBKJ.J) and whose only operating asset is Liberty Group, said it remained well capitalised, with a capital adequacy level marginally ahead of the 2.5 times cover it reported in November.
NOTE: The
company is the majority by standard bank (SBKJ.J)THE 2.5 times cover it reported in november.
It said Liberty Group's headline EPS was expected to fall 45-55 percent including the full impact of investment losses on its portfolios, and to drop 25-35 percent exluding the impact of some of those returns.
Insurance and asset management operating earnings are expected to be in line with 2007 results, the company said.
Shares in Liberty Holdings slipped 0.35 percent to 68.01 rand, lagging a 1.86 percent gain on the Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chips stocks .JTOPI. Continued...
View article on single page
Previous Page 1 | 2 Next Page
NOTE:In the insurance and asset management are operating the earning are expected to be in line w/our company.
Share:
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Digg
Mixx
My Web
More Financial Services and Real Estate
Japan trust funds below Y50 trln 1st time since '05
Polish FinMinister doubts plans to drop FX options
UPDATE 1-BoE launches scheme to buy corporate debt
U.S. mortgage plan lifts mood, boosts FTSE
More Financial Services and Real Estate News...
Also on Reuters
Luxury out of style?Play VideoVideo
Video: Is luxury going out of style?
Former bankers find life in trashPlay VideoVideo
Video: Former bankers find life in trash
Carla Bruni on AIDS mercy missionPlay VideoVideo
Video: Carla Bruni on AIDS mercy mission
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Men walk through the financial district next to Santiago´s stock exchange February 11, 2009. SlideshowSlideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
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5. UPDATE 3-Paul Allen's Charter to file Chapter 11
6. Sirius XM still in talks with Liberty-source
7. Starbucks plans instant coffee debut
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9. Australian man arrested over deadly bushfires-media
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5. Video Girl marries dog in bizarre ritual
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10. Video Thai Scorpion Queen breaks record
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Sunday, February 15, 2009
UTAH AUTISM INSURANCE MANDATE CLEARS FIRST HURDLE
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Utah autism insurance mandate clears first hurdle
By Heather May
The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted: 02/12/2009 11:15:01 AM MST
Despite opposition from insurance companies and a small business association, a bill that would mandate coverage of autism therapy for children passed a Senate committee Thursday.
Called "Clay's Law," SB 43 would require insurance to pay up to $50,000 a year for early behavioral therapy, which typically involves one-on-one instruction at least 25 hours a week.
Eight other states require similar coverage, and Nevada lawmakers are expected to pass an autism bill as well. Utah has one of the highest rates of autism, with 1 in 133 children affected, compared to the national rate of 1 in 150.
To accommodate the large crowd of parents and children who appeared in support of the bill, the Senate Health and Human Services moved to a larger room. The group cheered and clapped after the committee voted 5-1 for the bill. It now moves to the Senate floor.
"Every kid needs and should have a life as great as mine. I love being me," said Clay Whiffen, the 8-year-old for whom the bill is named.
Diagnosed with autism as a child, boy received therapy because his Highland parents were able to afford the $60,000 cost. He told the senators he now likes to write in cursive, talk with his friends and can hold a handstand for six seconds.
"Just being a kid is hard enough," he said. "Having autism is a whole lot worse."
Another parent with three autistic children said she had to choose which child to help because she couldn't
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afford full time therapy for all of them. Noting one of her children had cancer, she said she would choose a cancer diagnosis over autism because of insurance coverage.
Fraser Bullock, who was in charge of the 2002 Winter Olympics' budget, also spoke in favor of the bill. His granddaughter has autism, but he was able to help pay for the expensive treatment. Now managing director of the Utah-based private equity firm Sorenson Capital, Bullock said business owners he contacted support the mandate even though they will bear some of the costs.
NOTE: his granddaughter she have a autism, but she was able to help for the expensive treatment.
"This cost does not give us a second thought," he said.
No fiscal note has been attached, but supporters and opponents estimate it will cost the state $1 million a year to cover government employees. Supporters also say it would increase private premium costs by less than 1 percent.
Jim Olsen, president of the Utah Retail Merchants Association, said those incremental costs add up. More of his members are dropping insurance coverage for their employees altogether due to escalating premium costs, in part due to unfunded mandates, he said.
Kelly Atkinson, executive director of the Utah Health Insurance Association, also spoke against the bill, saying the mandate would only apply to 33 percent of insured Utahns. For two-thirds of the families in the room, "nothing you do today will impact them."
NOTE: Klly atkinson he is the exclusive director of the Utah health insurance assosiation.
After nearly 90 minutes of testimony, senators had little time to debate the bill. They wondered how effective the treatment is -- up to 50 percent of children could become indistinguishable from their peers, according to a pediatrician -- and whether the diagnosis of autism is reliable since it requires observation instead of, for example, a lab test.
Only Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, voted against the bill. Noting that he is fighting to save funding for autism preschools and a registry to track the prevalence and risk factors for autism, he said the bill shifts money from one group to another. "Where do we draw the line with mandates?" he asked.
But sponsoring Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said young families pay for therapies for older people and now it's others' turn to help them. "This is an appropriate conservative approach," he said.
hmay@sltrib.com
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Utah autism insurance mandate clears first hurdle
By Heather May
The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted: 02/12/2009 11:15:01 AM MST
Despite opposition from insurance companies and a small business association, a bill that would mandate coverage of autism therapy for children passed a Senate committee Thursday.
