Old Republic International Corp.s decision last week to spin-off its troubled mortgage-insurance business received positive reviews from analysts and rating agencies.

Despite the appearance of two pre-season tropical storms there is no change in the Atlantic hurricane forecast, which calls for an average year of storms, says one catastrophe modeler.

Bailed-out insurer AIG should be able to raise enough capital in the near term to buy out the U.S. government's remaining 61 percent stake, assuming both the company and the public share in any stock offering, Sandler O'Neill analysts said on Wednesday.

Catastrophe modeler Eqecat has put an estimate of up to $875 million for insured losses related to recent earthquakes in Northern Italy.