Hail is said to cause an average of $1 billion in damage to crops and property each year. A recent hailstorm in North Texas is quickly approaching half that amount on its own.

Triad Guaranty Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, court documents showed, after the U.S. mortgage insurer was hurt by higher insured losses on the back of weakness in the jobs and housing market.

AIG confirmed last night that it has been designated systemically significant by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, paving the way for possible federal regulation at the holding-company level. Prudential Financial and GE Capital were also designated at an afternoon meeting of FSOC members yesterday.