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☆ Natural disasters caused an estimated $65 billion in losses last year for Asia-Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Vivien Soo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Economic losses in the Asia Pacific region soared to $65 billion due to natural disasters, mainly fueled by floods in China and droughts in India, as reported by insurance company Aon. Of the total losses, only 9%, or $6 billion, were covered by insurance, falling short of the 21st-century average of $15 billion. The report found that floods remained the most costly threat in Asia-Pacific for the fourth consecutive year, representing over 64% of total losses in 2023. China suffered the heaviest losses in Asia-Pacific with $32.2 billion in flood-related losses, or over half of total losses in the region, the report said. The South Asia floods in particular, resulted in nearly 2,900 deaths.

Persons: Aon Locations: Asia, China, India, Pacific, Hong Kong, South Korea, Pakistan

☆ Walmart, Chipotle are splitting the wealth of a record stock market in a way they haven't in decades
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

For Chipotle, it's the first stock split in the company's 30-year history, and its announcement echoed Walmart's. Both are hoping, through the availability of an employee stock purchase plan and financial education, they'll get more workers to invest. Chipotle, even further out on the market chart, has shares nearing $3,000 — its stock split is to be effective June 26. ESPP versus fractional sharesEven without a stock split, employees could have already purchased shares of their company, or at least fractional shares, through a brokerage account. Company stock and financial educationSplitting a stock and having a generous ESPP can only go so far when it comes to encouraging employees to buy the company stock.

Persons: they'll, Michael Kestenbaum, Chipotle, Dan Kapinos, Clemens Kownatzki, Aalap Shah, Pearl Meyer, SoFi, Kownatzki, Larry Fink, Kestenbaum Organizations: Walmart, Companies, West Coast, Google, Pepperdine Graziadio Business, Khan Academy, Lyra Health Partners, Bank of America, Employees Locations: Aon

☆ The 4% mortgage rate and other sweet offers from lenders hoping to stave off commercial real estate doom
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Instead a deal is now being negotiated to trim the size of the property's $240 million mortgage and potentially extend the loan at below-market interest rates in an attempt to revive the property's fortunes. The negotiations show that as hundreds of billions of dollars of commercial real estate debts come due or have already tumbled into default, deals are being arranged behind the scenes to try to stave off financial catastrophe. More borrowers and lenders have sought to buy timeThere is mounting evidence that such negotiations are taking place more widely. There have been concerns that trillions of dollars of upcoming commercial property debt maturities could inflict heavy losses that could weigh on investors and lenders across the property market and even cause systemic issues in the banking sector. The deal is part of a growing number of sales by some lenders to cut down their exposure to commercial real estate.

Persons: Realty, Michael Maturo, we'd, Maturo, Jack Terzi, Terzi, Jamie Woodwell, Stephen Buschbom, Trepp, Alan Todd, David Blumberg, Raymond Boyd, Blumberg, Robert Ivanhoe, Greenberg Traurig, Ivanhoe Organizations: New, Aareal Bank, Business, JTRE Holdings, Mortgage Bankers Association, Treasury Department, Bank of America, 601W Companies, Aon, Aon Center, Federal Reserve Locations: New York, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, Chicago

☆ The fastest-growing hedge funds are now investing conglomerates. That's changing how investors judge the biggest firms.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The rise in multi-manager hedge funds over the past five years has forced allocators to create a separate due diligence model for the fastest-growing segment in the industry. Even an executive at a midsized multi-manager admits their firm and its peers are "more like corporations than hedge funds." AdvertisementA new type of hedge-fund kingsFounders were once simply the best traders and money-makers, spinning out of banks' trading desks and larger hedge funds. Bobby Jain, the former Millennium executive starting his own multi-billion hedge fund, hasn't traded in decades but was a part of the leadership team at one of the biggest hedge funds in the world. Jobs at multi-manager platforms are roughly a quarter of the industry's overall roles, despite these funds holding roughly 14% of the assets.

