Investopedia: Flagstone A Multi-Year Rebuilding Story

Insurance is a mixed bag these days. Rates seem to be firming up, but many reinsurance companies have had to absorb losses tied to several disasters. Unfortunately, underwriting discipline has apparently become a problem at Flagstone Reinsurance (NYSE:FSR), and investors are looking at a multi-year rebuilding story with this insurer.

Fourth Quarter Results More of the Same, Only More so  
Flagstone ended the year on pretty weak footing. Gross written premiums dropped 3%, while net written premiums fell 18%. To a certain extent, this was not very surprising - not only have many reinsurers seen iffy premium growth, but Flagstone has been actively looking to cut its risk exposure.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Flagstone-A-Multi-Year-Rebuilding-Story-FSR-ACGL-AON-MMC0301.aspx

Investopedia: Are Buybacks A Bad Sign?

In the last decade or so, a common theme has emerged from U.S. boardrooms - when the going gets tough, companies start buying their stock. There are plenty of valid reasons for companies to repurchase their own stock, particularly when markets sell off and valuations drop. On the other hand, buybacks are not a terribly productive use of cash, and investors may be right to worry whether a spate of repurchase announcements in the face of a worsening economic environment is going to make things worse in the long run.

 

Who's Doing The Buying?  

The past few weeks have seen several large share repurchase announcements. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) take the cake with announcements of $1 billion and $5 billion plans, respectively. Maxim Integrated (Nasdaq:MXIM) is in for $750 million, Celgene (Nasdaq:CELG) added $2 billion to its plans, Marsh & McLennan (NYSE:MMC) is looking to buy back $1 billion, and Covidien (NYSE:COV) has a $2 billion plan in place.

 

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Are-Buybacks-A-Bad-Sign-LMT-LOW-CELG-COV-AAPL-MXIM-MMC0824.aspx

Investopedia: Berkshire Hathaway Makes An Unusual Bid For Transatlantic

These are strange days in the economy and the financial markets, so perhaps it is fitting that the Transatlantic Holdings (NYSE:TRH) merger saga just got a little stranger. After all, it was odd enough that Transatlantic was the subject of competing bids that both undervalued this rare U.S.-domiciled reinsurance company. Now, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) is stepping in with a proposal when the company normally has preferred to act much more subtly in its acquisitions.


The Latest Bid
Berkshire Hathaway, famously led by Warren Buffett, does not traditionally do hostile deals nor engage in public auctions. Typically Buffett's deal terms are "here's our deal, we expect a quick response and discretion". In this case, however, Berkshire's bid for Transatlantic does not seem to be the normal sort of arrangement where the deal is signed, sealed and delivered before the public even gets wind of it.


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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Berkshire-Hathaway-Makes-An-Unusual-Bid-For-Transatlantic-TRH-BRK.A-AWH-VR-AIG-AON-MMC0809.aspx