Items by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
NYT > Business
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State Bonds Backed by Tobacco Payments in Jeopardy of Default
Posted: May 3rd, 2012, 9:59pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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States, counties and cities issued bonds to receive billions upfront from a settlement, but with smoking on the decline, the payments withering and a new legal challenge, reserves may run out.
NYT > Health
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MetLife Settles Cases on Benefits
Posted: April 24th, 2012, 3:04pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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MetLife on Monday became the third big life insurer to settle regulatory accusations of failing to keep track of policyholder deaths, trapping money that should have gone promptly to the beneficiaries.
NYT > Business
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Untouchable Pensions in California May Be Put to the Test
Posted: March 17th, 2012, 12:33am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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With Stockton, Calif., facing bankruptcy and a $30 million a year pension bill, a provision in the state Constitution that forbids cuts in public pensions will be put to the test.
NYT > Home Page
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Untouchable Pensions in California May Be Put to the Test
Posted: March 17th, 2012, 12:33am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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With Stockton, Calif., facing bankruptcy and a $30 million a year pension bill, a provision in the state Constitution that forbids cuts in public pensions will be put to the test.
NYT > Business
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New Treasury Rules Ease Purchase of Annuity With 401(k)
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 1:40am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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New regulations are intended to make it easier for retirees to transfer money from their 401(k)s into an annuity that would guarantee payments until they die.
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Audit of TARP Faults U.S. Over Executive Pay
Posted: January 24th, 2012, 12:38am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Federal auditors say the government failed to rein in executive compensation at the biggest companies it bailed out during the financial crisis.
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Pension Deal in Rhode Island Could Set a Trend
Posted: December 20th, 2011, 12:30am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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If the sharp cuts agreed to by retired police and firefighters in Central Falls, R.I., is approved in court, other places may pursue similar deals.
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Alabama Governor Fails to Prevent Jefferson County’s Record $4 Billion Bankruptcy Filing
Posted: November 10th, 2011, 1:40am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Alabama’s Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy court protection on Wednesday in the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
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Shuttle’s End Leaves NASA a Pension Bill
Posted: June 14th, 2011, 10:20pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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NASA is planning to spend about half a billion dollars next year to replenish the pension fund of United Space Alliance, which supplies workers to the space shuttle program.
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Claiming Fraud in A.I.G. Bailout, Whistle-Blower Lawsuit Names 3 Companies
Posted: May 5th, 2011, 1:12am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The lawsuit, which names A.I.G., Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, says two Federal Reserve loans to A.I.G. were improper because no high-quality collateral was pledged.
NYT > Home Page
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Japan’s Government Likely to Bear Much of the Loss
Posted: March 16th, 2011, 1:50am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The losses in Japan as a result of the earthquake and resulting tsunami are expected to exceed $100 billion and fall most heavily on the government.
NYT > Business
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Illinois Plan for Pensions Questioned
Posted: January 26th, 2011, 1:20am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A novel method of determining pension fund contributions, variations of which have been adopted by other states, is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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William Schreyer, 83, Merrill Chief, Dies
Posted: January 24th, 2011, 9:30pm EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Mr. Schreyer led Merrill Lynch’s transition from a stock brokerage firm to a diversified global investment bank.
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Path Is Sought for States to Escape Debt Burdens
Posted: January 21st, 2011, 2:00am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Policy makers are working to find a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under debts including the pensions they promised public workers.
NYT > Home Page
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Path Is Sought for States to Escape Debt Burdens
Posted: January 21st, 2011, 2:00am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Policy makers are working to find a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under debts including the pensions they promised public workers.
NYT > Business
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A Footnote Explains a Dispute Over Treasury’s Bailout Figures
Posted: November 16th, 2010, 11:10pm EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Auditors from the Government Accountability Office said Treasury sometimes worked with incorrect numbers or failed to document the value of assets in financial statements.
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Treasury Hid A.I.G. Loss, Report Says
Posted: October 26th, 2010, 1:00am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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In early October, the Treasury estimated that taxpayers would lose $5 billion on their investment in A.I.G., in contrast with a earlier prediction of $45 billion.
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N.Y. Faces $200 Billion in Retiree Health Costs
Posted: October 13th, 2010, 7:45am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Almost nothing has been set aside, putting the public work force on a collision course with taxpayers.
NYT > Health
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N.Y. Faces $200 Billion in Retiree Health Costs
Posted: October 13th, 2010, 7:45am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Almost nothing has been set aside, putting the public work force on a collision course with taxpayers.