Persons: —, allocators, Griffin's, Izzy Englander's, Jack Springate, Allen Cheng, Cheng, Bobby Jain, hasn't, Michael Gelband, Dmitry Balyasny, Steve Cohen, Izzy Englander, Ajay, Kevin Lyons, Lyons, Springate Organizations: Service, Business, Fortune, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Aon, Millennium, Treasury Locations: Schonfeld's

☆ Commercial real estate is in big trouble — and the problems may have major financial fallout
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewThe tremors rattling US commercial real estate are spreading to other countries and sectors, and threaten to escalate into a financial earthquake as refinancing deadlines loom. There are growing signs that commercial real estate is in serious trouble. AdvertisementProspective losses, refinancing woes, international contagion, and panic selling combine to create a bleak outlook for the commercial property sector. The catalyst for both the banking and commercial real estate drama is deceptively dry: rising interest rates. AdvertisementMoreover, "Undercover Billionaire" star and real estate tycoon Grant Cardone has hailed the ongoing correction as a rare chance for everyday people to buy "trophy real estate" from institutional owners.

Persons: —, aren't, Barry Sternlicht, Pfandbriefbank, Warren Buffett, Ian Jacobs, Jacobs, Grant Cardone Organizations: Service, Business, Starwood Capital's, Bloomberg, European Central Bank, New York Community Bancorp, Investors, Silicon Valley Bank, Federal Reserve, Wall Street, Berkshire Hathaway, Ares Management Locations: Europe, Silicon, San Francisco, New York City, Manhattan, Los Angeles

☆ Lenders are bailing out of commercial real estate as a wave of debt builds
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Roughly $2.1 trillion of debt connected to commercial real estate assets, including office properties, apartment buildings, hotels, and retail spaces, will come due between now and the end of 2025 in the US, according to the real estate services firm JLL. The wave of maturities and the enormous equity shortfalls have raised concerns that a growing number of commercial real estate debts will fall into distress, forcing banks and other lenders to suffer losses. His group tracked about $15 billion of commercial property debt sales during the year, roughly three times the volume from 2022. Commercial real estate loans differ from residential mortgages taken by homeowners in that most are interest-only or pay down their principal balance minimally and span a decade or less. More banks are exploring loan salesBanks and other lenders generally aren't eager to seize the real estate assets that collateralize their debt.

Persons: Jerry, Stephen Scouten, Piper Sandler, it's, Kevin Aussef, Aussef, David Tobin, Marcus, Millichap, Synovus, Tobin, David Frosh, they're, Frosh, Fitch, David Blumberg, we'd, Blumberg, Daniel Geiger, Rob Verrone, Banks, You've, Bliss Morris, Morris Organizations: Amerant Bank, Business, Banking, CIBC, Mission, PacWest, HSBC, Fidelity, Funding Inc, Blackstone, Bloomberg, Broadway, Aon Center, 601W Companies, Iron Hound Management, First Financial Locations: Coral Gables , Florida, Houston, Canadian, Brookfield, Los Angeles, Columbus, Manhattan, Midland, Chicago, Oklahoma City, New York

☆ 10 of our stocks report earnings next week. Here's what we want to see from each
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

All three major averages posted gains for the third consecutive week, lifted by solid quarterly earnings and positive economic data. Earnings season ramps up next week, with five of the Super Six mega-cap stocks delivering results. Employment numbers are the most important economic data, with Friday's January nonfarm payrolls report carrying the most weight. The January ISM Manufacturing report on Thursday and December's factory orders report Friday are expected to show the sector still in contraction mode. But earnings and commentary this week from peer Sartorious made us encouraged about a return to growth in 2024.

