Tropical storm Alex became the first hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season late yesterday and has halted about 25 percent of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and 9 percent of natural-gas output.

Although reinsurance prices were down for the June 1 renewals, one reinsurance executive recently speculated that price hikes in the insurance loss warranty (ILW) market

The former chief executive officer of the American International Group Financial Products Division said that the collateralized debt obligations (CDO) that undermined the company's financial foundations should not have caused the losses they did.