Called "Clay's Law," SB 43 would require insurance to pay up to $50,000 a year for early behavioral therapy, which typically involves one-on-one instruction at least 25 hours a week.
Eight other states require similar coverage, and Nevada lawmakers are expected to pass an autism bill as well. Utah has one of the highest rates of autism, with 1 in 133 children affected, compared to the national rate of 1 in 150.
To accommodate the large crowd of parents and children who appeared in support of the bill, the Senate Health and Human Services moved to a larger room. The group cheered and clapped after the committee voted 5-1 for the bill. It now moves to the Senate floor.
"Every kid needs and should have a life as great as mine. I love being me," said Clay Whiffen, the 8-year-old for whom the bill is named.
Diagnosed with autism as a child, boy received therapy because his Highland parents were able to afford the $60,000 cost. He told the senators he now likes to write in cursive, talk with his friends and can hold a handstand for six seconds.
"Just being a kid is hard enough," he said. "Having autism is a whole lot worse."
Another parent with three autistic children said she had to choose which child to help because she couldn't
Advertisement
afford full time therapy for all of them. Noting one of her children had cancer, she said she would choose a cancer diagnosis over autism because of insurance coverage.
Fraser Bullock, who was in charge of the 2002 Winter Olympics' budget, also spoke in favor of the bill. His granddaughter has autism, but he was able to help pay for the expensive treatment. Now managing director of the Utah-based private equity firm Sorenson Capital, Bullock said business owners he contacted support the mandate even though they will bear some of the costs.
NOTE: his granddaughter she have a autism, but she was able to help for the expensive treatment.
"This cost does not give us a second thought," he said.
No fiscal note has been attached, but supporters and opponents estimate it will cost the state $1 million a year to cover government employees. Supporters also say it would increase private premium costs by less than 1 percent.
Jim Olsen, president of the Utah Retail Merchants Association, said those incremental costs add up. More of his members are dropping insurance coverage for their employees altogether due to escalating premium costs, in part due to unfunded mandates, he said.
Kelly Atkinson, executive director of the Utah Health Insurance Association, also spoke against the bill, saying the mandate would only apply to 33 percent of insured Utahns. For two-thirds of the families in the room, "nothing you do today will impact them."
NOTE: Klly atkinson he is the exclusive director of the Utah health insurance assosiation.
After nearly 90 minutes of testimony, senators had little time to debate the bill. They wondered how effective the treatment is -- up to 50 percent of children could become indistinguishable from their peers, according to a pediatrician -- and whether the diagnosis of autism is reliable since it requires observation instead of, for example, a lab test.
Only Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, voted against the bill. Noting that he is fighting to save funding for autism preschools and a registry to track the prevalence and risk factors for autism, he said the bill shifts money from one group to another. "Where do we draw the line with mandates?" he asked.
But sponsoring Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said young families pay for therapies for older people and now it's others' turn to help them. "This is an appropriate conservative approach," he said.
hmay@sltrib.com
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Saturday, February 14, 2009
HARTFORD GOT RELIEF FOR EX--MANAGER TURNED REGULATOR
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Hartford Got Relief From Ex-Manager Turned Regulator (Update1)
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By Andrew Frye
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the insurer that lost $2.75 billion last year, got almost $1 billion in reserve relief from a state regulator who is a former executive at the company.
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan rebuffed a Feb. 10 request by the Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Economic Justice to recuse himself from matters involving his former employer. He approved a change in accounting standards that reduces the amount of money Hartford must hold for customer obligations by about $987 million. The insurer announced the action in a regulatory filing today.
"It has been nearly two years since I left my position in the insurance industry," Sullivan said yesterday in an e-mail to Birny Birnbaum of the Center for Economic Justice and CFA's Bob Hunter, a former insurance regulator for Texas. "Neither I nor my spouse or children have any financial interest in the insurance industry that would serve as a conflict of interest prohibited by the Connecticut Code of Ethics for Public Officials."
NOTE:The insurer announced the action in a regulatiory filling today.a former insurance are
regulator for texas.
Sullivan, who was senior vice president of Hartford's Specialty Risk Services, was appointed commissioner in 2007 by Governor Jodi Rell. He told Bloomberg today in an e-mail that his statement to the groups was "self evident." Shannon Lapierre, a spokeswoman for the Hartford, Connecticut-based company declined to comment.
Trust Compromised
Sullivan's decision not to recuse himself may diminish consumers' trust in his supervision of the industry, according Michael Hoffman, executive director of the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Sullivan could have avoided the perception of a conflict of interest by asking a committee to decide on his suitability to consider the issue, Hoffman said.
"You have to be very careful" when asked to step aside, Hoffman said. "That's a very dangerous thing to decide on your own."
Sullivan isn't the only regulator to ease standards. New York's Eric Dinallo allowed life insurers in his state to get a benefit from equity-market hedges when calculating reserve needs. MetLife Inc., the biggest U.S. life insurer, said in December the change would give the firm a benefit of about $1.8 billion. Regulators in Iowa and Ohio have signaled they may provide relief.
NAIC Vote
Life insurers are turning to state regulators after losses on mortgage-backed securities and guaranteed-return retirement products depleted assets. The industry failed to win nationwide capital relief when the National Association of Insurance Commissioners voted down a series of proposals by the American Council of Life Insurers last month.
