What’s New: In Brief (August 21, 2009)

Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is warning Atlantic Canadians to prepare themselves for the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Bill on Aug. 22.
“The time to prepare is before the storm hits,” Bill Adams, IBC’s vice president of the Atlantic region, says in a press release. “While waiting for the storm, you should ensure that lawn furniture is safely stored and that any damaged or dead tree branches are removed from your yard.
“If possible, valuable property that is stored in your basement should be relocated. And when the storm hits, remember to stay away from windows that may shatter if an object strikes them.”
Having lost some of its strength, Hurricane Bill is currently tracking through the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of up to185 km-h.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre has issued a special statement on its Web site warning of “potential breaking wave heights on Nova Scotia’s shoreline [that] are expected to be from two to three metres (seven to 10 feet) along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia.”

Credit quality continued to deteriorate in the first half of 2009 among Fitch-rated global
corporate finance issuers, Fitch Ratings noted in its recent report Global Corporate Rating Activity Update—First-Half 2009.
Global financial institution rating downgrades outnumbered upgrades by ratios of 15-to-1 and 17-to-1, respectively, during 2009 Q1 and 2009 Q2.
“Within financial institutions,” Fitch reported, “downgrades remained steady among banks and securities firms but slowed in the second quarter across global insurance firms. “Insurance-related downgrades fell 55% in the second quarter to a level on par with the fourth quarter of 2008.”