A House panel will consider today whether to clear for House-floor action later this week three amendments to healthcare legislation that would remove the McCarran-Ferguson Act antitrust exemption for health and medical-malpractice insurance

A Delaware judge dismissed a shareholder lawsuit alleging that billionaire Warren Buffett and directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. failed to take proper action in response to stock trades by a former Berkshire executive ahead of the company's $9 billion acquisition of chemical manufacturer Lubrizol.

Taking advantage of the precarious position of guaranty insurers, Goldman Sachs appears to be aiming at entering that marketplace on the heels of acquiring Ariel Reinsurance earlier this month.

Although 2012 tornado activity is well above the year-to-date average for 2005-2011, Standard & Poors says the insurance and reinsurance industries should be able to sustain the losses.