Sullivan supported the nationwide reform, while CFA's Hunter opposed it.
Hartford Chief Financial Officer Lizabeth Zlatkus said on a conference call with analysts last week that the insurer requested the reserve changes because the rules were "unduly" conservative. The relief from Connecticut allows Hartford greater use of anticipated tax benefits.
NOTE:Sullivan is supported the nationwide reforme, in the rilief from connected allows harford greater use of anticipated tax benefits.
Hartford has plummeted more than 80 percent in the last year in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 12, 2009 17:16 EST
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Hartford Got Relief From Ex-Manager Turned Regulator (Update1)
Email | Print | A A A
By Andrew Frye
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the insurer that lost $2.75 billion last year, got almost $1 billion in reserve relief from a state regulator who is a former executive at the company.
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan rebuffed a Feb. 10 request by the Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Economic Justice to recuse himself from matters involving his former employer. He approved a change in accounting standards that reduces the amount of money Hartford must hold for customer obligations by about $987 million. The insurer announced the action in a regulatory filing today.
"It has been nearly two years since I left my position in the insurance industry," Sullivan said yesterday in an e-mail to Birny Birnbaum of the Center for Economic Justice and CFA's Bob Hunter, a former insurance regulator for Texas. "Neither I nor my spouse or children have any financial interest in the insurance industry that would serve as a conflict of interest prohibited by the Connecticut Code of Ethics for Public Officials."
NOTE:The insurer announced the action in a regulatiory filling today.a former insurance are
regulator for texas.
Sullivan, who was senior vice president of Hartford's Specialty Risk Services, was appointed commissioner in 2007 by Governor Jodi Rell. He told Bloomberg today in an e-mail that his statement to the groups was "self evident." Shannon Lapierre, a spokeswoman for the Hartford, Connecticut-based company declined to comment.
Trust Compromised
Sullivan's decision not to recuse himself may diminish consumers' trust in his supervision of the industry, according Michael Hoffman, executive director of the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Sullivan could have avoided the perception of a conflict of interest by asking a committee to decide on his suitability to consider the issue, Hoffman said.
"You have to be very careful" when asked to step aside, Hoffman said. "That's a very dangerous thing to decide on your own."
Sullivan isn't the only regulator to ease standards. New York's Eric Dinallo allowed life insurers in his state to get a benefit from equity-market hedges when calculating reserve needs. MetLife Inc., the biggest U.S. life insurer, said in December the change would give the firm a benefit of about $1.8 billion. Regulators in Iowa and Ohio have signaled they may provide relief.
NAIC Vote
Life insurers are turning to state regulators after losses on mortgage-backed securities and guaranteed-return retirement products depleted assets. The industry failed to win nationwide capital relief when the National Association of Insurance Commissioners voted down a series of proposals by the American Council of Life Insurers last month.
Sullivan supported the nationwide reform, while CFA's Hunter opposed it.
Hartford Chief Financial Officer Lizabeth Zlatkus said on a conference call with analysts last week that the insurer requested the reserve changes because the rules were "unduly" conservative. The relief from Connecticut allows Hartford greater use of anticipated tax benefits.
NOTE:Sullivan is supported the nationwide reforme, in the rilief from connected allows harford greater use of anticipated tax benefits.
Hartford has plummeted more than 80 percent in the last year in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 12, 2009 17:16 EST
Advertisement: Do stocks outperform bonds? Learn about the power of an all-bond portfolio.
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Friday, February 13, 2009
MARS &MCLENNAN CHIEF SEES INSURANCE PRICE INCREASES
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Marsh & McLennan Chief Sees Insurance Price Increases (Update1)
Email | Print | A A A
By Andrew Frye
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Marsh & McLennan Cos., the second- biggest insurance broker, said carriers around the world are demanding higher rates on some lines of business coverage after losing money on investments backing policies.
"Insurance is showing price increases," Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault said today in a telephone interview from New York. "More in reinsurance, but there are some signs in primary as well."
U.S. business insurers are seeking to reverse four years of rate decreases after losses on corporate bonds and mortgage- backed securities weighed on financial results. Natural disasters in the U.S., including Midwest tornados and the worst hurricane season since 2005, also contributed to profit declines and losses across the industry last year.
Marsh & McLennan jumped the most in 27 years in New York trading today after 2,200 job cuts at the flagship brokerage boosted fourth-quarter operating profit. It rose $2.70, or 14 percent, to $21.41 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the second-biggest gainer in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
NOTE: Mars& Mclennan was jumped the most in 27 years in the new york.in new york stock exchange composite traiding.
"There's been a recalibration of what is the cost of risk to start with and the ability of companies to take it," Duperreault said. "Capacity has been diminished dramatically given the effects of the capital markets."
Travelers Cos., the second-biggest U.S. commercial carrier, and Chubb Corp. reported profit declines last year while No. 1 American International Group Inc. submitted to a government takeover after a liquidity crunch.
Declines Slowing
In the fourth quarter, U.S. commercial-insurance rates fell 6.4 percent, the slowest pace of decline since 2006, according to a survey by the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. Insurers posted their worst underwriting result since 2001.
