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New bid to overhaul ACA; more insurance M&A to come; Atlantic hurricane forecast

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New bid to overhaul ACA; more insurance M&A to come; Atlantic hurricane forecast

A coalition of Republicans and advocacy groups will in June release a proposal to end the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid and funnel money to states in the form of block grants, The Wall Street Journal reported. The group has spent eight months working behind the scenes, reaching out to state officials and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Sources said the White House is on board with the plan.

Recent merger and acquisition activity in the insurance sector is likely to continue given limited organic growth opportunities, according to A.M. Best. With underwriting performance under pressure and investment returns persistently low, insurers are finding it difficult to meet target returns, fueling the drive for consolidation.

Strategic investors and private equity firms turned to transactional risk insurance in record numbers in 2017 to reduce deal risk in a highly competitive M&A environment, Marsh said in a report. Corporate buyers now represent 50% of policy purchasers, which once was almost exclusively the domain of private equity firms.

Russian state-owned lender VTB Bank (PJSC) agreed to sell VTB Insurance Ltd. to JSC Sogaz in a deal that would create the largest insurer in Russia.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. is weighing bids from Fidelity Life Assurance Co. Ltd., Cigna Corp. unit Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Ltd. and Partners Life Ltd. for its New Zealand-based life insurance business, OnePath Life (NZ) Ltd., The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk blog reported.

A consortium of South Korea's Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. Ltd. and Japan's ORIX Corp. intends to participate in the bidding process for Seoul-based MG Non-Life Insurance Co. Ltd., which needs to increase its capital buffers, FNTIMES in South Korea reported.

And U.K.-based insurance broker Ardonagh Group Ltd. is said to be shopping its general commercial managing general agent business in the U.K., with potential bidders including Aviva PLC, Axa, Allianz Group and RSA Insurance Group PLC, according to The Insurance Insider.

Preparing for and operating under the European Union's new data protection rules, which took effect today, could cost insurers more than tackling the region's Solvency II insurance capital regime and far more on a per-employee basis than other industries, consultants told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Forecasters from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration are calling for near- to above-normal activity during this year's Atlantic hurricane season. The agency is calling for 10 to 16 named storms, and five to nine hurricanes. Of those, one to four could become major hurricanes at Category 3 strength or higher.

Pricing on Scor SE's $300 million Atlas Capital UK 2018 PLC (Series 2018 ISPV 1) catastrophe bond settled at the low end of the 6% to 6.5% range the company guided toward, Artemis reported. The bond, the first sponsored under the U.K.'s new insurance-linked securities regime, provides protection from U.S. named storm, U.S. and Canada earthquake and European windstorm risks.

Generali renewed its outstanding revolving credit facilities, increasing their overall amount to €4 billion. Costs on the new facilities are linked to green investment and sustainability initiative targets.

Featured news

AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug aces trial; BioMarin's rare disease drug approved: AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug Imfinzi meets improved survival goal in a phase 3 study; and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved BioMarin's Palynziq injection for treating a rare genetic disease.

Financial news in parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: Ex-PICC Group president sentenced to prison; Fidelity Life bids for ANZ unit

Europe: EC proposes 'safe bonds'; Deutsche Bank chair survives removal attempt

Middle East & Africa: Hapoalim, Leumi post Q1 profits; Kenya keeps rate cap; South Africa holds rate

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 0.56% to 30,588.04, while the Nikkei 225 increased 0.6% to 22,450.79.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.24% to 7,736.44, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.46% to 1,077.21.

On the macro front

The durable goods orders report, two-year FRN note settlement report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.

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