News

Three wildfires broke out yesterday afternoon in California, the worst of which has consumed 8,000 acres so far in Los Angeles County.

Three New York residents forged and cashed claim checks to steal close to $500,000 in a plot that ran for nearly a decade.

W.R. Berkley Corp. named Douglas J. Powers as president and chief executive officer of Carolina Casualty Insurance Company.

Standard & Poor's has raised Arch Capital Group's operating insurance and reinsurance companies' financial strength ratings to A-plus from A, reflecting the group's "strong management and well-conceived corporate strategy," according to the rating agency.

NU Editor Sam Friedman won the Bronze Award for Editorial Excellence for his weekly column, given out by the American Society of Business Publication Editors. See www.NUSamSoapBox.com to review the winning entries about Hank Greenberg and Eliot Spitzer.

High U.S. storm losses affected a number of earnings announcements late this week, eclipsing normal weather-related losses for this time of year and impacting profitability.