Still, that may not translate to higher prices for insurance buyers, according to Meyer Shields, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Insurers will continue to slash prices to win business from competitors as the slumping economy reduces demand, Shields said.
NOTE: In hte fourth quarter,U.S. in the comercial insurance the rate was felt 6.4 persent.
the insurance wasstill continue to slash thwe price.
"When we look at this industry, it's still overpopulated," said Shields, based in Baltimore. "Underwriting talent is spread too thin so there are some people that are going to set prices too low. I can't argue with the logic that prices should increase, I just don't know if that's going to happen yet."
Policy Sales
Policy sales by U.S. property and casualty insurers probably fell for a second straight year in 2008, the first back-to-back decline since the 1930s, according to a study by A.M. Best Co. Duperreault said the recession will make it harder for insurers to raise prices even as their capacity to take risk shrinks.
"Which one wins is the question we're all watching this year," Duperreault said.
Duperreault braced New York-based Marsh & McLennan for the recession last year, his first on the job, by reducing staff across the brokerage and consulting units. Marsh & McLennan, Aon Corp., the biggest broker, and No. 3 Willis Group Holdings Ltd. make commissions by helping companies shop for insurance.
Marsh & McLennan said fourth-quarter operating profit per share advanced 54 percent to 37 cents, beating by 5 cents the average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Net income slipped 5.9 percent to $80 million on the severance costs and a drop in brokerage revenue.
'Not Completely Hostage'
Results were "very strong," Stifel Nicolaus's Shields said in an interview. "They're not completely hostage to the economy and primary insurance rate decreases."
The brokerage division more than doubled its profit margin to 14.8 percent, excluding the impact of items including severance pay, even as insurance rates slipped.
Profitability declined at the consulting divisions, which offer advice on human resources and corporate security, and Duperreault said he expects the businesses to contribute less to profit and revenue as the recession deepens.
Marsh & McLennan will focus on reducing expenses on technology, travel and entertainment and may make further workforce cuts, Duperreault said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 11, 2009 17:04 EST
Advertisement: Do stocks outperform bonds? Learn about the power of an all-bond portfolio.
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Marsh & McLennan Chief Sees Insurance Price Increases (Update1)
Email | Print | A A A
By Andrew Frye
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Marsh & McLennan Cos., the second- biggest insurance broker, said carriers around the world are demanding higher rates on some lines of business coverage after losing money on investments backing policies.
"Insurance is showing price increases," Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault said today in a telephone interview from New York. "More in reinsurance, but there are some signs in primary as well."
U.S. business insurers are seeking to reverse four years of rate decreases after losses on corporate bonds and mortgage- backed securities weighed on financial results. Natural disasters in the U.S., including Midwest tornados and the worst hurricane season since 2005, also contributed to profit declines and losses across the industry last year.
Marsh & McLennan jumped the most in 27 years in New York trading today after 2,200 job cuts at the flagship brokerage boosted fourth-quarter operating profit. It rose $2.70, or 14 percent, to $21.41 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the second-biggest gainer in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
NOTE: Mars& Mclennan was jumped the most in 27 years in the new york.in new york stock exchange composite traiding.
"There's been a recalibration of what is the cost of risk to start with and the ability of companies to take it," Duperreault said. "Capacity has been diminished dramatically given the effects of the capital markets."
Travelers Cos., the second-biggest U.S. commercial carrier, and Chubb Corp. reported profit declines last year while No. 1 American International Group Inc. submitted to a government takeover after a liquidity crunch.
Declines Slowing
In the fourth quarter, U.S. commercial-insurance rates fell 6.4 percent, the slowest pace of decline since 2006, according to a survey by the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. Insurers posted their worst underwriting result since 2001.
Still, that may not translate to higher prices for insurance buyers, according to Meyer Shields, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Insurers will continue to slash prices to win business from competitors as the slumping economy reduces demand, Shields said.
NOTE: In hte fourth quarter,U.S. in the comercial insurance the rate was felt 6.4 persent.
the insurance wasstill continue to slash thwe price.
"When we look at this industry, it's still overpopulated," said Shields, based in Baltimore. "Underwriting talent is spread too thin so there are some people that are going to set prices too low. I can't argue with the logic that prices should increase, I just don't know if that's going to happen yet."
Policy Sales
Policy sales by U.S. property and casualty insurers probably fell for a second straight year in 2008, the first back-to-back decline since the 1930s, according to a study by A.M. Best Co. Duperreault said the recession will make it harder for insurers to raise prices even as their capacity to take risk shrinks.
"Which one wins is the question we're all watching this year," Duperreault said.
Duperreault braced New York-based Marsh & McLennan for the recession last year, his first on the job, by reducing staff across the brokerage and consulting units. Marsh & McLennan, Aon Corp., the biggest broker, and No. 3 Willis Group Holdings Ltd. make commissions by helping companies shop for insurance.
Marsh & McLennan said fourth-quarter operating profit per share advanced 54 percent to 37 cents, beating by 5 cents the average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Net income slipped 5.9 percent to $80 million on the severance costs and a drop in brokerage revenue.
'Not Completely Hostage'
Results were "very strong," Stifel Nicolaus's Shields said in an interview. "They're not completely hostage to the economy and primary insurance rate decreases."
The brokerage division more than doubled its profit margin to 14.8 percent, excluding the impact of items including severance pay, even as insurance rates slipped.
