A new study by Avalere Health indicates that Affordable Care Act
Elsewhere, Robert Laszewski, an industry consultant in Alexandria, Va., is of the opinion that a repeal of the ACA's individual mandate may drive many people to turn to cheaper, short-term health plans that may not cover pre-existing conditions or basic medical needs, The New York Times reported.
Spanish insurer MAPFRE SA is cutting its geographical footprint in the U.S. The company said it is exiting five U.S. states it currently has presence in, namely New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana in order to focus on 11 core states. MAPFRE said in an investor presentation that it has already engaged an investment bank to pursue the sale of its New York unit, MAPFRE Insurance Company of New York.
In more deal
And, Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. completed its acquisition of NBIC Holdings Inc., the parent of Narragansett Bay Insurance Co., for $250 million.
Preliminary results indicate that the U.S. life and annuity
Insured losses
Anthem Inc. filed a shelf registration
Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. continued to report positive returns on its investment account in November, and Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. reported negative returns in the month. Third Point Re was up 0.1% and Greenlight Capital Re reported a loss of 2.0% in November.
Featured news
Shire's R&D head; Bayer's Monsanto bid; US FDA to fast-track cancer drugs: Andreas Busch will be Shire's new chief scientific officer; a U.S. regulator cleared Bayer's $66 billion Monsanto bid; and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to improve the approval turnaround time for certain cancer drugs.
Financial news in other parts of the world
Asia-Pacific: US blocks China's 'market economy' status bid; ANZ's unit sale may fall through
Europe: Eurogroup race on; RBS closes bad bank; Munich Re eyes €2B of annual profit
Middle East & Africa: OPEC, Russia oil cuts extended; Orange to open bank in Africa
Latin America: Bci to buy TotalBank for roughly $528M; Finansur suspension extended
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng decreased 0.35% to 29,074.24, while the Nikkei 225 increased 0.41% to 22,819.03.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.32% to 7,303.32, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.68% to 1,032.25.
On the macro front
The PMI manufacturing index, the ISM manufacturing index, the construction spending report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count are due out today.
