A federal judge has dismissed a large portion of a class-action lawsuit brought by more than 140 southeast Missouri farmers whose land was damaged when Birds Point levee was intentionally breached last year.

Judge Nancy B. Firestone of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington granted the government’s motion to dismiss the first two counts of the lawsuit, in which the farmers are seeking millions of dollars from the U.S. government.

The parts Firestone dismissed involve a “takings claim,” which would require the plaintiffs to show that there would be frequent, inevitable flooding in the future because of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to destroy the levee in order to protect homes upriver.

The Southeast Missourian reported that the May 2, 2011, breach was only the second time the Corps has activated the 130,000-acre floodway that sits in Mississippi and New Madrid counties.

“The first flood took place in 1937. Allegations of two floods separated by nearly 75 years are not enough to support an inference of frequent and inevitably recurring flooding,” Firestone said in her written opinion.

Cape Girardeau lawyer J. Michael Ponder, who is representing the plaintiffs, said despite Firestone’s ruling, he thinks his clients eventually will get the reparations they seek.

“The farmers are not giving up by a long shot,” Ponder said. “There’s no reason for despair here. This is just a trimming of the claim.”

He said the judge has yet to consider an amended complaint filed April 23, which seeks compensation for the government’s failure to pay the plaintiffs for damage caused by sand and gravel deposits, in violation of their easements.

Ponder said the motion, which is a “breach of contract claim,” could get the farmers as much as a takings claim. He said the damage caused by activating the floodway was more severe than what was allowed under flowage agreements paid to the property owners.

“In truth, the landowner probably doesn’t care whether his damages get paid under count 1, which is the takings count, or count 2, which is a breach of easements count,” Ponder said. “Just so long as the damages are paid.”

Still, Ponder said he intends to appeal Firestone’s decision. He also hopes the law on government taking will soon be redefined by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case brought by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission against the Corps of Engineers.

The court agreed in April to hear that case, in which the commission has been trying for seven years to get the government to pay for damage it said the corps caused to its Dave Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area.

The Court of Federal Claims had awarded $5.78 million to the Arkansas commission, finding that the corps destroyed and degraded more than 18 million board feet of timber by deviating from a water-control plan. But a higher court reversed the trial judgment.

The European Union’s naval force off the Somali coastline on Tuesday carried out its first air strikes against pirate targets on shore, officials said.

Maritime aircraft and attack helicopters took part in the attacks early in the morning on the mainland, a spokesman said. No casualties were reported in the raid, which occurred along Somalia’s central coastline in the region of Galmudug.

The long coastline of war-ravaged Somalia provides a perfect haven for pirate gangs preying on shipping off the East African coast.

The EU is the main donor to the Somali transitional government. It is also trains Somali army troops, and is reinforcing the navies of five neighboring countries to enable them to counter piracy themselves.

“This action against piracy is part of a comprehensive EU approach to the crisis in Somalia, where we support a lasting political solution on land,” said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Since December 2008, the EU has kept 5-10 warships off the Horn of Africa in an operation known as Atalanta. NATO has a similar anti-piracy flotilla known as Ocean Shield, and other countries – including the United States, India, China, Russia, and Malaysia – also have dispatched naval vessels to patrol the

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UK-based Aqua Underwriting announced the launch of a range of niche commercial combined products exclusively for brokers, building on its success with high net worth (HNW) products in the personal lines market.

Aqua said its “first commercial products and schemes have been developed specifically for the engineering, plastic manufacturing and print industries,” as well as coverage for unoccupied property.

The bulletin added that the company is “applying the same broker-focused and flexible underwriting approach as used in its HNW business to develop and deliver the commercial product range. The products have been designed and are underwritten by an experienced team with specific knowledge of these niche areas. With direct access to underwriters and broad authority limits from its Insurer partners.”