Profitability declined at the consulting divisions, which offer advice on human resources and corporate security, and Duperreault said he expects the businesses to contribute less to profit and revenue as the recession deepens.
Marsh & McLennan will focus on reducing expenses on technology, travel and entertainment and may make further workforce cuts, Duperreault said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 11, 2009 17:04 EST
Advertisement: Do stocks outperform bonds? Learn about the power of an all-bond portfolio.
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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
APELLA UNIVERSITY NAMES DR. DEBORAH BUSHWAY DEAN OF HAROLD ABEL SCHOLL OF PSYCHOLOGY
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Capella University Names Dr. Deborah Bushway Dean of Harold Abel School of Psychology
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MINNEAPOLIS - (Business Wire) Capella University, an accredited* online university that has built its reputation by providing quality online education for working adults, has named Deborah Bushway, PhD, as dean of its Harold Abel School of Psychology. Dr. Bushway joined Capella University in 2007 as the school's associate dean and most recently served as the school's acting dean. As dean, she will act as chief academic officer of the Harold Abel School of Psychology, which offers three online degree programs in 10 specializations.
Dr. Bushway brings more than 20 years of psychology, higher education, and leadership experience to the position. Prior to joining Capella, she spent 17 years at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minn., where she was a full professor and chair of the Psychology Department. She also worked at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, as a clinical counselor and coordinator of outreach programs. Dr. Bushway continues to practice psychology as a licensed clinician, a career that has extended more than 20 years. She earned both her Master of Science in Psychology and PhD in Psychology from Iowa State University and has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and conference presentations throughout her career.
NOTE: DR. bushway is bring more than 20 year of psychology.
"Dr. Bushway brings an ideal blend of leadership, academic credentials, and practitioner experience to her role as dean," said Christopher Cassirer, ScD, MPH, acting president of Capella University. "Her commitment to excellence, dedication to students success, and strong leadership skills will continue to move Capella's reputation forward as the University leading the definition of high-quality education for adult professionals."
About Capella University
Capella University (www.capella.edu) is an accredited*, fully online university that has built its reputation by providing quality education for working adults. Eighty-three percent of Capella students are currently enrolled in master's or doctoral degree programs in business, information technology, education, human services, psychology, public health, and public safety. Capella also offers bachelor's degree programs in business, information technology, and public safety. Within those areas, Capella currently offers 114 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 15 certificate programs. More than 24,000 learners were enrolled as of Sept. 30, 2008, from all 50 states and 45 other countries. Capella is committed to providing high-caliber academic excellence and pursuing balanced business growth. Founded in 1993, Capella University is a wholly owned subsidiary of Capella Education Company headquartered in Minneapolis. For more information, please visit http://www.capella.edu or call 1-888-CAPELLA (227-3552).
NOTE: capella also pffer bachelor's degree programs in business.
* Capella University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), www.ncahlc.org.
Capella University, 225 South Sixth Street, Ninth Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 1-888-CAPELLA (227-3552), www.capella.edu.
Learn more about earning an online degree at Capella University:
online education (http://www.capella.edu/online_education.aspx)
distance learning (http://www.capella.edu/distance_learning.aspx)
online university (http://www.capella.edu/online_university.aspx)
Capella Education Company
Media Contact:
Irene Silber, 612-977-4132
Irene.Silber@capella.edu
Copyright © 2008 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
More...
Article : Capella University Names Dr. Deborah Bushway Dean of Harold Abel School of Psychology
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Capella University Names Dr. Deborah Bushway Dean of Harold Abel School of Psychology
Posted : Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:08:30 GMT
Author : Capella Education Company
Category : Press Release
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MINNEAPOLIS - (Business Wire) Capella University, an accredited* online university that has built its reputation by providing quality online education for working adults, has named Deborah Bushway, PhD, as dean of its Harold Abel School of Psychology. Dr. Bushway joined Capella University in 2007 as the school's associate dean and most recently served as the school's acting dean. As dean, she will act as chief academic officer of the Harold Abel School of Psychology, which offers three online degree programs in 10 specializations.
Dr. Bushway brings more than 20 years of psychology, higher education, and leadership experience to the position. Prior to joining Capella, she spent 17 years at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minn., where she was a full professor and chair of the Psychology Department. She also worked at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, as a clinical counselor and coordinator of outreach programs. Dr. Bushway continues to practice psychology as a licensed clinician, a career that has extended more than 20 years. She earned both her Master of Science in Psychology and PhD in Psychology from Iowa State University and has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and conference presentations throughout her career.
NOTE: DR. bushway is bring more than 20 year of psychology.
"Dr. Bushway brings an ideal blend of leadership, academic credentials, and practitioner experience to her role as dean," said Christopher Cassirer, ScD, MPH, acting president of Capella University. "Her commitment to excellence, dedication to students success, and strong leadership skills will continue to move Capella's reputation forward as the University leading the definition of high-quality education for adult professionals."
About Capella University
Capella University (www.capella.edu) is an accredited*, fully online university that has built its reputation by providing quality education for working adults. Eighty-three percent of Capella students are currently enrolled in master's or doctoral degree programs in business, information technology, education, human services, psychology, public health, and public safety. Capella also offers bachelor's degree programs in business, information technology, and public safety. Within those areas, Capella currently offers 114 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 15 certificate programs. More than 24,000 learners were enrolled as of Sept. 30, 2008, from all 50 states and 45 other countries. Capella is committed to providing high-caliber academic excellence and pursuing balanced business growth. Founded in 1993, Capella University is a wholly owned subsidiary of Capella Education Company headquartered in Minneapolis. For more information, please visit http://www.capella.edu or call 1-888-CAPELLA (227-3552).