Persons: nonfarm, December's, Sartorious, We've, Stanley Black, Decker, We're, We'd, Royal Philips, Crane, Woodward, ServisFirst, Cadence Bancorporation, CADE, Johnson, Phillips, Avery Dennison, Columbus McKinnon, Robinson, SIRI, Cardinal Health, Parker, DOV, Pitney Bowes, Ferrari N.V, CSW, COLM, W.W, Grainger, Dwight Co, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Tim Cook, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Gross, Procter, Gamble, Gillette, Super, Consumer, JPM Healthcare, Amazon, Microsoft, Honeywell, Aerospace, Solutions, Apple Watch, Masimo, Vision Pro, Franklin Resources, Resource Partners, Bank of Marin Bancorp, Bank7 Corp, Pacific Premier Bancorp Inc, Provident Financial Holdings, Dynex, Cliffs Inc, Nucor Corp, Whirlpool Corp, F5 Networks, Capital Southwest Corp, Harbors Investment Corp, Crane Co, Payne, Equity, Heartland Financial, Cadence, FinWise Bancorp, Five Star Bancorp, PotlatchDeltic Corporation, Sanmina Corporation, Pfizer, General Motors Corp, United Parcel Service, JetBlue Airways Corporation, Smith Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corp, HCA Healthcare, Oshkosh Corporation, SYSCO Corp, Danaher Corp, Johnson Controls, M.D.C . Holdings, Commvault Systems Inc, Hope Bancorp, Hubbell Incorporated, Malibu Boats, Polaris Industries, Inc, Camden National Corp, Cambridge Bancorp, Microsoft Corp, Starbucks Corp, Devices, Electronic Arts Inc, Juniper Networks, Stryker Corp, Lending, Canadian, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Mondelez, Chubb Corporation, Modine Manufacturing, Partners, Management, Hawaiian Holdings, Manhattan Associates, Unum Group, UNM, Axos, Enova, Boston Properties, Boeing Co, Novo Nordisk, Mastercard Inc, Roper Technologies, Boston Scientific Corporation, MarketAxess Holdings, Fisher, Aptiv PLC, Hess Corp, Nasdaq, United Microelectronics Corp, Rockwell Automation, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd, Avery, Avery Dennison Corp, Extreme Networks, Otis Worldwide Corporation, OTIS, Columbus, Columbus McKinnon Corp, Central Pacific Financial Corp, Brinker International, Fortive Corporation, Qualcomm, Technology, Metlife, Hanover Insurance, Barn Holdings, CONMED Corporation, DLH Holdings Corp, Meritage Homes Corporation, Honeywell International, Eaton Corp, Altria, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, Merck, Co, Enterprise Products Partners, Dorian LPG, SiriusXM Holdings, Cardinal, Hannifin Corporation, Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, Tractor Supply Company, Trane Technologies, Dover Corp, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Brunswick Corporation, Dickinson, Canada Goose Holdings, Kirby Corp, WEC Energy Group, WestRock Company, Allegro MicroSystems, Ball Corporation, Broadridge Financial, BrightSphere Investment Group, CMS Energy Corp, Lancaster Colony Corp, Rogers Communications Inc, Sanofi, Apple, Atlassian Corporation, United States Steel Corp, Corp, Adtalem Global, Homes, DXC Technology Company, Eastman Chemical Company, Gen, Post Holdings, America, Columbia Sportswear Company, Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corporation, Myers Squibb Co, CIGNA Corp, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Charter Communications, AON, Cboe, Dwight, Banco Santander, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Apple Vision, Getty Locations: China, East, United States, Europe, Cleveland, Alexandria, California, Corning, Canadian Pacific, Teradyne, TER, Novo, Hanover, PBI, Skechers U.S.A, Bristol, Chile

Helping these countries, which face some of the biggest risks from climate change, access these will be a key aim during the COP28 climate talks underway in Dubai. Ambitions for results at COP28 got off to a good start on the opening day on Thursday when countries approved plans for the climate disaster fund, after months of negotiations. About 60% of low-income countries are either in or at high risk of debt distress, the CDP said. The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, for example, aims to agree a disaster relief bond issuance and a regional risk transfer facility, the ADB's Principal Disaster Risk Insurance and Finance Specialist, Thomas Kessler, told Reuters. "We are ready to scale up climate protection through early warning systems, anticipatory cash, climate insurance and community-based resilience projects," said Gernot Laganda, director of Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations World Food Programme.

