A U.S. judge has accepted an agreement by BP Plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay $4.0 billion in penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a court official said on Tuesday.

A U.S. judge has accepted an agreement by BP Plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay $4.0 billion in penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a court official said on Tuesday.

Corn farmers are getting the lion's share of U.S. crop insurance payments on losses caused mainly to drought last year - 63 percent of the record $12.3 billion paid so far, the Agriculture Department said on Monday.

Corn farmers are getting the lion's share of U.S. crop insurance payments on losses caused mainly to drought last year - 63 percent of the record $12.3 billion paid so far, the Agriculture Department said on Monday.

The number of new federal securities fraud lawsuits seeking class-action status fell to a 7-year low in 2012, according to a study by Stanford Law School and Cornerstone Research released on Wednesday.

Data aggregator Property Claims Service upped its insured loss estimate from superstorm Sandy to $18.75 billion, leaving investors in a catastrophe bond issued by Swiss Re facing possible losses.

Data aggregator Property Claims Service upped its insured loss estimate from superstorm Sandy to $18.75 billion, leaving investors in a catastrophe bond issued by Swiss Re facing possible losses.

The Supreme Court on Friday accepted appeals by law firms that once represented convicted swindler Allen Stanford and were trying to avoid lawsuits by victims seeking to recoup losses from his $7 billion Ponzi scheme. Insurance broker Willis Group Holdings was also sued over its alleged role in the fraud.