Michigan Auto Industry Faces ‘a Critical Time,’ Report Says
Michigan needs to confront risks to its $348 billion piece of the global automotive industry this year and move decisively toward keeping jobs, engineering and production in the state. That message comes from Glenn Stevens, executive director of statewide industry …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 5:40 PM |
People Moves: Rockford Mutual Announces Leadership Transition
Rockford Mutual Insurance Company announced CFO Mark McWethy has decided to retire effective June 30, 2026. McWethy will continue to serve the company in an advisory capacity alongside two significant leaders being promoted into their new roles. Effective immediately, Tiffany …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 5:27 PM |
Texas Staffing Agency to Settle EEOC Disability Lawsuit
Peak Performers, incorporated as St. Vincent de Paul Rehabilitation Services of Texas, Inc., an Austin-based staffing agency providing staffing and recruitment services for workers with disabilities, agreed to pay $160,000 to a disabled former employee and institute significant reforms to …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 4:53 PM |
Texas Medical Marijuana Industry Sprouts New Businesses, Patients
After lawmakers blunted expansion for years, Texas’ medical marijuana industry is slated to see more marijuana operators coming online, current ones opening more facilities and more Texans enrolling in the program this year. In September, Texas officially rolled out the …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 4:48 PM |
Alliant Latest to Sue Howden US Over Alleged ‘Smash-and-Grab’ Poaching
Alliant Insurance Services is the latest to join a group of brokers suing new competitor Howden US over what it calls Howden’s “smash-and-grab” strategy to take teams from other brokers. The suit also names three former employees—Jessie Guerrero, Christina Murphy, …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 4:22 PM |
Companies Work to Handle Safety Challenges of New Venezuelan Oil Exports: Sources
Oil companies aiming to participate in new exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro are in hasty discussions to find tankers and put together operations to transfer the crude safely from vessels and …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 3:36 PM |
Business Moves: Nexus Acquires Medical Tourism MGA; SRG Buys North of England Broker Kennett; Jensten Buys 3 Brokers, Gaining 1st Entry in Scotland
Nexus Buys Medical Tourism MGA Sure Insurance Services Nexus Underwriting, the London-based MGA and a Brown & Brown subsidiary, announced it has acquired Sure Insurance Services, a leading provider of specialist solutions for the medical tourism industry. The deal has …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 3:23 PM |
Data Centers Will Need $3 Trillion Through 2030, Moody’s Says
At least $3 trillion is set to flow into data-center-related investments over the next five years, capital that will rely on the might of multiple areas of the credit markets to provide, according to Moody’s Ratings. Trillions of dollars will …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 2:56 PM |
Georgia Republicans Move to Scrap State Income Tax by 2032 Despite Concerns
Eliminating state income taxes sounds great to many voters, but Republicans backing the push in multiple states still face questions about whether such big tax cuts can be made without raising other taxes or sharply cutting state funding for education, …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 2:44 PM |
SC Lab and CEO to Repay $6.8M in Kickback Scheme Exposed by Whistleblower
A South Carolina medical testing laboratory and its CEO have agreed to repay more than $6 million for allegedly paying kickbacks to doctors in return for boosting lab testing referrals. The settlement resulted from a civil lawsuit brought by a …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 2:35 PM |
Rideshare Drivers Protest Robotaxis as California Considers More Regulations
Drivers for Lyft and Uber protested self-driving Waymo taxis in San Francisco on Friday, urging state regulators to exercise greater oversight of autonomous vehicles, given recent events in which the cars killed pets and blocked traffic. About two dozen drivers …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 2:24 PM |
South Carolina Measles Outbreak Grows, Spreads to NC and Ohio
South Carolina’s measles outbreak exploded into one of the worst in the U.S., with state health officials confirming 99 new cases in three days last week. The outbreak centered in Spartanburg County grew to 310 cases over the holidays, and …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 1:43 PM |
Delaware Reports Avian Flu in a Commercial Poultry Flock
Delaware officials announced Sunday that preliminary testing of a commercial broiler flock in Kent County has returned presumptive positive for avian influenza. The Delaware Department of Agriculture said it quarantined the affected premises, and the birds on the property are …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 1:38 PM |
North Carolina May Lose $50M in Federal Funds Over Immigrant Trucker Licenses
North Carolina could lose nearly $50 million in federal funding if the state doesn’t revoke commercial driver’s licenses from immigrants who aren’t qualified to hold them after an audit uncovered problems, the U.S. Transportation Department said Thursday. North Carolina is …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 1:35 PM |
Markets/Coverages: Brit Launches Property Direct & Facultative in Bermuda
Brit Group Holdings Ltd. announced it will begin writing property direct & facultative business in Bermuda through Brit Re. This will see Brit Re write US and Global Property D&F from January, with a focus on US-based complex risks. Core …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 1:20 PM |
Fed Served With DOJ Subpoenas; Powell Vows to Stand Firm
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank had been served grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department threatening a criminal indictment, a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on the institution. In a forceful written and …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 12:51 PM |
US Seizes Fifth Vessel Taken in Venezuela Blockade
The U.S. has seized the Olina tanker in the Caribbean, the fifth vessel targeted in recent weeks as Washington steps up efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports, U.S. officials said on Friday. The Olina, which according to public shipping database …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 11:53 AM |
Finnish Police Release Russia-Linked Ship Held in Cable Sabotage Case
Finnish police said on Monday they had lifted the seizure of a ship which had been held on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea telecoms cable running from Helsinki to Estonia across the Gulf of Finland, although the investigation continues. The …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 11:26 AM |
Indian Insurer’s Worker Posts Draft Earnings in WhatsApp Status
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co., a unit of India’s second-largest private lender, said an employee uploaded undisclosed information about third quarter earnings as a personal WhatsApp status, days ahead of the planned release. The worker, who broadcast the information after …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 10:46 AM |
One Dead in Australian Wildfires That May Burn for Weeks to Come
One person has died in wildfires in the Australian state of Victoria that have burned out an area slightly larger than Rhode Island. A body was found about 100 meters from a vehicle near the fire-affected town of Gobur, about …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 10:04 AM |
Supreme Court to Weigh FCC Power to Fine in New Regulatory Clash
The US Supreme Court will consider invalidating the Federal Communications Commission’s system for imposing financial penalties in a clash that could put fresh limits on the power of federal regulators. The justices said Friday they will hear contentions from AT&T …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 6:19 AM |
CEOs on Guard as Trump Rattles Companies With Series of Edicts
For American CEOs, reaping the rewards of a Donald Trump presidency is a little more complicated the second time around, in an administration that increasingly pairs conventional conservative deregulation with populist state intervention in big business. In the last week, …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 6:07 AM |
California Bill Seeks to Add ‘Transparency’ to Arieal Images Used by Insurers
A California lawmaker is pushing to require insurers to notify homeowners in advance of taking or using aerial images of their property, and to stop insurers from basing decisions to cancel, non-renew, or reduce coverage based on aerial images older …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 6:00 AM |
Starkweather & Shepley Acquires DiMatteo Brokerage in Connecticut
Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. reports it acquired DiMatteo Insurance Brokers effective January 1, 2026, Founded in 2010, DiMatteo Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance agency based in East Hartford, Connecticut. The firm is led by founder Angelo DiMatteo, …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 6:00 AM |
Billionaire NFL Owner Suing Over Billboards Near His LA Stadium
Stan Kroenke, the billionaire owner of the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams, has taken a stand against billboards that he says threaten the prosperity of his $5.5 billion sports and entertainment complex in the nation’s second-largest metropolis. Kroenke alleged …
POSTED JANUARY 12, 2026 6:00 AM |