Persons: COP28, Ekhosuehi Iyahen, IDF's Iyahen, Michèle Plichta, Lydia Poole, Odile Renaud, Basso, Thomas Kessler, Otis, Gernot Laganda, Alessandro Parodi, Simon Jessop, Libby George, Karin Strohecker, Susan Fenton Organizations: Insurance, Forum, PAF, Disaster, European Bank for Reconstruction, Global, Swiss, Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, Finance, Reuters, UN, University of Cambridge's Institute for Sustainability Leadership, United Nations, Food, Thomson Locations: GDANSK, LONDON, Dubai, London, Mexico

☆ Warren Buffett’s Berkshire trimming holdings, keeping new stock secret
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold a number of stocks last quarter during the volatile market, according to a new regulatory filing. The Omaha-based conglomerate dumped its remaining $780 million stake in General Motors , a stock Berkshire has been trimming for a few quarters. Berkshire also sold its $650 million stake in materials company Celanese , while exiting smaller positions in United Parcel Service , Johnson & Johnson , Mondelez International and Procter & Gamble. These holdings were still worth more than $1 billion each at the end of September, however. Berkshire has also asked the SEC to keep the details of one or more of its stock holdings confidential.

Persons: Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson, Todd Combs, Ted Weschler, Apple, Kraft Heinz, Moody's, Buffett Organizations: General Motors, United Parcel Service, Johnson, Mondelez International, Procter, Gamble, HP, Chevron, Berkshire, Bank of America, American Express, SEC Locations: Omaha, Berkshire

The FDA approved tirzepatide for weight loss under the brand name Zepbound. It has been available as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes since 2022 and had increasingly been used "off-label" for weight loss while the obesity approval was pending. Zepbound will be available in the U.S. by the end of the year at a list price of $1,059.87 a month, according to Lilly. That compares with a list of $1,349 per-package for Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy. After Wednesday's FDA approval, Lilly can now promote the drug for weight loss.

Persons: Eli Lilly, Mike Segar, Eli Lilly's, ” John Sharretts, Lilly, Morningstar, Damien Conover, Conover, drugmaker, Robert Kushner, Mounjaro, Patrick Wingrove, Leroy Leo, Bhanvi, Shinjini Ganguli, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Company, REUTERS, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, U.S, FDA, FDA’s Center, Drug, Research, Novo Nordisk's, Reuters, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Branchburg , New Jersey, U.S, Indianapolis, United States, New York, Bengaluru

[1/4] View of the construction site of the Elbtower building, owned by Rene Benko’s Signa and a Commerzbank subsidiary, in Hamburg Germany, November 2, 2023. Signa, the Austrian property giant and an owner of New York's Chrysler Building, had been making steady progress this year on the planned 64-story Elbtower skyscraper in Hamburg. But Signa, founded by René Benko, has fallen behind on its payments to its builder, Lupp, an executive of the construction firm said. The city of Hamburg and a minority investor, the real-estate subsidiary of Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), confirmed the stoppage. It has also prompted warnings from city officials, and is another indicator of troubles hitting the property sector in Europe's largest economy.

Persons: Rene Benko’s Signa, Fabian Bimmer, René Benko, Matthias Kaufmann, Signa, Germany's, Aon, Timo Herzberg, Karen Pein, Tom Sims Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Chrysler, Reuters, City, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Hamburg Germany, Austrian, Hamburg, Europe's, HafenCity, City of Hamburg

☆ The Israel-Hamas war is affecting the financial outlooks of these large companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty ImagesSome of the world's most well-known companies are already seeing the Israel-Hamas war weighing on operations. On Oct. 7, militant group Hamas struck Israeli towns in a surprise attack and took more than 200 hostages. Corporations that do business or have operations in the region have already begun seeing the war change their financial outlooks as the unrest weighs on everything from advertising dollars to tourism to supply chains. Technology companies were among those seeing the conflict affect the workforce, advertising spending and supply chains. Snap said in its latest earnings release that it saw pauses in spending from a "large number of primarily brand-oriented advertising campaigns" immediately after the war began.