NOTE: capella also pffer bachelor's degree programs in business.
* Capella University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), www.ncahlc.org.
Capella University, 225 South Sixth Street, Ninth Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 1-888-CAPELLA (227-3552), www.capella.edu.
Learn more about earning an online degree at Capella University:
online education (http://www.capella.edu/online_education.aspx)
distance learning (http://www.capella.edu/distance_learning.aspx)
online university (http://www.capella.edu/online_university.aspx)
Capella Education Company
Media Contact:
Irene Silber, 612-977-4132
Irene.Silber@capella.edu
Copyright © 2008 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
More...
Article : Capella University Names Dr. Deborah Bushway Dean of Harold Abel School of Psychology
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By PEGGY ORENSTEIN
Published: February 5, 2009
There is nothing like the suggestion of a cancer riskto freak out a parent, especially one of the hypereducated, ecoconscious ilk. So you can imagine the reaction when a recent USA Today investigation of air quality around the nation's schools singled out those in the smugly green hamlet of Berkeley, Calif., as being among the worst in the country. The city's public high school, as well as a number of day care centers, preschools, elementary and middle schools (including the one my daughter attends), fell in the lowest 10 percent — some in the bottom 1 percent. Industrial pollution in our town had supposedly turned students into living science experiments inhaling a laboratory's worth of manganese, chromium and nickel each day. This in a city that mandates school cafeterias to serve organic meals. Great, I thought, organic lunch, toxic recess.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
NOTE: In the industrisl pollution in our town had supposedly turened students into living science experiments inhaling a laboratory's worth of manganese.
Since December, when the report came out, the mayor, neighborhood activists and various parent-teacher associations have engaged in a sometimes-acrimonious, acronym-laced battle over its validity: over the culpability of the steel-casting factory on the western edge of town, over union jobs versus children's health and over what, if anything, ought to be done. With all sides presenting their own experts throwing down the gauntlets of conflicting scientific studies, whom should parents believe? Is there truly a threat here, we asked one another as we dropped off our kids, and if so, how great is it? And how does it compare with the other, seemingly incessant health scares we confront, like panic over lead in synthetic athletic turf or Bisphenol A in dental sealants? Rather than just another wacky episode in the town that brought you tree sitters and the Naked Guy, this latest drama, repeated in various permutations in so many communities, is a crucible for how today's parents perceive risk, how we try to keep our kids safe — whether it's possible to keep them safe — in what feels like an increasingly threatening world. It raises the question of what, in our time, "safe" could even mean.
Every morning, as part of their daily routine, my husband slathers our daughter with all-natural sun block that claims to ward off skin cancer without causing something worse. Because of suspected harmto children's reproductive systems, we don't microwave in plastic or use shampoo containing phthalates. We limit tuna, since elevated mercury levels are linked to learning delays. Better safe than sorry, I say. But safe from what? And, more to the point, safe from which? My own mother forbade me to drink the water in the Minneapolis suburb where I spent my teens: creosote from a closed plant had leached into several of the town's wells. Although they were shut down, she remained suspicious. Better safe than sorry, she said. Still, during six years of daily showers, my skin would have absorbed plenty of whatever may have been lurking there. Could that be why I scored lower on my SAT's than I thought I should have? Might the creosote have contributed to my breast-cancer diagnosis at age 35? Or was the culprit the pesticide sprayed each year over my summer camp to combat mosquitoes? (To be fair, we were told to put our pillows under our blankets beforehand.)
"There's no way around the uncertainty," says Kimberly Thompson, president of Kid Risk, a nonprofit group that studies children's health. "That means your choices can matter, but it also means you aren't going to know if they do." A 2004 report in the journal Pediatrics explained that jittery parents have more to fear from fire, car accidents and drowning than from toxic chemical exposure (with the exception of lead, which still threatens the health of millions of children). To which I say: Well, obviously. But such concrete hazards are beside the point. It's the dangers parents can't — and may never — quantify that gobump in the night. That's why I've purged my pantry of microwave popcorn (the bags are coated with a potential carcinogen), but although I've lived blocks from a major fault line for more than 12 years, I still haven't bolted our bookcases to the living room wall.
Paul Slovic, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon, calls that skewed response "intuitive toxicology." When the potential impact of a chemical is catastrophic — cancer or birth defects — we tend to act from the gut, ignoring the actual probability of harm. I wouldn't expect parents to have the same risk tolerance as experts. Yet, I wonder sometimes if avoiding the vinyl lunch box — I don't care if it has "Hello Kitty" on the front — is just another blade in a helicopter parent's propeller, another version of the overzealous monitoring that has produced kids who leave for college without ever having crossed the street by themselves. In this era when children symbolize emotional fulfillment rather than free household labor, we cling to the belief that if we just do everything right — starting with what a woman eats before she's even pregnant — we can protect them from pain or failure or sadness. We can make them perfect and, in the process, prove ourselves beyond reproach. But of course, that control is illusory: even if it were possible to do everything "right," it could still come out wrong. What if it wasn't the creosote or the pesticide that gave me cancer but something even more frightening — plain old bad luck? What is a parent supposed to do about that?
