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AIG, Chubb battle fires; Marsh, JLT to combine specialty ops; Markel gets UK nod

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AIG, Chubb battle fires; Marsh, JLT to combine specialty ops; Markel gets UK nod

American International Group Inc. and Chubb Ltd. are deploying teams of specialists and former firefighters to spray retardants on homes in the wake of a series of wildfires in California, according to Bloomberg News. Moody's said losses arising out of the fire could be around $6.8 billion so far, Insurance Journal reported.

At least 44 people have died in the fires, including 42 in Northern California, according to The Associated Press. The death toll in Northern California makes the fire the deadliest in California history. Over 7,000 structures have been destroyed in Northern California and a further 435 in Southern California, The Insurance Insider noted. Morgan Stanley analysts said the insured loss bill from the Northern California fire could reach $4 billion, Re-Insurance.com wrote.

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc.'s Marsh unit said it would combine its specialty business with that of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC to form Marsh-JLT Specialty when the companies' deal closes.

Meanwhile, JLT Re acquired Spain-based JLT March Re and launched a new division called JLT Re Iberia.

Nontraded shopping center real estate investment trusts Phillips Edison & Co. Inc. and Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT III Inc. entered into separate joint ventures with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., under which Northwestern Mutual will acquire majority stakes in two property portfolios, valued at $368 million and $46.5 million, respectively.

Regulators approved Markel Insurance SE's application to operate a branch office in the U.K. The branch will support brokers and policyholders in writing business in the European Economic Area through London.

In another move in preparation for Britain's EU departure, Lloyd's of London opened its insurance company in Brussels, its first Europe-wide operation.

Prudential PLC CEO Mike Wells told CNBC that China is committed to opening its insurance sector, but will do so on its own time. The country is planning to lift the foreign ownership restriction in life insurance companies to 51%, and eventually scrap the restriction, but Wells said he thought that China would move cautiously, rather than "looking for a flood of foreign models, insurers and management teams."

Brown & Brown of Massachusetts LLC acquired substantially all of the assets of Needham, Mass.-based Rodman Insurance Agency Inc. Brown & Brown of Massachusetts is a unit of Brown & Brown Inc.

Insurer HSB Insurance LLC acquired certain assets of Steinhauser Insurance Agency. According to a quarterly regulatory filing, the deal closed July 1.

Danske Bank A/S will end its nonlife insurance distribution agreement with insurer Topdanmark A/S and entered into a strategic partnership covering Denmark, Norway and Sweden with Tryg A/S.

Canada's Power Financial Corp. and Power Corp. of Canada filed preliminary short form base shelf prospectuses for the sale from time to time of C$3 billion and C$2 billion, respectively, of various securities.

The total direct and indirect economic losses caused to Macau by Typhoon Mangkhut are estimated at 1.55 billion Macau pataca, or roughly US$192 million.

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Bayer Q3 profit falls YOY; AstraZeneca sells rights to lung drug for $1.5B: Bayer's third-quarter core net income from continuing operations was €1.17 billion, down from €1.29 billion; and AstraZeneca is selling the U.S. rights to its lung disease drug Synagis to Swedish Orphan Biovitrum for $1.5 billion.

In other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: Anbang transfers Chinese bank shares; South Korean banks halt NY wire services

Europe: Rabobank mulls sale of US ops; Carige to get €320M aid; Credit Suisse probed

Middle East & Africa: Diamond Bank, Access Bank deny merger rumors; Skye Bank's management in hot seat

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, Hang Seng rose 0.62% to 25,792.87, while the Nikkei 225 fell 2.06% to 21,810.52.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.23% to 7,069.93, and the Euronext 100 gained 0.36% to 989.78.

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 Redbook index for retail sales and the Treasury budget are due out today.

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