[external] Malaysia's MAA says AXA ends stake purchase talks - Reuters - Sat 2:45 am
KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian financial services firm MAA Holdings has ended talks to sell a stake in Malaysian Assurance Alliance Bhd to AXA Pacific Holdings Ltd and Affin Holdings Bhd , MAA said on Friday.

[external] DEALTALK-Insurer QBE needs to sweeten bid to win over IAG - Reuters - Fri 11:35 pm
MELBOURNE, May 16 (Reuters) - Insurance Australia Group Ltd has so far stonewalled a A$8.2 billion ($7.7 billion) bid from QBE Insurance , but a 5-10 percent sweetener could be enough to seal the deal.

[external] Insurers little hurt by China quake -rating agencies - Reuters - Fri 11:05 pm
BEIJING, May 16 (Reuters) - Insurers and property developers should suffer only minimal fallout from China's devastating earthquake, credit rating agencies said in separate reports.

[external] Australia's AXA Asia says no longer pursuing MAA - Reuters - Fri 10:26 pm
SYDNEY, May 16 (Reuters) - Australia's AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd said on Friday it was no longer pursuing the possible acquisition of Malaysian Assurance Alliance Bhd (MAA), the insurance arm of MAA Holdings Bhd .

[external] Backdating settlements less than expected-study - Reuters - Fri 3:27 pm
NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - Improper stock option backdating that rocked some corporate boardrooms in the last two years may not have caused the legal fallout that some had expected, a study from NERA Economic Consulting showed on Thursday.

[external] MOVES-Abbey, Tradition, Axa Group, Societe Generale - Reuters - Fri 10:57 am
May 15 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Thursday. To inform us of other job changes, please e-mail moves@thomsonreuters.com.

[external] Turkey's Vakifbank says plans sale of insurer - Reuters - Fri 6:33 am
ISTANBUL, May 15 (Reuters) - Turkish lender Vakifbank said on Thursday it planned to sell all or part of its shares in its insurance and pension businesses, following a series of sales in Turkey's fast-growing insurance sector.

[external] UK's Prudential stays open to strategic investors - Reuters - Fri 6:24 am
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - UK insurer Prudential , long seen as a possible investment target for Asian rivals like Ping An , would consider proposals from investors wishing to take a strategic stake, executives said on Thursday.

[external] KBC Q1 profit misses estimates, suspends buybacks - Reuters - Fri 3:39 am
AMSTERDAM, May 15 (Reuters) - Belgian banking and insurance group KBC missed analysts' forecasts for quarterly profit on Thursday and suspended share buybacks because of the possibility of increased capital needs, sending its shares down.

Earlier Headlines

All times are Singapore Time (GMT+8)

· [external] ING set to launch Taiwan mutual fund in S.Korea - Reuters - Fri 12:07 am
· [external] KBC Q1 net profit drops 27%, halts share buyback - Reuters - Thu 11:13 pm
· [external] Turkey - Factors to Watch on May 15 - Reuters - Thu 9:25 pm
· [external] Fitch rates Bank of Ayudhya debentures 'A+(tha) - Reuters - Thu 8:03 pm
· [external] China PICC potential quake claims $1.89 bln -paper - Reuters - Thu 5:36 pm
· [external] China to set up insurance fund firm soon -paper - Reuters - Thu 5:20 pm
· [external] Greenberg sees worldwide business opportunities - Reuters - Thu 4:34 pm
· [external] China earthquake could cost $20 bln, says AIR - Reuters - Thu 2:14 am
· [external] BUPA gets final OK for A$2.41 bln Australia deal - Reuters - Wed 11:45 pm
· [external] Turkey - Factors to Watch on May 14 - Reuters - Wed 9:46 pm

· [external] Korea Hot Stocks-Insurers, Korea Zinc, Shinsegae - Reuters - Wed 6:51 pm
· [external] Ping An gets shareholder nod for H-share issue - Reuters - Wed 6:02 pm
· [external] China's ICBC to buy into Taiping Life -report - Reuters - Wed 3:21 am
· [external] Fortis Q1 dips; subprime losses outweigh ABN gain - Reuters - Wed 3:11 am
· [external] PIMCO enters Taiwan via Allianz tie-up - Reuters - Wed 2:14 am
· [external] Fortis Q1 lags forecast, writedowns offset ABN gain - Reuters - Wed 1:22 am
· [external] China Life says quake claims to surpass snowstorms - Reuters - Wed 12:06 am
· [external] China stocks down as quake adds to inflation fears - Reuters - Tue 11:47 pm
· [external] Fortis Q1 lags forecast, writeoffs offset ABN gain - Reuters - Tue 10:35 pm
· [external] State Bank of India, Australia's IAG in insurance JV - Reuters - Tue 10:33 pm

· [external] Fortis Q1 falls on writedowns despite ABN gain - Reuters - Tue 10:00 pm
· [external] Korea Hot Stocks- Brokerages down; Doosan Infracore gains - Reuters - Tue 9:53 pm
· [external] State Bank of India, Australia's IAG near JV-paper - Reuters - Tue 7:41 pm
· [external] Shanghai International to buy local insurer -paper - Reuters - Tue 4:08 pm
· [external] Japanese stocks likely to gain, tracking Wall St - Reuters - Tue 3:22 pm
· [external] US doctors miss chances to give flu vaccines - Reuters - Tue 12:31 pm
· [external] US STOCKS-Market jumps as economic optimism lifts tech - Reuters - Tue 8:15 am
· [external] US STOCKS-Wall St advances with financial companies - Reuters - Tue 7:14 am
· [external] REFILE-US STOCKS-Futures rise as oil pulls back, dollar firms - Reuters - Tue 3:43 am
· [external] US STOCKS-Futures rise as oil pulls back, dollar firms - Reuters - Tue 3:36 am