Week in review
TUESDAY
Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has struck a $52 million deal to sell the key insurance affiliate of bankrupted Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Inc. The agreement, pending court approval, would end the challenging and controversial four-year receivership of Western United Life Assurance Co. and deliver significant cash to Metropolitan noteholders, according to Kreidler’s office.
“W.R. Grace & Co. said it has reached an agreement to resolve all current and future asbestos claims against the company, which would allow it to emerge from bankruptcy without further obligations for asbestos injury. Attorneys for the plaintiffs value the agreement at $3 billion in cash and equity.
WEDNESDAY
The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday its Pixar animation studio is committing to 3-D and will release all of its movies in the format beginning with “Up” next year.
“Homeowners and investors hunting for any indication that the housing market has bottomed out didn’t get it Tuesday: The National Association of Realtors said pending U.S. home sales fell in February to the lowest reading since the index began in 2001. “Prompted in part by depositor anxiety, the Idaho Department of Finance on Tuesday took the unusual step of reassuring residents there is no Bear Stearns in the woods. Financial Institutions Bureau Chief Mary Hughes said Idaho banks, thrifts and credit unions are in no danger of going the way of the Wall Street investment bank rescued from failure last month by JPMorgan Chase and the Federal Reserve Bank.
THURSDAY
Growing numbers of middle-class Americans say they aren’t better off than they were five years ago, reflecting economic pressures amid growing debt, a study shows. The survey by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based organization, paints a mixed picture for the 53 percent of adults in the country who define themselves as “middle class.”
FriDAY
Sterling Financial Corp. announced Thursday that its first-quarter earnings will fall far short of projections largely because it set aside $35 million to $40 million to cover potential loan losses.
“Air travel misery will probably get worse. Massive flight cancellations by American Airlines are likely to spread to other carriers as federal regulators step up scrutiny of aircraft inspections after years of more lenient enforcement.