Johnson & Johnson shares fell the most in five years after the company’s plan to settle thousands of talc-related lawsuits through bankruptcy was shot down in court. The ruling means J&J will have to fight roughly 60,000 claims brought by Read more…

BlackRock Inc. is going even bigger in Texas. The world’s biggest asset manager applied for the iShares Texas Equity exchange-traded fund, according to a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The planned ETF would be passively managed and Read more…

A Kentucky farmer is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to defrauding the federal crop insurance program of almost $1.5 million. Robert Thomas Hunt, of Taylor County in central Kentucky, asked grain haulers to sell his soybean, corn and wheat under Read more…

JM Wilson Promotes Staruch, Dodd and Ladik and Re-Hires Snyder-Knutson JM Wilson, headquartered in Portage, Michigan, Natalie Staruch was promoted to executive property & casualty (P&C) underwriter. She underwrites new and renewal commercial risks, working with carrier underwriters and independent Read more…

The Hartford of Hartford, Connecticut said Shekar Pannala was named the company’s chief information officer and leads technology, as well as cybersecurity, infrastructure and cloud modernization. Prior to joining The Hartford, Pannala was global CIO of Chubb. Before Chubb, Pannala Read more…

WTW announced the acquisition of Global Commercial Credit, LLC (GCC) into Willis, a WTW business. This strategic acquisition will accelerate performance by expanding into specialized businesses that align with the company’s technical, industry-structured and expertise-driven growth plan. Founded in Michigan Read more…

Australia’s remote outback in western Queensland has been swamped by flooding after being lashed with a year’s worth of rainfall in a week, sweeping away tens of thousands of livestock. Up to 500 millimeters (19.7 inches) of rain has flooded Read more…

California is emerging from its wettest time of the year with new fire and drought risks. The state is scheduled to measure the snowpack amassed over winter on Tuesday — April 1 is the typical peak point before springtime melting. Read more…

A long-feared megaquake off Japan’s southern coast could result in almost 300,000 deaths, according to a new model released by the government. In the worst-case scenario, a megaquake in the Nankai Trough would destroy 2.34 million buildings and kill 298,000 Read more…

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Monday rejected Johnson & Johnson’s $10 billion proposal to end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer, marking the third time the company’s bankruptcy strategy Read more…