UMass Amherst Scientists Forecast Warmer, Wetter Northeast Winters

December 14, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

A new high-resolution climate study by University of Massachusetts Amherst climate scientists — the first to apply regional climate models to examine likely near-term changes in temperature and precipitation across the U.S. Northeast — suggests temperatures are going to be significantly warmer in all seasons in the next 30 years, especially in winter.

Also, they project that winters will be wetter, with more rain likely than snow.

Writing in the current issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, Michael Rawlins and Raymond Bradley of the Climate System Research Center at UMass Amherst, with Henry Diaz of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA), provide the highest resolution climate projections to date for the Northeast from Pennsylvania to Maine.

Winter Contracting, Snow Season Expected to Be Shorter

The study used data from multiple climate model simulations run at greatly improved resolution.

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Allianz Estimates Sandy Impact at $670 Million; Won’t Affect Profit Forecast

January 18, 2013Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Germany’s Allianz SE has announced that its losses from Hurricane Sandy are estimated to total

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The Job Forecast for Photographers is Not Rosy

RSS By David Walker

The publishing industry will continue to shed jobs for photographers over the next eight years, but other industries will pick up some of the slack, and the total number of photographers

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WTO Cuts 2012 Global Trade Growth Forecast to 2.5%

September 21, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleCommentsWorld trade will grow by a mere 2.5 percent this year, dragged down by Europe to less than half of the previous 20-year average, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday.

The WTO cut its estimate from a 2012 growth forecast of 3.7 percent it made in April and also lowered its forecast for 2013 to 4.5 percent growth from 5.6 percent.

“I see the risk more on the downside than the upside,” WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said at a news conference in Singapore. “What could be surprising is that you have a volume of trade that is lower than world (economic) growth.”

The WTO figures are based on world economic growth of 2.1 percent in 2012 and 2.4 percent 2013, which it said was a consensus estimate of economic forecasts.

“The main reason for the growth slowdown is of course Europe,” said Lamy, who will step down next year as head of the 157-member group that has so far failed to agree on major reforms of global trade rules.

“We also know U.S. growth is lower than expected, (and) Japan is not in great shape.”

The WTO now expects 1.5 percent growth in exports from developed economies this year, instead of the previous forecast of 2 percent.

Those from developing countries are seen posting 3.5 percent growth, down from 5.6 percent previously.

It sees developed nations more than doubling their export growth to 3.3 percent next year and developing countries exporting 5.7 percent more.

The WTO said in a statement that its 2013 estimates assumed current policy measures would be enough to avoid a breakup of the euro and that agreement would be reached to stabilize public finances in the United States and avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases early next year.

Copyright 2012 Reuters. Click for restrictions.Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: International NewsTopics: decrease, Economy, Europe, forecast, GDP, growth, world trade, WTOHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

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Allianz Preliminary Q1 2012 Figures Forecast $1.8 Billion Profit

May 10, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

German insurance giant Allianz SE has released preliminary figures for the first quarter of 2012, which indicate that total revenues will be over

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Willis Group Profit Beats Estimates; Withdraws Forecast

By Reuters

April 27, 2012 • Reprints

Willis Group Holdings posted a higher first-quarter profit that topped Wall Street estimates, as it earned more from commissions and fees, but the insurance broker withdrew its previous forecasts due to uncertainty in some operations.

The company’s results suffered from continued weakness in its loan protector business, a non-core unit within its North America segment that provides insurance services to the mortgage servicing industry.

“Unexpected events and operational or economic disruptions can significantly affect our business results,” Chief Executive Joe Plumeri said in a statement.

“With that kind of uncertainty, it does not make sense to offer guidance on future financial results.”

First-quarter net income was $225 million, or $1.28 per share, compared with $35 million, or $20 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding items, the London-based company earned $1.32 per share.

Analysts, on average, expected the company to earn $1.25 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Total commissions and fees rose marginally to $1.01 billion, while organic commissions and fees grew 3 percent, excluding the negative impact of Loan Protector.

Shares of the company, which have gained 13 percent since touching a year-low in October, closed at $37.32 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

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Arkansas Revenues Up in March, Ahead of Forecast

April 4, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Arkansas’ revenues in March were ahead of last year and beat official projections, as the state saw increases in nearly all major tax collections, the state’s finance office said on April 3.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said net available revenues totaled $356.3 million last month. That’s $40.5 million above March 2011 and $42.4 million above forecast. The state’s fiscal year-to-date revenues total $3.3 billion, which is $94.7 million above last year and $62.6 million above forecast. Arkansas’ fiscal year begins July 1.

Department Director Richard Weiss said the state isn’t planning to adjust its forecast upward because of the increased revenues, but said he believes it shows the state is slowly recovering from the economic downturn.

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