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BloggingStocks - MetLife, Inc., which is the largest life insurer in the U.S., got its start 140 years ago. But the recent couple weeks may have been the toughest as the stock price has plunged.
It seems MetLife’s woes have just started, though, as the company announced Tuesday it has withdrawn its 2008 earnings estimates. As for Q3, the company expects operating profits of $600 million to $675 million.
At the same time, the company wants to sell 75 million shares to bolster its capital (obviously, this is something that’s pretty dilutive in the current environment).
Interestingly enough, MetLife is feeling the pain from heavy investments in alternatives such as hedge funds and private equity. What’s more, MetLife holds positions in losers such as Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers.
Bloomberg - Nippon Life Insurance Co., Japan’s biggest life insurer, said it will boost hedge fund investments and may target distressed assets to take advantage of volatility caused by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
Nippon Life, with about 100 billion yen ($920 million) in hedge funds, increased its allocation to this asset class by about 30 billion yen during the past two years in a trend it intends to continue, Hideya Sadanaga, deputy general manager of the firm’s Credit & Alternative Investment Department, said in an interview in Tokyo.
The global credit crisis that’s caused more than $500 billion of losses and writedowns at financial firms has increased volatility in debt markets and led to a 20 percent decline in the value of the 1,737 companies on the MSCI World Index this year.
“There will be investment opportunities in the credit and distressed asset class eventually, given this market environment,” said Hiroshi Aikawa, head of alternative investment at office at Nippon Life’s Nissay Asset Management Corp., in the same interview on Sept. 5. “Investments that profit from trading volatility also look attractive.”
Bloomberg.com: Asia - Nippon Life Insurance Co., Japan’s biggest life insurer, said it will boost hedge fund investments and may target distressed assets to take advantage of volatility caused by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
Nippon Life, with about 100 billion yen ($920 million) in hedge funds, increased its allocation to this asset class by about 30 billion yen during the past two years in a trend it intends to continue, Hideya Sadanaga, deputy general manager of the firm’s Credit & Alternative Investment Department, said in an interview in Tokyo.
The global credit crisis that’s caused more than $500 billion of losses and writedowns at financial firms has increased volatility in debt markets and led to a 20 percent decline in the value of the 1,737 companies on the MSCI World Index this year.
Bloomberg - Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co., with more than 30 trillion yen ($274 billion) in assets, will invest more money with hedge funds to safeguard returns as financial markets falter.
Tokyo-based Dai-ichi Mutual, Japan’s second-largest life insurer, currently invests in more than 100 hedge funds as well as funds of hedge funds, Yuji Hirai, manager of the firm’s structured and alternative investment department, said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. He declined to provide specific targets for hedge fund allocations.
“Our goal is to increase our allocation to hedge funds,” said Hirai, 40. “We’re in a difficult market, no doubt, but for hedge funds chasing absolute returns, this is the time to prove their outperformance.”
WA Today- Australia’s biggest life insurer and funds manager, AMP, was ducking for cover today. What are AMP’s holdings of CDOs, CLOs ABSs and CDSs?
Not much of an answer to that one. "We are holding a number of these instruments … but it is immaterial”.
Right, just like NAB’s holdings were immaterial until last Friday when it wrote down $830 million worth of CDOs (collateralised debt obligations).
The National Australia Bank is not alone when it comes to being played for a sucker by Wall Street hucksters flogging fancy derivative product.
We are talking fund managers, hedge funds, financial planners even a slather of local councils across the country. Many bought CDOs, CLOs (collateralised loan obligations), ABSs (asset backed securities) and other noxious structured finance products whose value is now in question.
Reuters Tokyo- Tokio Marine Holdings Inc plans to buy non-life insurer Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp for about $4.7 billion (2.4 billion pounds), in the largest acquisition by a Japanese financial firm in the United States.
Tokio Marine, Japan’s largest non-life insurer, said it would pay $61.5 in cash for each share of Philadelphia Consolidated Holding, a 73 percent premium to the issue’s closing price on Tuesday of $35.55.
Tokio Marine President Shuzo Sumi told Reuters earlier this month that he was looking at opportunities to acquire U.S. and European competitors to expand outside Japan, where it generates four-fifths of its profits.