NYT > Business
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S.&P. Says Cost to Care for Elderly Will Spiral
Posted: October 8th, 2010, 1:02am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Standard & Poor’s did not predict an all-out crisis, as it believed most governments would eventually take steps to slim down retirement programs.
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The Illusion of Pension Savings
Posted: September 18th, 2010, 12:58am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A pension accounting technique that Illinois can use to help balance its budget is also being used in other states, but the maneuver may endanger the pension funds.
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Harrisburg Expects to Miss a Bond Payment
Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 12:40am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The city warned that it was not going to make a scheduled payment of $3.3 million on its general obligation bonds because it did not have the money.
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New Jersey Settles Fraud Charges Over Municipal Bonds
Posted: August 18th, 2010, 2:50pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Federal regulators accused New Jersey of securities fraud for claiming it was funding public workers’ pensions when it was not.
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Eugene R. Anderson, Trial Lawyer, Dies at 82
Posted: August 3rd, 2010, 1:25am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The New York trial lawyer found innovative ways to get insurance companies to cover asbestos and toxic-spill claims.
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Payback Time: In Budget Crisis, States Take Aim at Pension Costs
Posted: June 20th, 2010, 2:36am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Many states, acknowledging that they have promised pensions they cannot afford, are reining in benefits — but only for future hires.
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European Debt Crisis Could Touch A.I.G.
Posted: May 21st, 2010, 8:04pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The American International Group had expected the credit-default swaps to be off its books by the end of last year, but billions in exposure remains.
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Last Case May Be Hardest for A.I.G.’s Greenberg
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 12:34am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The justice presiding over what appears to be the last of many lawsuits against Maurice Greenberg, former chief of the American International Group, said the case against him was “devastating.”
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A.I.G. May Cut a Bonus Pool by About 30%
Posted: March 15th, 2010, 12:50am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Officials at A.I.G. are hoping to quell a controversy over bonuses that has plagued the insurer ever since taxpayers came to its aid in 2008.
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Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk to Raise Returns
Posted: March 9th, 2010, 12:21am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Even as big companies are moving their pension funds out of stocks, state governments are chasing higher returns for their plans by making riskier investments.
NYT > Home Page
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Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk to Raise Returns
Posted: March 8th, 2010, 11:49pm EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Even as big companies are moving their pension funds out of stocks, state governments are chasing higher returns for their plans by making riskier investments.
NYT > Business
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Drawing Fire, Geithner Backs Rescue of A.I.G.
Posted: January 28th, 2010, 3:49am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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In questioning, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the A.I.G. bailout helped prevent a depression.
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Fed Is Again Accused of Blocking Release of A.I.G. Bailout Information
Posted: January 13th, 2010, 12:24am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The head of a House oversight committee plans to subpoena the New York Fed for documents about a government audit.
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Fed Advice to A.I.G. Scrutinized
Posted: January 7th, 2010, 9:48pm EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Revelations that the government stopped A.I.G. from releasing bailout details called in to question whether the information had to be disclosed under federal securities law.
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New York to Create Global Insurance Exchange to Cover Complex Risks
Posted: January 7th, 2010, 1:18am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The state’s governor hopes to keep companies from going offshore for complex coverage.
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A.I.G. Units Omit Name and Excel
Posted: December 10th, 2009, 1:38am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A.I.G. is once again the top seller of fixed annuities to bank customers, although the contracts are being offered under the names of two subsidiaries.
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Report Cites Big Shortfall in Reserves at A.I.G.
Posted: December 1st, 2009, 7:07am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Sanford C. Bernstein said A.I.G.’s property and casualty business has an $11.9 billion shortfall in reserves to pay claims.
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Audit Faults New York Fed in A.I.G. Bailout
Posted: November 17th, 2009, 2:59am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Officials managing the bailout of the insurance giant may have overpaid other banks to wind down business relationships with A.I.G., Neil Barofsky, the bailout inspector, says.
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A.I.G. Chief’s Mission: Save Executive Pay
Posted: November 11th, 2009, 9:32pm EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Robert Benmosche denied a report that he was about to leave American International Group over government restrictions on pay, but said he was “frustrated” over how long it was taking to resolve the issue.
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Criticism Is Mounting Over Flood Premiums
Posted: September 29th, 2009, 11:46pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Congress is preparing to extend the National Flood Insurance Program, despite warnings that the program lacks adequate controls and may be shifting too much money to the insurance industry.
