GWIC Acquired by American Enterprise Group

American Enterprise Group, Inc. (AEG), a Des Moines-based company, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, American Republic Insurance Company, has finalized its previously announced acquisition of Great Western Insurance Company (GWIC), based in Ogden, Utah.

“We are excited to have Great Western Insurance Company join the American Enterprise family,” said Tom Swank, Chief Executive Officer of AEG. “This addition creates a tremendous opportunity for us. Together we are able to provide a greater solution set to our senior market customers, backed by the financial strength and stability required to support significant growth throughout all our lines of business.” READ MORE

EMC Insurance Group Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

EMC Insurance Group released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03), Bloomberg Earnings reports. EMC Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 4.54%. The company had revenue of $169.93 million during the quarter.  READ MORE

Meredith's Acquisition Of Time Inc. Receives Antitrust Clearance

Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) announced that early termination of the waiting period has been granted under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 applicable to its acquisition of Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME; www.timeinc.com). As a result, Meredith plans to complete the transaction – first announced on November 26, 2017 – within the next 30 days, subject to satisfaction of the other terms and conditions of the tender offer.  READ MORE

The CEO of Wells Fargo Might Be in Big, Big Trouble

Late last year, Congress scrapped Obama-era rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would have banned forced-arbitration clauses in financial contracts. This bill, which President Trump quickly signed, was self-evidently bad for consumers at the time—and if anyone needs further proof of how ridiculous and harmful these clauses are, just look at what Wells Fargo has been up to over the past several months. The mega-bank famously issued at least 3.5 million fake accounts without consumer consent, triggering a $185 million fine to state and federal regulators. The bank aimed to demonstrate sales growth to investors and boost the stock price with bogus numbers, but millions of customers got caught up in the exchange, paying unnecessary fees and taking hits to their credit scores. Scores of defrauded customers sued Wells Fargo in a series of class-action lawsuits. READ MORE

Fizzle or Sizzle? What’s Behind the Numbers For Principal Financial Group, Inc.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) presently has a current ratio of 2.98. The current ratio, also known as the working capital ratio, is a liquidity ratio that displays the proportion of current assets of a business relative to the current liabilities. The ratio is simply calculated by dividing current liabilities by current assets. The ratio may be used to provide an idea of the ability of a certain company to pay back its liabilities with assets. Typically, the higher the current ratio the better, as the company may be more capable of paying back its obligations. READ MORE