My colleague, Josh Bernoff, wrote a very relevant and entertaining research piece called Social Technology Strategies For “Boring” Consumer Brands. The premise of his research is that firms don’t have to be popular consumer brands (e.g. Coca-Cola) in order to ... [full story]

Uncle Sam has never been accused of having a perfect record for things such as vision and forward planning. Remember Hurricane Katrina? But it turns out he was particularly prescient three years ago, when the Office of Personnel Management issued ... [full story]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hartford Financial Group (NYSE:HIG - News) posted its third straight net loss and said it plans to stop selling new policies in Japan and the United Kingdom, as the insurer reeled from the same weak financial ... [full story]

New data from Reston, Va.-based comScore Inc. underscores the growing importance of the online channel for insurers. A study, which combined analysis of the online behavior of 1 million U.S. consumers with a more in-depth survey of 2,000 U.S. online ... [full story]

If analysts did no better than predicting stock prices would equal the average of the last five years, one would hope they'd find a different career -- or at least take their work private while they refined their techniques. That's the ... [full story]

Coinciding with the nation’s economic downturn there has been a clear increase in the number of questionable insurance claims related to possible fraud, according to a National Insurance Crime Bureau report. The NICB said an analysis of questionable claims submitted by ... [full story]

The Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory at Oregon State University has completed installation of a new $1.1 million “hurricane” wavemaker. The wavemaker is the largest of its type in the nation and is able to more accurately simulate the types of waves ... [full story]

The personal auto market remains competitive across the country, even as rates begin to creep upward. Experts in the field said they expect competition to continue throughout the year and into 2010. As with most other industries, the economy ... [full story]

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said Monday he expects that rolling back home and condominium insurance regulation will trigger "substantial" rate increases and won't keep insurers in Florida - the reason many lawmakers support it. "Not a single company ... [full story]

April 28 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks retreated on concern that banks may need to raise additional capital and the outbreak of swine flu will hinder an economic recovery. BNP Paribas SA and Credit Suisse Group AG dropped more than 3 ... [full story]