Insurers are targeting loss ratio improvements of between 2% and 5% under real trading conditions from their use of advanced data analytics, according to a new report from Swiss Re AG's research arm.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposal that will delay the effective date on a standard that deals with long-duration contracts.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is mulling a sale of auto warranty company Safe-Guard Products International LLC, but there is no certainty a deal will be announced, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The sale could value Safe-Guard at more than $1 billion, inclusive of debt, and the investment banking giant is working with advisers on a possible auction for the company, the sources said.
HSBC Holdings PLC is looking at making a bid for the Asian operations that Aviva PLC might off-load, Bloomberg News reported. Acquiring Aviva's Asian assets would expand the bank's insurance presence in Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia, people with knowledge of the matter told the news outlet.
Lloyd's broker SSL Endeavour is in the process of finalizing the acquisition of Worldlink Holdings, an aviation broker and managing general agency based in North America.
Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd. sealed a reinsurance agreement to assume the legacy liabilities from the Bermuda-domiciled captive of a U.S.-based airline.
Kroll Bond Rating Agency highlighted the benefits for Hamilton Insurance Group following its acquisition of Pembroke Managing Agency Ltd. and its platform at Lloyd's, as well as Ironshore Europe DAC, from Liberty Mutual. The rating agency said the deal "greatly enhanced" Hamilton's access to the EU and U.S. markets.
Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. has been in talks to acquire Huaxia Life Insurance Co. Ltd. since 2018, but no progress has been made due to price issues, the South China Morning Post reported. Beijing-based Huaxia Life says it has 500 billion yuan in assets and about 500,000 employees in 24 branches, people familiar with the matter said.
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd.'s first-half net profit attributable to equity holders of the company jumped 128.9% to 37.60 billion Chinese yuan from 16.42 billion yuan a year earlier. The jump was attributed mainly to an increase in gross investment income and the impact from the new policy on pretax deduction of underwriting and policy acquisition costs.
Nippon Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd. to 54% following the conclusion of an open offer to acquire a 22.49% stake in the asset manager, the Press Trust of India reported, citing unnamed sources. Nippon Life paid 230 Indian rupees per share in the offer and the total payout was about 15 billion rupees.
Japan Post Co. Ltd. improperly sold approximately 104,000 Aflac Inc.-issued insurance policies, The Japan Times reported, citing sources close to the matter. The total number of inappropriately sold policies in Japan is now 287,000.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Most Fed officials viewed rate cut as 'mid-cycle adjustment,' minutes show: Although many investors expect the Fed to opt for more interest rate cuts this year, officials declined to commit to further easing, according to the minutes of the Fed's July 31 meeting.
Fast-growing Mutual of Omaha mortgage ops excluded from $1B CIT deal: Two 2018 acquisitions resulted in Mutual of Omaha Bank reestablishing a robust in-house residential mortgage origination capability less than four years after it partnered with a third party to handle those functions.
In other parts of the world
Europe: No-deal Brexit base case; BNP Paribas, HSBC, StanChart 'victims' of Huawei
Middle East & Africa: H1 profits fall at some of Angola's biggest banks; Zambia holds rate
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, Hang Seng dropped 0.84% to 26,048.72, while the Nikkei 225 gained 0.05% to 20,628.01.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 fell 0.59% to 7,161.28, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.39% to 1,050.52.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
On the macro front
The jobless claims report, the PMI composite FLASH report, the leading indicators report, the EIA natural gas report, the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing index, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
