Arkansas became the third state in the U.S. to gain a waiver of federal rules that will permit it to require Medicaid
It is time for healthcare providers, insurers, pharmacies and drugmakers to be more transparent about their pricing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told a gathering in Washington. And if the private-sector does not make that happen, the U.S. government has "plenty of levers to pull that would help drive this change." With healthcare costs skyrocketing, "the current system simply cannot last," he said. He argued that to achieve a value-based system, the administration must remove some government rules and regulations.
Axa CEO Thomas Buberl faced a barrage of questions from analysts after his company's decision to buy
NFP Corp. acquired Ocean City, Md.-based Insurance Management Group Inc. in a transaction that closed Feb. 1.
MBIA Inc. and other bond insurers have settled a 2008 lawsuit
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is working on a mid-year 2018 reinsurance
Validus Holdings Ltd. unit AlphaCat Managers Ltd. and Terra Brasis Resseguros S.A. have completed a $5 million private catastrophe bond transaction.
Featured news
Bristol-Myers' Opdivo gets price cut in Japan; Azar seeks pricing changes in US: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s cancer drug Opdivo is getting a 23.8% price cut in the Japanese market in April following a series of price reduction rules in the country, Pharma Japan Web reported.
Financial news in other parts of the world
Asia-Pacific: Indian central bank fines 2 lenders; Mega Financial posts FY'17 net income
Europe: UK fines, bans Deutsche Bank ex-trader; Bank of Ireland COO to leave
Middle East & Africa: Boursa Kuwait may launch IPO this year; Tunisia raises key rate
Latin America: Brazil's Banco Original sees ownership rejig; Peru's La Positiva to sell stake
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 2.09% to 30,510.73, while the Nikkei 225 climbed 1.79% to 21,417.76.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.94% to 7,182.87 and the Euronext 100 rose 0.83% to 1,014.58.
On the macro front
The Redbook and the factory orders report are due out today.
