Property & Casualty Insurance

Cusick's Corner Buyers prevail. The sideline money is flowing into the market and it did it early on the heels of inline data this morning. The market is trending nicely, above the 50-Day Moving Average, taking back most of the pullback from the April highs, and this latest move is happening in...

Shares of The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) are higher on the session by 1.10%, trading at $59.02. Overall call volume is now running at 3.14x the daily average, with 47% of all calls traded being purchases on the offer. 2,899 contracts have traded on the session so far. The Travelers...

Shares of MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) are higher on the session by 4.14%, trading at $9.05. Overall put volume is now running at 2.09x the daily average, with 57% of all puts traded being purchases on the offer. 11,373 contracts have traded on the session so far. MBIA Inc. together with its...

By 10:35 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 28.04 points, or 0.23%, to 12,216.73, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index had surged 5.77 points, or 0.44%. The NASDAQ composite index rose 3.75 points, or 0.14%. Some of the narrow based indexes that are supporting the markets...

Gainers: Portage Resources (PINK: POTG) is up over 12%. Westport Innovations (NASDAQ: WPRT) is up over 7% after the company announced a deal with General Motors (NYSE: GM) to develop natural gas-powered engines. LinkedIn (NASDAQ: LNKD) is up over 6% after JP Morgan initiated coverage of the...

Baldwin & Lyons, Inc. (Nasdaq: BWINA) (Nasdaq: BWINB) today provided an initial estimate of losses related to the unprecedented multiple tornado outbreaks that impacted large areas of the United States during the second quarter of 2011. The Company expects after-tax losses of approximately $6.5...

KBW is reiterating its Outperform rating and maintaining its $28 PT on shares of Tower Group (NASDAQ: TWGP). “Tower announced it experienced $8 million of catastrophe losses in 2Q related to spring severe storms, which exceeded our $1.5 million estimate,” KBW writes. “Management now expects to be...

Wunderlich Securities reiterated its Buy rating on Tower Group (NASDAQ: TWGP). At the same time, Wunderlich left its price target on the company's stock unchanged at $32. On Monday, Tower added 1.34% to its value to end the day at $23.37.

Below are the top small-cap surety & title insurance stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of earnings estimate for the next year. The earnings estimate for MBIA Inc (NYSE: MBI) for the next year ending December, 2012 is $1.52 per share. MBI's trailing-twelve-month operating margin is 71....

Tower Group (Nasdaq: TWGP) announced today that it expects to include in its second quarter earnings results $8 million in pre-tax charges from the unusually severe weather activity that occurred in April, May and early June 2011. Tower expects the weather-related losses will reduce its second...

According to Bank of America, the Travelers Cos (NYSE: TRV) reserves appear comfortably redundant. Bank of America said that its $68 price objective is slightly above our estimated year-ahead book value. “Given Travelers' franchise, active capital management strategy and an ROE that appears to be...

Merger activity decreased last week with two new deals announced and five closing. You can find all the active deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool that automatically updates itself during market hours. Deal Statistics: Total Number of Deals Closed in 2011 104 Total Number of Deals...

Merger activity decreased last week with two new deals announced and five closing. You can find all the active deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool that automatically updates itself during market hours. Deal Statistics: Total Number of Deals Closed in 2011 104 Total Number of Deals...

Stocks trading at or near 52-week highs and lows provide excellent trading opportunities, as volatility tends to increase at such levels. The following stocks hit new 52-week highs in Thursday's trading session: 1) Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY): Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb hit a 52-week...

Cusick's Corner As I mentioned yesterday and in today's Midday, Tech was really strong (look at the QQQs) and that leadership buoyed a weak market and by the afternoon, sectors like Consumer Discretionary, XLY, Housing, XHB, and even Finance, XLF, joined the advance. The table is now setting up...