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Appeals court vacates DOL's fiduciary rule; WellCare may join Fla. LTC program

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Appeals court vacates DOL's fiduciary rule; WellCare may join Fla. LTC program

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the U.S. Department of Labor's Conflict of Interest Rule in its entirety, reversing a lower district court ruling that upheld the measure. By a 2-1 vote, the appeals court overturned the lower district court's decision to reject certain business groups' legal challenge to the fiduciary rule. The appeals court criticized the fiduciary rule's best interest contract exemption, which allegedly allows advisers and brokers to avoid prohibited transactions penalties.

Interest groups are backing a number of proposals in California that aim to expand Medi-Cal access to adults without legal status, increase subsidies for people buying insurance on the Covered California exchange and establish a state-level mandate to buy insurance, among other things, the Los Angeles Times reported. One measure seeks to ban short-terms plans not compliant with the Affordable Care Act and another forbids work requirements for Medi-Cal. The California Medical Association backed the Medi-Cal expansion.

Jefferies analyst David Windley said WellCare Health Plans Inc. has the "most at stake" in the $15 billion Florida Medicaid request for proposal, for which awards will be announced April 16. With this contract making up 11% of 2019 estimated EPS, the company has the "most renewal risk" and thus "has a lot to defend." WellCare may also bid on the state's $3 billion long-term care program.

The size of Essent Guaranty Inc.'s insurance-linked securities transaction Radnor Re 2018-1 Ltd. has increased to $424.4 million from $360 million, Artemis reported.

Freddie Mac wants to change how borrowers without large down payments pay for mortgage insurance, a move that could pave the way for broader housing finance reform but one that is likely to attract a fight from the private mortgage insurance industry. Borrowers interested in conventional mortgages — loans that meet Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae requirements — who cannot afford a down payment equal to 20% of the purchase price must pay for private mortgage insurance.

Climate change poses several threats to the insurance industry, particularly to the property and casualty insurance and reinsurance sectors, Moody's Investors Service said in a March 15 report. Increasingly frequent and more severe catastrophic weather events, ongoing climate change litigation, and the possibility that the transition to a lower-carbon economy could reduce the value of assets with high emissions are some of the biggest problem areas for insurance companies, the report said.

Federated National Holding Co. has started the process of rebranding to use its federally registered FEDNAT trademark after an arbitrator agreed that the name does not infringe on Federated Mutual Insurance Co.'s federal and common law trademark rights.

Central 1 Credit Union will remove its ownership interest in CUMIS insurance operations, which it has shared with Co-operators Group Ltd. since 2009.

Featured news

J&J receives $1.2B offer for unit; second try to advance 'right-to-try' in US: Johnson & Johnson said Platinum Equity offered to buy the drugmaker's blood glucose monitoring business; and House Republican leaders have set a hearing for the right-to-try legislation, hoping they could advance the bill at the second try.

Financial news in other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: UBS merging Asia-Pacific units; Punjab National Bank detects more fraud

Europe: Nex, CME in preliminary takeover talks; Brexit transition deal within reach

Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia raises rates; Egypt's CI Capital to list shares on stock exchange

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng decreased 0.12% to 31,501.97, and the Nikkei 225 declined 0.58% to 21,676.51.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.23% to 7,156.01, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.31% to 1,029.58.

On the macro front

The housing starts report, the industrial production report, the consumer sentiment report, the JOLTS report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.