NOTE:poul slovic,he is the professor at the university of origon call that skwed response
"intuitive texicology.
As it turned out, further investigation showed that my daughter and her classmates were not soaking up heavy metals with their three R's. That's a relief, but how long until something equally scary surfaces? Diesel fumes anyone? Tin-can liners? Chlorinated swimming pools? And how do we know that whatever replaced the bad stuff in baby bottles is safer? You can't raise your kid in a bubble. Especially one made of plastic.
Peggy Orenstein, a contributing writer, is the author of the memoir "Waiting for Daisy."
Next Article in Magazine (16 of 21) » A version of this article appeared in print on February 8, 2009, on page MM17 of the New York edition.
Download the historic Nov. 5 issue of The New York Times Electronic Edition.
Past Coverage
* A New Cigarette Hazard: 'Third-Hand Smoke' (January 3, 2009)
* NATIONAL BRIEFING | WASHINGTON; E.P.A. To Ban Use of a Pesticide (July 25, 2008)
* Lead Poisoning Cases Decline (July 3, 2008)
* Canada Takes Steps to Ban Most Plastic Baby Bottles (April 19, 2008)
Related Searches
* Hazardous and Toxic Substances Get E-Mail Alerts
* Children and Youth Get E-Mail Alerts
* Education and Schools Get E-Mail Alerts
* Chemicals Get E-Mail Alerts
Next Article in Magazine (16 of 21) »
Advertise on NYTimes.com
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2. Op-Ed Contributor: Till Children Do Us Part
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5. As Layoffs Surge, Women May Pass Men in Job Force
6. Proof: Why (and How) I Drink
7. David Brooks: The Gang System
8. Art Review: Main Street Postcards as Muse
9. Op-Ed Contributor: Please Raise My Taxes
10. Fitness: Dieting? Put Your Money Where Your Fat Is
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5. Democrats Cite Jobs Report as Stimulus Talks Continue
6. Google and Amazon to Put More Books on Cellphones
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8. The Gang System
9. Need a Creative Boost? Find the Blue Room.
10. Scientists Point to Possible Link Between Dam and China Quake
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By PEGGY ORENSTEIN
Published: February 5, 2009
There is nothing like the suggestion of a cancer riskto freak out a parent, especially one of the hypereducated, ecoconscious ilk. So you can imagine the reaction when a recent USA Today investigation of air quality around the nation's schools singled out those in the smugly green hamlet of Berkeley, Calif., as being among the worst in the country. The city's public high school, as well as a number of day care centers, preschools, elementary and middle schools (including the one my daughter attends), fell in the lowest 10 percent — some in the bottom 1 percent. Industrial pollution in our town had supposedly turned students into living science experiments inhaling a laboratory's worth of manganese, chromium and nickel each day. This in a city that mandates school cafeterias to serve organic meals. Great, I thought, organic lunch, toxic recess.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
NOTE: In the industrisl pollution in our town had supposedly turened students into living science experiments inhaling a laboratory's worth of manganese.
Since December, when the report came out, the mayor, neighborhood activists and various parent-teacher associations have engaged in a sometimes-acrimonious, acronym-laced battle over its validity: over the culpability of the steel-casting factory on the western edge of town, over union jobs versus children's health and over what, if anything, ought to be done. With all sides presenting their own experts throwing down the gauntlets of conflicting scientific studies, whom should parents believe? Is there truly a threat here, we asked one another as we dropped off our kids, and if so, how great is it? And how does it compare with the other, seemingly incessant health scares we confront, like panic over lead in synthetic athletic turf or Bisphenol A in dental sealants? Rather than just another wacky episode in the town that brought you tree sitters and the Naked Guy, this latest drama, repeated in various permutations in so many communities, is a crucible for how today's parents perceive risk, how we try to keep our kids safe — whether it's possible to keep them safe — in what feels like an increasingly threatening world. It raises the question of what, in our time, "safe" could even mean.
Every morning, as part of their daily routine, my husband slathers our daughter with all-natural sun block that claims to ward off skin cancer without causing something worse. Because of suspected harmto children's reproductive systems, we don't microwave in plastic or use shampoo containing phthalates. We limit tuna, since elevated mercury levels are linked to learning delays. Better safe than sorry, I say. But safe from what? And, more to the point, safe from which? My own mother forbade me to drink the water in the Minneapolis suburb where I spent my teens: creosote from a closed plant had leached into several of the town's wells. Although they were shut down, she remained suspicious. Better safe than sorry, she said. Still, during six years of daily showers, my skin would have absorbed plenty of whatever may have been lurking there. Could that be why I scored lower on my SAT's than I thought I should have? Might the creosote have contributed to my breast-cancer diagnosis at age 35? Or was the culprit the pesticide sprayed each year over my summer camp to combat mosquitoes? (To be fair, we were told to put our pillows under our blankets beforehand.)
