Insurers hit FTSE after L&G cuts dividend

Rate cut, which takes effect Wednesday, is the latest in a series of price reductions by insurers in the highly competitive California market.

By David White:Staid, stoic insurers have been hit hard twice. First they were sold off with everything else as the overall market sold off. Then they were hit hard again as many worried Hurricane Irene would be a Katrina for New York City. Hurricane Irene has done some damage. The flooding it has brought and will bring will do even more. However, most of this damage is normal storm damage on a slightly larger scale. The dreaded destruction of New York City or perhaps good parts of Massachusetts did not materialize.

The "analysis" the insurance industry commissioned should not be treated as a policy document. It's a political document. In it, the insurers assail policies they don't like (though under the guise of concerning themselves with consumer premiums) and pump up policies they do like. There's no real "prescriptions" section to the paper, but it's easy enough to discern what the insurers do, and don't, want.

Asian equities opened higher but lost momentum as the day progressed. Markets in Japan and Australia continued to rise after US equities reached a new high for the year overnight, in spite of weak economic data. Markets declined in Hong Kong and mainland China, however, as investors took profit and awaited more results announcements