Property & Casualty Insurance

RLI Corp. (RLI) announced the merger of three of its existing products -- design professionals, technology professionals, and target professionals -- to form a new unit named the Professional Services Group. The Professional Services Group will be led by L. Lenny Waldhauser. This group will...

Mercer Insurance Group Inc (NASDAQ: MIGP) shares surged 47.77% to $27.87 by 10:00 am. United Fire & Casualty Company (NASDAQ: UFCS) announced its plans to buy all the outstanding shares of MIGP for $28.25 per share in cash, representing a 49.8% premium to MIGP's closing price on November 30....

Crude oil futures gained, along with gold futures, after US private-sector employment increased 93,000 in November. Crude oil for January delivery moved up 1.6% to $85.47 per barrel. However, Gold for January delivery rose 0.3% to $1,390 an ounce. Carrefour SA (OTC: CRERY) reduced its projections...

• State Street (NYSE: STT) said it will lay off 1,400 jobs, or 5% of its workforce • RLI (NYSE: RLI) said it will pay a $7.00 per share special dividend • Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) initiated coverage of Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) with a "buy" rating and a price target of $44 • Jefferies (NYSE: JEF)...

Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) announced today that its board of directors has authorized a new share repurchase program covering purchases up to $200 million.

Mercer Insurance Group Inc (NASDAQ: MIGP) rose 47.88% to $27.89 in the pre-market session. United Fire & Casualty Company (NASDAQ: UFCS) has announced its plans to purchase MIGP for $28.25 per share in cash. OmniVision Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: OVTI) added 7.28% to $30.35 in pre-market trading...

RLI Corp. (NYSE: RLI) Board of Directors has declared an extraordinary cash dividend of $7.00 per share. The dividend is payable on December 29, 2010 to shareholders of record as of December 16, 2010 and is expected to total approximately $147 million.

• State Street (NYSE: STT) said it will lay off 1,400 jobs, or 5% of its workforce • RLI (NYSE: RLI) said it will pay a $7.00 per share special dividend • Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) initiated coverage of Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) with a "buy" rating and a price target of $44 • Jefferies (NYSE: JEF)...

ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE: PRA) today announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of American Physicians Service Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMPH). APS shareholders overwhelmingly approved the transaction at a special meeting on November 29, 2010. Under the terms of the merger,...

The view in August argued that The Travelers (NYSE: TRV), which I first wrote about on April 24, 2009, at a price of $30.50, was undervalued. That proved to be on the mark, as the stock rose out of a base near $50 to trade above $57 this fall. However, the good news is that The Travelers pulled...

Shares of MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) are lower on the session by 2.79%, currently trading at $10.12. Call volume is now running at 2.48x the daily average, with 0% of all calls traded being purchases on the offer. 14,399 call contracts have traded so far during the session. MBIA Inc., together with its...

Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) announced today that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alan Kirshner may be absent from the corporation's offices for most of December and January while receiving medical treatments.

Merger activity decreased last week with four new deals being announced and six deals closing. You can find all the deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool that automatically updates itself during market hours. Deal Statistics: Total Number of Deals Closed in 2010 115 Total Number of...

Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) has successfully sold off its Enterprise Integration Group (EIG) business to Veritas Capital. The company received $815 million in cash for the sale, which was announced on June 2, 2010. Lockheed's decision to dispose EIG was based on the U.S. Government's...