Persons: Aris Messinis, Scott Kirby, El Al, Jason Liberty, Liberty, we're, Susan Li, Li, We've, John Morici Organizations: Hamas, AFP, Getty, Israeli Defense Forces, Corporations, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Boeing, Royal, Israel, El Al Airlines, Nurphoto, U.S . Department of State, Technology, Facebook, West Pharmaceutical Locations: Haifa, Cyprus, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Royal Caribbean, Ukraine

☆ Morning Bid: Amazon and goldilocks ride to the rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Unlike the reaction to similarly decent results from some of its Big Tech peers this week, shares in the online retail giant Amazon climbed 5% after hours. And both Nasdaq and S&P500 futures were set to bounce into the weekend later after the cash markets closed at their lowest since May. With nominal U.S. growth running at close to 8%, depending on which inflation gauge you use, the heat is impressive. And even the racy headline GDP growth rate was below many assumptions of a 5%-plus print. That bond relief has perhaps flattered the overnight stocks bounce - although on aggregate the earnings season is pretty decent too.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, megacaps, Wang Yi, crumb, Sanofi, TRowe Price, Stanley Black, Decker, CBRE, Christine Lagarde, Jane Merriman Organizations: Chevron Corp, Hess Corp, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Amazon, Big Tech, Nasdaq, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Fed, Big, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Apple, of Japan, European Central Bank, Britain's NatWest, Financial, Authority, University of Michigan, Colgate, Palmolive, Xcel Energy, Charter Communications, Phillips, Central Bank, European Union Summit, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, United States, China, Syria, Europe, Dallas, Abbvie, LyondellBasell, Brussels

☆ Britain tells pension funds change needed to improve returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The government wants to persuade pension schemes to invest some of their funds in infrastructure as well as startups and green technology. Ten companies have now voluntarily committed to invest 5% of their pension funds, or about 50 billion pounds in total, in unlisted companies by 2030. "I think we have got too many pension funds in this country, and I do want to see an industry where we end up with fewer, larger funds," Hunt told an event to take stock of the initiative. He said he wanted to see larger funds with the confidence to invest in growth companies. Delfas said fewer, larger and well run schemes were needed, and it was time to consolidate pension funds that lack expertise, scale and appetite to deliver better returns to savers into funds that do.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Aon, Delfas, Huw Jones, Sachin Ravikumar, Jane Merriman Organizations: Insurance, British Private Equity, Venture Capital Association, British Business Bank, Pensions, Thomson Locations: Britain

☆ Michael Cohen says Trump execs called themselves the 'Gang of Four' like the radical Maoists convicted in 1981
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump's NY fraud trial began its fourth week with testimony by fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen. A decade ago, he and three other Trump execs called themselves the "Gang of Four," Cohen said. The first Gang of Four, a group of Maoist radicals, got convicted in a highly-publicized show trial. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe "gang" was comprised of four of Trump Org executive vice presidents, including Cohen, then Trump's special counsel. "I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected," Cohen testified.

Persons: fixer, Michael Cohen, Cohen, —, Trump, Colleen Faherty, Letitia James, Matt Calamari, Ron Lieberman, Allen Weisselberg, Cohen didn't, Aon, general's Organizations: Trump, Service, Trump Organization, Trump Org, Aon Insurance, New York, AG, of, Mr Locations: New York

☆ The cost of hot new weight-loss drugs could put some companies out of business, Blackstone exec warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Execs at a healthcare conference debated whether employers should pay for workers' weight-loss drugs. A Blackstone exec warned that the costly GLP-1 drugs could put some employers out of business. Panelists agreed that companies covering the drugs should do so as part of a broader support program. Andreas Mang, the CEO of Equity Healthcare, a division of Blackstone, said spending on these diabetes and weight-loss drugs, known as GLP-1 agonists, spiked 600% across Blackstone's portfolio in the last four years. The benefits firm Aon recently projected that employers' health-insurance costs will climb 8.5% next year, fueled in part by weight-loss drugs.

Persons: Blackstone, Andreas Mang, they're, Melynda Barnes, Lucia Guillory, Li Shao, Shao, Omada, We've, They're Organizations: Blackstone, Equity Healthcare, GLP, Getty, Wei, Omada, Pharmaceutical Locations: Las Vegas, Europe

☆ U.S. employers covering weight-loss drugs could nearly double in 2024 - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A 0.25 mg injection pen of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy is shown in this photo illustration in Oslo, Norway, August31, 2023. The survey of 502 employers by Accolade (ACCD.O), a company that provides healthcare programs for employers, and research firm Savanta said 43% of the employers it polled could cover GLP-1 drugs in 2024 compared to 25% that cover them now. Nearly all the companies that are covering GLP-1 drugs plan to keep covering them next year, according to the survey. Employers that cover weight-loss drugs are facing a spike in their healthcare costs because of the growing popularity of Wegovy. Benefits consultant Aon (AON.N) said 1 percentage point of the 8.5% increase in employer healthcare costs it predicted for next year would be driven by employee take-up of weight-loss drugs.