"There's no way around the uncertainty," says Kimberly Thompson, president of Kid Risk, a nonprofit group that studies children's health. "That means your choices can matter, but it also means you aren't going to know if they do." A 2004 report in the journal Pediatrics explained that jittery parents have more to fear from fire, car accidents and drowning than from toxic chemical exposure (with the exception of lead, which still threatens the health of millions of children). To which I say: Well, obviously. But such concrete hazards are beside the point. It's the dangers parents can't — and may never — quantify that gobump in the night. That's why I've purged my pantry of microwave popcorn (the bags are coated with a potential carcinogen), but although I've lived blocks from a major fault line for more than 12 years, I still haven't bolted our bookcases to the living room wall.
Paul Slovic, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon, calls that skewed response "intuitive toxicology." When the potential impact of a chemical is catastrophic — cancer or birth defects — we tend to act from the gut, ignoring the actual probability of harm. I wouldn't expect parents to have the same risk tolerance as experts. Yet, I wonder sometimes if avoiding the vinyl lunch box — I don't care if it has "Hello Kitty" on the front — is just another blade in a helicopter parent's propeller, another version of the overzealous monitoring that has produced kids who leave for college without ever having crossed the street by themselves. In this era when children symbolize emotional fulfillment rather than free household labor, we cling to the belief that if we just do everything right — starting with what a woman eats before she's even pregnant — we can protect them from pain or failure or sadness. We can make them perfect and, in the process, prove ourselves beyond reproach. But of course, that control is illusory: even if it were possible to do everything "right," it could still come out wrong. What if it wasn't the creosote or the pesticide that gave me cancer but something even more frightening — plain old bad luck? What is a parent supposed to do about that?
NOTE:poul slovic,he is the professor at the university of origon call that skwed response
"intuitive texicology.
As it turned out, further investigation showed that my daughter and her classmates were not soaking up heavy metals with their three R's. That's a relief, but how long until something equally scary surfaces? Diesel fumes anyone? Tin-can liners? Chlorinated swimming pools? And how do we know that whatever replaced the bad stuff in baby bottles is safer? You can't raise your kid in a bubble. Especially one made of plastic.
Peggy Orenstein, a contributing writer, is the author of the memoir "Waiting for Daisy."
Next Article in Magazine (16 of 21) » A version of this article appeared in print on February 8, 2009, on page MM17 of the New York edition.
Download the historic Nov. 5 issue of The New York Times Electronic Edition.
Past Coverage
* A New Cigarette Hazard: 'Third-Hand Smoke' (January 3, 2009)
* NATIONAL BRIEFING | WASHINGTON; E.P.A. To Ban Use of a Pesticide (July 25, 2008)
* Lead Poisoning Cases Decline (July 3, 2008)
* Canada Takes Steps to Ban Most Plastic Baby Bottles (April 19, 2008)
Related Searches
* Hazardous and Toxic Substances Get E-Mail Alerts
* Children and Youth Get E-Mail Alerts
* Education and Schools Get E-Mail Alerts
* Chemicals Get E-Mail Alerts
Next Article in Magazine (16 of 21) »
Advertise on NYTimes.com
MOST POPULAR
* E-Mailed
* Blogged
* Searched
1. Paul Krugman: On the Edge
2. Op-Ed Contributor: Till Children Do Us Part
3. Japan's Big-Works Stimulus Is Lesson
4. Reinvent Wheel? Blue Room. Defusing a Bomb? Red Room.
5. As Layoffs Surge, Women May Pass Men in Job Force
6. Proof: Why (and How) I Drink
7. David Brooks: The Gang System
8. Art Review: Main Street Postcards as Muse
9. Op-Ed Contributor: Please Raise My Taxes
10. Fitness: Dieting? Put Your Money Where Your Fat Is
Go to Complete List »
1. On the Edge
2. Two Senators Seek to Strip $200 Billion From Stimulus
3. 598,000 Jobs Lost as Jobless Rate Hits 7.6% in January
4. Japan's Big-Works Stimulus Is Lesson for U.S.
5. Democrats Cite Jobs Report as Stimulus Talks Continue
6. Google and Amazon to Put More Books on Cellphones
7. U.S. Women Set to Surpass Men in Labor Force
8. The Gang System
9. Need a Creative Boost? Find the Blue Room.
10. Scientists Point to Possible Link Between Dam and China Quake
Go to Complete List »
1. madoff
2. obama
3. february 3, 2009
4. krugman
5. china
6. stimulus
7. education
8. michael phelps
9. maciel
10. january 28, 2009
Go to Complete List »
The New York Times Health
nytimes.com/health
Put your money where your fat is
Also in Health:
* Can nurses care too much?
* Warm chick pea and broccoli salad
* The buzz on tinnitus
Advertisements
Get Times Reader Free. A Digital Newspaper That Reads Like The Real Thing.
Inside NYTimes.com
Movies »
Oscar Shorts, Low-Hype and Sweet
Oscar Shorts, Low-Hype and Sweet
Art & Design »
Dear Amish Diary: After Floods, Made a Quilt
Dear Amish Diary: After Floods, Made a Quilt
Opinion »
Travel »
36 Hours in Dallas
36 Hours in Dallas
Opinion »
Editorial: Arpaio's America
Editorial: Arpaio's America
Escapes »
Spa for the Unpretentious
Spa for the Unpretentious
U.S. »
Town Seeks Landmark Status for Water Tower
Movies »
Cornered in a Parallel World
Art & Design »
Main Street Postcards as a Muse
Opinion »
Escapes »
Vintage Homes and Postcard Panoramas
Opinion »
Op-Ed: A Pinch of Science
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