Investments

The legendary investor expressed his inclination for equities even after selling large chunks of Berkshire Hathaway's investments in three major banks. "That preference won't change," Buffett wrote in his annual letter to shareholders.

State Farm's "emergency" rate increase request was rejected by California's insurance commissioner.

A bill would allow homeowners to receive the interest accrued on insurance payments for lost or damaged property, rather than lenders.

The recovery of local governments and utilities from hurricanes Helene and Milton continues but the outlook for next season and beyond is troubling.

Bankers are putting pre-established action plans for disaster recovery into motion as wildfires in Los Angeles sweep across the region.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds target again in December but signaled fewer cuts in 2025. There was some dissent. The markets are watching to see if the Federal Reserve pauses its easing cycle in January. Brian Rehling, head of global fixed-income strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, recaps and parses the previous day's FOMC meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

The NFMA has floated best disclosure practices for public power agencies that ask for more data on climate and resiliency goals.

Accounting researchers suggest that using blockchain, smart contracts and NFTs could simplify tracking for carbon reporting.

California's IBank has partnered with an insurer and fire resilience fund to pay for fire resilience programs.

The agency cited the closeness of the entities to Florida's government.

When communities can't access affordable insurance, it can decrease home values, tank municipal bond ratings, and cripple the tax base — and this will only get worse if left unaddressed.

Insurance broker Marsh will start offering contracts to protect companies against fraud in the market for carbon credits, after the instruments became the subject of recurring allegations of greenwashing.

Moody's believes Florida will sell bonds to help replenish the CAT fund this spring.

For the math to pencil out, carbon projects need to eliminate CO2 for a similarly long period of time. But many offset projects store CO2 in fragile ecosystems prone to re-releasing heat-trapping gases.

In North America employer risk and ESG regulation are the top concerns, according to Beazley's Risk & Resilience report: Spotlight on Boardroom Risk 2024.

US insurer MetLife Inc. is in advanced talks to buy PineBridge Investments' assets outside of China, people familiar with the matter said, in a deal that could be valued at $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

Many customers have challenges with their financial health, according to J.D. Power's individual life and annuity studies.

MMA says some risky-sector issuers in the area hit hard by the hurricane may be pushed into technical or payment defaults.

California and Oregon are experiencing yet another record-setting year of wildfires amid increasing uncertainty about FEMA and property insurance backstops.

The litigation comes amid heated debate over a Department of Labor rule meant to prevent excessive fees on sales of insurance products.