The October 2009 issue of Finance, Insurance & Real Estate News, a monthly insert in Budget & Tax News, reports that Texas is a model of fiscal stability compared to most other states—with one glaring exception: It’s one hurricane away from bankrupting its state-run wind insurance pool.
Among other top stories in this issue:
* Proposed changes to Securities and Exchange Commission rules on insider trading ignore important conflicts of interest.
* World leaders, including even Pope Benedict, have declared war on speculation. But government-imposed limitations will not help markets function better, and the poor and weak will probably suffer most from the intervention.
* Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) vetoed a bill supporters said would have improved the state’s property and casualty insurance market.
* Federal Reserve officials have said they understand the importance of reversing policy and withdrawing excess liquidity to prevent price inflation once all the new money makes its way from bank reserves to new loans. American consumers can only hope they act in the right way at the right time.
