Bruce Bentley

  Global commercial insurance prices rose 18% in the first quarter, according to Marsh's latest Global Insurance Market Index. This follows an average annual increase of 22% in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 20% in the third quarter of 2020. The first quarter of 2021 marked the first time the average rate of increase fell since the index first saw global rates rise in the fourth quarter of 2017. According to Marsh, gains across regions have slowed due to generally slower rate increases in property insurance, finance and professional life. The UK, with composite prices up 35% (up from 44% in the fourth quarter) and the Pacific region, up 29% (up from 35% in the fourth quarter) drove the global composite rate. The rate of increase was 14% (versus 17%) in the US, 8% (versus 11%) in Asia and 5% (versus 9%) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Further survey results were: Global property insurance prices rose an average of 15% compared to the 20% increase in the fourth quarter of 2...

  Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway posted a quarterly profit on stock market gains and better insurance results. Berkshire BRK.B, -0.95% BRK.A, -1.29% reported net income of $ 11.7 billion, or $ 7,638 per Class A share equivalent, on Saturday, compared with a loss of $ 49.7 billion. $ Or $ 30,653 per Class A share equivalent for the same period last year. Operating profit, which excludes some investment results, increased to $ 7.02 billion from $ 5.87 billion a year ago. Berkshire had around $ 145.4 billion in cash at the end of the first quarter, up from around $ 138.3 billion at the end of 2020. The conglomerate runs a large insurance operation, as well as railways, utilities, industrial manufacturers, retailers, and even car dealerships. It also holds great investments, especially in the stock market . A change in accounting rules in recent years has meant that Berkshire's earnings often reflect the higher performance of the stock market, while operating earnings mor...

  Bitcoin rose after Tesla Inc. reported a profit of $ 272 million for "digital assets" after investing $ 1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. The electric vehicle leader announced on Monday that it had generated $ 101 million in revenue from the investment, which helped beat analysts' earnings estimates for the first quarter of the year. Bitcoin even surged 1.9% and traded over $ 54,000 after Tesla's CFO reiterated the company's commitment to cyber currency. "We believe in the value of Bitcoin over the long term," said CFO Zachary Kirkhorn on the conference call. "Our intention is to keep what we have for the long term and to continue to accumulate bitcoin from our customers' transactions in vehicle purchases." Tesla announced the purchase of the digital currency earlier this year and also said it would accept it as a form of payment. This surprising announcement helped increase Bitcoin's legitimacy and resulted in an increase in va...