Persons: Victoria Klesty, Savanta, James Wantuck, Ozempic, Eli Lilly's, Leroy Leo, Shinjini Organizations: REUTERS, Novo Nordisk, Accolade, Employers, Novo, Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, August31, Victoria, Novo, Novo Nordisk's, United States, Bengaluru

☆ You're probably going to get a smaller raise next year, new surveys suggest
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Workers, brace yourselves: You're probably going to get a smaller raise in 2024 than you did this year. Recent surveys show employers are budgeting less for merit-based raises next year. Many workers already effectively took a pay cut last year when their raises didn't keep pace with inflation. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Two recent surveys suggest that employers will be making smaller merit-based raises next year.

Persons: —, Mercer Organizations: Service, Aon, Bloomberg, HR

☆ Corporate pensions are at their healthiest in more than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pension plans for the largest U.S. companies are at their healthiest in more than a decade — and that's largely good news for the workers who participate in such plans, said retirement experts. Public companies in the S&P 500 stock index had an average pension "funded ratio" of 102% as of Sept. 21, according to data tracked by financial services firm Aon. That's the highest level since at least the end of 2011, when the ratio was around 78%. A funded ratio is one way to gauge pension health. Each plan is unique, meaning funded status alone isn't the only gauge for pension health, it said.

Persons: Roth, Byron Beebe Organizations: U.S, Public, Finance, Social, Roth IRA, American Academy of Actuaries Locations: U.S

Benefit consultants from Mercer, Aon (AON.N) and Willis Towers Watson (WTW.O) see employer healthcare costs jumping 5.4% to 8.5% in 2024 due to medical inflation, soaring demand for costly weight-loss drugs and wider availability of high-priced gene therapies. Benefit consultants help design insurance plans for medium and large employers. About two-thirds of U.S. workers receive benefits through such plans.Insurers UnitedHealth (UNH.N), Centene (CNC.N), Cigna (CI.N) and Elevance (ELV.N), which manage employer insurance plans, declined to comment for this story. Of its projected 8.5% increase in employer healthcare costs for next year, Aon anticipates 1 percentage point coming from weight-loss drugs alone. Gene therapy treatment of just one employee could significantly raise costs for a company, consultants said.

Persons: Srdjan, Willis Towers Watson, Mercer, Marsh McLennan, Beth Umland, Aon, Novo's Ozempic, Eli Lilly's, Janet Faircloth, Jodi Picoult's, Khushi Mandowara, Leroy Leo, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Reuters Graphics, Novo, Reuters, Employers, Thomson Locations: Ljubljana, Mercer, Aon, United States, Bengaluru

☆ 4 in 5 employees in Asia have moderate to high mental health risk, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Employees in Asia are under "significant mental health strain," with 82% having a moderate to high risk of developing mental health issues, according to a new report from insurance broker Aon and TELUS Health. Employees in Asia are under "significant mental health strain," with 82% having a moderate to high risk of developing mental health issues. That's according to a new report from insurance broker Aon and TELUS Health, which found that 35% of workers in Asia have a high mental health risk profile, and 47% have a moderate risk. "More than half of respondents said they would be concerned about career options being limited if they had a mental health issue that their employer was aware of." 1 in 3 have no emergency savingsOther than stress, anxiety and burnout being important factors that impact employees' productivity — financial insecurity also goes "hand-in-hand with high mental health risk," said the report.

