Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) announced that it has received Federal Reserve’s approval on August 14, 2009 to become a financial holding company. Goldman had intended to seek FHC status when it first converted to a Bank Holding Company last year. The designation allows Goldman to continue to participate in non-banking financial activities, including private equity among other businesses. A financial holding company (FHC), as stated in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, is a financial entity engaged in a broad range of banking-related activities that include insurance underwriting, securities dealing and underwriting, financial and investment advisory services, merchant banking, issuing or selling securitized interests in bank-eligible assets. It can also engage in any non-banking activity authorized by the Bank Holding Company Act. The Federal Reserve Board is responsible for supervising the financial condition and activities of these companies. Morgan Stanley (MS), JPMorgan Chase & ...

Is this the beginning of an even larger bull rally or is this the end of a bear rally? Or could this be the start of a long sideways move, creating a lengthy period of 'wait and see,' until a clear catalyst can get the market moving convincingly in one direction or another? I'm sure these questions are asked by millions of people everyday. And while it would be great to know what THE answer is, it may not be all that necessary to make money in the market, especially if you're an options investor. Know Your Options While it's important to plan for the inevitable market rebound (the market won't go down or sideways forever), not all stocks are created equal. Regardless of the overall market direction, ...

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (hat tip: LA Times) asserted that on Friday insurance company AIG, recipient so far of perhaps $170 billion in bailout assistance, distributed over $160 million in "retention payments to members of its Financial Products Subsidiary." These payments apparently included "retention" payments of over $1 million each to eleven individuals who are no longer working at AIG.

One of the reasons this is so outrageous is that the promise of such bonuses was in fact one of the very factors that caused our current problems, creating incentives for managers of AIG to get out of solid insurance underwriting and into hedge fund gambling. If anyone had supposed that AIG had "learned its lesson", this report seemed to dash that hope against the wall like a plate of china.

Some may argue that AIG's hands were tied by

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Friday November 7, 2008 Navivest

Apparently, even famed investor Warren Buffet isn’t immune from the battering that the stock market has undergone. His Berkshire Hathaway Inc., (BRK.A) today reported that falling profits in its insurance division as well as a $1.05 billion investment loss caused a 77% drop in Q3 2008 profits.

The company reported that net earnings fell to $1.057 billion, from $4.553 in the Q3 period last year while recording investment and derivative losses of $1.012 billion, compared to a gain of $1.992 billion in the same period last year. Operating earnings for the period were $2.069 billion, a 19.2% drop from the $2.561 billion earned in the third quarter of 2007.

With Berkshire Hathaway only having an average of 1,549,226 class A shares outstanding in the period, the company reported operating earnings per share of $1,335 and net earnings per share of $682. The company also has class B

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China INSOnline Corp. (CHIO) is an Internet service and media company focusing on the Peoples Republic of China insurance industry. Trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market, with a current market capitalization of $148.00 million, the company uses localized websites targeting greater China. They provide, through Soobao, a network portal through their industry website www.soobao.cn. They offer online automobile, property and life insurance services through this site.

Soobao’s goal is to raise the national insurance consciousness and reduce the cost of national security in China. They do this by constructing and maintaining their network to integrate and optimize business flow throughout the insurance sales and related client services process. China INSOnline Corp., via Soobao, provides this portal to insurance companies, agents, and consumers for advertising, online inquiry, news circulation, online transactions, statistics analysis and software development.

Headquartered in Beijing, the company represents major insurance underwriting firms in China. China INSOnline

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China INSOnline Corp. (CHIO) is an Internet service and media company focusing on the Peoples Republic of China insurance industry. Trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market, with a current market capitalization of $148.00 million, the company uses localized websites targeting greater China. They provide, through Soobao, a network portal through their industry website www.soobao.cn. They offer online automobile, property and life insurance services through this site.

Soobao’s goal is to raise the national insurance consciousness and reduce the cost of national security in China. They do this by constructing and maintaining their network to integrate and optimize business flow throughout the insurance sales and related client services process. China INSOnline Corp., via Soobao, provides this portal to insurance companies, agents, and consumers for advertising, online inquiry, news circulation, online transactions, statistics analysis and software development.

Headquartered in Beijing, the company represents major insurance underwriting firms in China. China INSOnline

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China INSOnline Corp. (CHIO) is an Internet service and media company focusing on the Peoples Republic of China insurance industry. Trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market, with a current market capitalization of $148.00 million, the company uses localized websites targeting greater China. They provide, through Soobao, a network portal through their industry website www.soobao.cn. They offer online automobile, property and life insurance services through this site.

Soobao’s goal is to raise the national insurance consciousness and reduce the cost of national security in China. They do this by constructing and maintaining their network to integrate and optimize business flow throughout the insurance sales and related client services process. China INSOnline Corp., via Soobao, provides this portal to insurance companies, agents, and consumers for advertising, online inquiry, news circulation, online transactions, statistics analysis and software development.

Headquartered in Beijing, the company represents major insurance underwriting firms in China. China INSOnline

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China INSOnline Corp. (CHIO) is an Internet service and media company focusing on the People’s Republic of China insurance industry. Trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market with a current market capitalization of $148 million, the company uses localized websites targeting greater China. They provide, through Soobao, a network portal through their industry website www.soobao.cn. They offer online automobile, property and life insurance services through this site.

Soobao’s goal is to raise the national insurance consciousness and reduce the cost on national security in China. They do this by constructing and maintaining their network to integrate and optimize business flow throughout the insurance sales and related client services process. China INSOnline Corp., via Soobao, provides this portal to insurance companies, agents, and consumers for advertising, online inquiry, news circulation, online transactions, statistics analysis and software development.

Headquartered in Beijing, the company represents major insurance underwriting firms in China. China INSOnline

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