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Congressional Report Says A.I.G. Has Stabilized
Posted: September 21st, 2009, 3:36pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Congress’s research arm said it was not yet clear whether the insurer could ever repay its federal rescue package.
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Removal of Leader Stirs Anger Over Dealings of Actuary Group
Posted: September 8th, 2009, 12:50am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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When the American Academy of Actuaries removed its leader, it set off a storm of criticism and legal wrangling.
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A.I.G. Rises, and Many Ask Why
Posted: August 28th, 2009, 1:10am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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“Who would want to buy a stock that’s still 80 percent owned by the government?” wondered William T. Fitzpatrick, an equity analyst at Optique Capital.
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An Overhaul or a Tweak for Pensions
Posted: August 27th, 2009, 1:25am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Some say the Governmental Accounting Standards Board should make public pension numbers more straightforward; others say its existing rules are sound.
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Senators Investigate Hospital Purchasing
Posted: August 14th, 2009, 12:09am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Private companies negotiate prices of medical goods, and Medicare reimburses hospitals. But lawmakers fear that the process may inflate health costs.
NYT > Health
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Senators Investigate Hospital Purchasing
Posted: August 14th, 2009, 12:09am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Private companies negotiate prices of medical goods, and Medicare reimburses hospitals. But lawmakers fear that the process may inflate health costs.
NYT > Business
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A.I.G. Posts Its First Quarterly Profit Since 2007
Posted: August 8th, 2009, 1:46am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The company, reporting its first profit since 2007, said quarterly net income was $1.8 billion.
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After Rescue, New Weakness Seen at A.I.G.
Posted: July 30th, 2009, 11:39pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The weaknesses raise difficult questions for regulators, who normally step in when an insurer gets into trouble.
NYT > Home Page
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After Rescue, New Weakness Seen at A.I.G.
Posted: July 30th, 2009, 11:39pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Over time, the weaknesses could mean trouble for A.I.G.’s policyholders, and they raise difficult questions for regulators, who normally step in when an insurer gets into trouble.
NYT > Business
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Jury Finds Against A.I.G. in Greenberg Case
Posted: July 7th, 2009, 5:13pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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In an advisory decision, a federal jury found that Maurice Greenberg, its former chief, did not wrongly take billions in A.I.G. stock.
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Closing Arguments Made in the A.I.G. Case
Posted: July 6th, 2009, 11:13pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Jurors have been shepherded through a mind-numbing array of correspondence and corporate legal documents in the past three weeks. The jury will begin deliberations on Tuesday.
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A.I.G. Offers Shareholders Little Hope for Recovery
Posted: July 1st, 2009, 1:54am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A.I.G. shareholders got apologies, but little else, from company executives at the insurer’s first annual meeting since its emergency bailout.
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Retired From G.M. at 54. Pensionless at 74?
Posted: July 1st, 2009, 1:43am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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G.M. has offered early retirement to tens of thousands of workers, raising questions about the fund’s viability.
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Greenberg Defends Sale of A.I.G. Stock in Trust
Posted: June 16th, 2009, 10:12pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Maurice R. Greenberg, former chief of A.I.G., testified that he was entitled to remove $4.3 billion in the company’s stock under certain conditions.
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Insurance Giant A.I.G. Takes Ex-Chief to Court
Posted: June 14th, 2009, 11:13pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The company contends Maurice R. Greenberg plundered a trust that it says was set up to pay top performers.
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Market Place: On Paper, Prudential Gets a Lift
Posted: May 27th, 2009, 1:42am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Prudential Financial jumped nearly 30 percent this month on news that it was profitable again. Largely overlooked was that the profit came solely from accounting.
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MetLife Opts to Forgo TARP Cash
Posted: April 14th, 2009, 1:39am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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After building up its capital position, the insurance company said it did not need emergency funds, “although a number of economic challenges remain,” its chief executive said.
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Questions Over Bailout for Insurers
Posted: April 9th, 2009, 1:47am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Life insurers seeking billions through the Troubled Asset Relief Program could face reviews from the Treasury Department as it tries to determine which companies are viable.
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Months In, Insurers Ask Whether Aid Is on Its Way
Posted: February 27th, 2009, 2:53am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Though they were led to believe that the second wave of money released by the Treasury would help some of them, insurers are now uncertain what if any relief might come their way.
