A view from a Main Street agency owner on where her focus will be in 2014.

Iran's nuclear deal with the West will make it easier, cheaper and less stressful to trade its oil, thanks largely to a partial lifting of the European shipping insurance ban, a senior Iranian industry official said on Tuesday.

Tower Group International says there is substantial doubt about [its] ability to continue as a going concern" after reporting a $507.3 million 2013 second-quarter net loss due in large part to over $300 million in reserve strengthening reported last month.

The insurance-technology space has seen newer ways to analyze data, interact with consumers and store information, but while CIOs in a recent survey indicated mobile capabilities are proving their worth, few responses related to other much-hyped areas such as social media, big data or cloud.