Persons: Asia —, Jamie MacLennan, MacLennan, Tim Dwyer Aon, Tim Dwyer Organizations: TELUS Health, Employees, CNBC, Hong, Singapore, TELUS Health Asia Mental Health, U.S, Aon Locations: Asia, Pacific, Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, China, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Asia Asia, Europe, Singapore, Aon Asia

☆ How to buy a home insurance policy in era of climate risk and more frequent disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Frequent weather catastrophes, induced in part by climate change, are bearing down on homeowners and would-be buyers. Here's how consumers can navigate the home insurance market amid increasing climate-driven weather risks:The home insurance market disruption is going to get worseThings are likely to get worse for homeowners and would-be buyers. Also in June, Farmers Insurance became the latest insurer to pull out of Florida, a market that's been roiled with turmoil for many years. Policyholders should expect to pay moreThe average cost of homeowners insurance nationwide is $2,777 a year, with rates varying by state, according to Insurance.com, a consumer comparison service. Already, some homeowners are choosing to roll the dice on ownership without insurance rather than pay increasing premiums.

Persons: Hurricane Ian, Idalia, Ian —, John Dickson, David A, Sampson, —, George Hosfield, Rich Sorkin, Stephen Bennett Organizations: Global, Aon, American, Casualty Insurance Association . Insurance, LexisNexis, Allstate, Farmers Insurance, Jupiter Intelligence Locations: Pine, Hurricane, Matlacha , Florida, Florida, California, Cuba, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Arkansas, Louisiana , Nebraska , Iowa , Kansas , Oklahoma , Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee

☆ Lahaina wildfire insured property loss to be about $3.2 bln - KCC
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The damage at the Ho'Onanea condominium complex is seen in the aftermath of a wildfire, in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S. August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge Garcia Acquire Licensing RightsAug 16 (Reuters) - Insured property losses from the wildfire that ravaged the resort town of Lahaina in Hawaii last week are estimated to be about $3.2 billion, catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company (KCC) said on Wednesday. More than 2,200 structures fall within the fire perimeter, KCC estimated, citing an independent geospatial analysis of satellite and aerial imagery. The high proportion of wood frame and older construction present in the Lahaina buildings likely contributed to the damage, it said. Moody's Investors' Service said on Tuesday that estimated insured losses from wildfires on Maui in Hawaii would be at least $1 billion.

Persons: Jorge Garcia, Karen Clark, KCC, Aon, Noor Zainab Hussain, Saumyadeb Organizations: REUTERS, Karen Clark & Company, Insurance, Investors, Tokio, Allstate, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Hawaii wildfires to cause second-largest total insured loss in state's history - KCC
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The damage at the Ho'Onanea condominium complex is seen in the aftermath of a wildfire, in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S. August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge GarciaAug 11 (Reuters) - The total insured loss from the ongoing wildfires on Maui island is expected to be the second largest in Hawaii's history, according to catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company (KCC). The firm estimates the total area burned at about 2,200 acres, while roughly 3,500 buildings within the fire perimeter. Insurance broker Aon said the extreme devastation to homes, businesses and other structures in Lahaina would likely drive economic and insured losses into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jorge Garcia, Karen Clark, KCC, Aon, Manya Saini, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: REUTERS, Karen Clark & Company, Maui, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Hawaiian, Bengaluru

☆ Morning Bid: Bank of Japan excites, Dow unlucky, Intel jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Specifically, the central bank said it would offer to buy 10-year JGBs at 1.0% in fixed-rate operations, instead of the previous rate of 0.5% - tolerating the wider band for bond market borrowing rates. With July core inflation in Tokyo falling back to a 10-month low, the need for tightening may be ebbing anyway. Friday's data is expected to show another drop in the Fed's favoured core PCE inflation gauge in June. For markets more broadly, Friday seems a little scattergun so far after a heavy week of macro policy and corporate news. U.S. Treasury yields fell back from two-week highs hit after the punchy U.S. economy readouts and central bank moves, with the 2-to-10 year yield curve steepening as recession fears abate.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Dow Jones bluechips, T Rowe Price, Nick Macfie Organizations: Bank of Japan, Dow, Nikkei, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Treasury, ECB, Intel, U.S, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Proctor, Gamble, Colgate Palmolive, Franklin Resources, Newell Brands, Church, Dwight, Charter Communications, Dallas Fed, University of Michigan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wall St, Tokyo, Wall, Asia, Centene, Franklin

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