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Bond Advice Leaves Pain in Its Wake
Posted: February 17th, 2009, 1:38am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Though consultants who show local governments how to raise more money turn up again and again in places where bond deals have turned sour, they are virtually unregulated.
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Regulator of Bonds Wants More Authority
Posted: January 10th, 2009, 12:29am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The overseer of the $2.6 trillion municipal bond market says it is too lightly regulated.
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Nationwide Inquiry on Bids for Municipal Bonds
Posted: January 9th, 2009, 2:11am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The authorities have been investigating what appears to be collusion in the multibillion-dollar market.
NYT > Home Page
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Nationwide Inquiry on Bids for Municipal Bonds
Posted: January 9th, 2009, 2:11am EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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The authorities have been investigating what appears to be collusion in the multibillion-dollar municipal bonds market.
NYT > Business
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Pensions Get a Reprieve in Congress
Posted: December 11th, 2008, 10:52pm EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Companies whose pension funds suffered big losses this year will not have to replenish the money quickly under a relief measure that flew through the Senate.
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G.M.’s Pension Fund Stays Afloat, Against the Odds
Posted: November 24th, 2008, 11:48pm EST by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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G.M. appears to have enough money in the fund to pay its more than 400,000 retirees their benefits for many years — a result of its conservative pension management.
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Disability Insurer Found Guilty of Social Security Fraud
Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 10:10pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A federal jury found that Unum had committed fraud by requiring some customers to apply for Social Security benefits even though it knew they were not eligible.
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Sellers of Lehman’s Default Swaps Face Payout
Posted: October 10th, 2008, 10:11pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Sellers of insurance on bonds issued by Lehman Brothers are now likely to face demands that they pay out more than 91 cents on the dollar to buyers of those insurance contracts.
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Market Place: Insurance Industry Joins Banking Giants on the Hot Seat
Posted: October 9th, 2008, 10:12pm EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Insurance companies are now being battered like Wall Street banks were last month, suggesting a similar round of consolidation and recapitalization.
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Short-Selling on States Can Pay Off
Posted: October 3rd, 2008, 6:07am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Using derivatives called credit-default swaps, traders are making a profit by betting against the finances of the State of New Jersey and municipalities.
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At A.I.G., Maneuvers to Salvage Some Value
Posted: September 23rd, 2008, 2:25am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Major A.I.G. shareholders were scrambling to see if a better deal was possible than the anticipated restructuring under the Federal Reserve.
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Florida Deal for Everglades May Help Big Sugar
Posted: September 14th, 2008, 12:50am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Florida’s plan to buy one of the state’s two large sugar enterprises may be a boon to the remaining sugar giant.
NYT > Home Page
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Florida Deal for Everglades May Help Big Sugar
Posted: September 14th, 2008, 12:50am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Florida’s plan to buy one of the state’s two large sugar enterprises may be a boon to the remaining sugar giant.
NYT > Health
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Judge to Unseal Documents on the Eli Lilly Drug Zyprexa
Posted: September 6th, 2008, 11:00am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A federal judge in Brooklyn decided to unseal confidential materials about Eli Lilly’s top-selling antipsychotic drug, citing questions about the way drugs are approved for new uses.
NYT > Business
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Government Rule Makers Looking at Pensions
Posted: July 11th, 2008, 2:49am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Accounting rule makers started an ambitious project to force state and local governments to reveal the true cost of their pension promises.
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In Stock Plan, Employees See Stacked Deck
Posted: May 29th, 2008, 1:57am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A group of former employees are accusing U.S. Sugar insiders of scheming to enrich themselves by buying workers’ shares back on the cheap.
NYT > Home Page
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In Stock Plan, Employees See Stacked Deck
Posted: May 29th, 2008, 1:57am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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A group of former employees are accusing U.S. Sugar insiders of scheming to enrich themselves by buying workers’ shares back on the cheap.
NYT > Business
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Ostensibly Independent, a Charity Is U.S. Sugar’s Swing-Vote Shareholder
Posted: May 29th, 2008, 1:43am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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On the surface, the Mott Children’s Health Center appears to hold a pivotal stake in U.S. Sugar.
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Medtronic Settles a Civil Lawsuit on Allegations of Medicare Fraud
Posted: May 23rd, 2008, 1:59am EDT by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
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Two insiders had said Kyphon, a unit of Medtronic, improperly persuaded hospitals to keep people overnight for a simple outpatient procedure to repair small fissures of the spine.