Aqua said it “aims to provide a faster turnaround and improved levels of service to support brokers.” The commercial team is led by Paul Sims, Underwriting Director, who brings nearly 20 years of sector experience, including underwriting roles with RK Harrison and Aviva.

Jonathan Rouse, Managing Director of Aqua commented: “The response to our HNW products and broker-focused approach has been very positive. By combining experienced teams and flexible underwriting we aim to replicate the successes we have achieved in HNW within niches in

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As previously announced, Germany’s Allianz SE has had a successful start in 2012 with increases in overall revenues, operating profit and net income for the first quarter well above first-quarter 2011 levels. Allianz Group also further improved its already strong capital base.

The Allianz Group earned €30.1 billion [$38.3 billion] in total revenues, the second-highest level in its history, compared to €29.9 billion [$38 billion] in Q1 2011. Operating profits were €2.3 billion [$2.93 billion], 40.4 percent higher than the previous year’s value of €1.7 billion [2.16 billion].

“Property and Casualty insurance showed a substantial improvement in operating profit due to a lower impact from natural catastrophes; Life and Health insurance as well as Asset Management also produced significant increases,” said the bulletin.

Net income for the first quarter of 2012 rose 57.9 percent to €1.4 billion [$1.78 billion] from around €900 million [$1.145 billion] in the first quarter of 2011, which, Allianz noted, “was impacted especially by high claims from natural catastrophes.”

“Allianz has put in a very good performance this quarter, following 2011 that was tough for the entire insurance industry,” stated Oliver Bäte, Chief Financial Officer of Allianz SE. “Despite the ongoing sovereign debt crisis, volatile markets and low interest

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The various letters and Op-Ed pieces regarding student loans have all missed the point in my view as a college counselor with over 40 years in the admissions/financial aid business. The system “screams” reform.

The whole college finance industry has been making big money off the backs of students and families ever since the 1958 National Defense Education Act. Many colleges in search for the “buck” grasp at any straw to “find” the tuition dollar. Students and their unsuspecting parents have been coerced into loans that the colleges know will financially strap them for a long time and maybe forever as we have seen in anecdotal cases. (Note the George Danby cartoon of May 15).

First of all, those who blame the borrowers are being unfair. Many high school counselors are just as uninformed and naive as their students, and the abuse by colleges got so bad that the U.S. Department of Education had to require colleges to provide loan counseling to students who still don’t have all the facts — does this sound like the predatory mortgage market that crashed in recent years?

Colleges use bait and switch in offering the typical financial aid package

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA–(Marketwire -05/16/12)-
According to a national survey sponsored by eHealthInsurance (EHTH), the leading online source of health insurance for individuals and families, this year’s college graduates are not likely to earn anywhere near as much as they think they need in order to be financially secure, and their expectations for getting employer-sponsored health insurance are unrealistic.

The survey, conducted in April 2012 by Kelton Research, found that this year’s college graduates may be in for a harsh reality check when they enter the job market. According to the survey:

• Today’s college students estimate that they will need to earn an average salary of $81,600 per year after graduation in order to feel financially secure; however, former college students who had graduated in the past three years said that their first job out of college paid only $21,900 per year on average
• More than eight-in-ten college students (82%) believe their first job out of college is likely to provide them with health insurance; however, nearly six-in-ten recent grads (59%) say that their first job out of college did not provide them with health insurance

The survey also revealed a high level of anxiety

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Graduation marks an exciting milestone, but it also means it’s time to start managing your student loans.

Families, friends, and colleges across the country have come together in recent weeks to celebrate the accomplishments of the class of 2012. And even as they cross the threshold and flip their tassels, many new graduates are preparing to undertake new hardships to manage student debt payments.

It seems these days we can’t think of accomplishments like graduation without thinking of student debt. Last weekend’s newspapers seemed to abound with articles on students’ crippling debt and the resounding effects of student debt long after graduation. The New York Times even devoted its Room for Debate forum to the topic, Easing the Pain of Student Loans.

[Find out how to start repaying student loans.]

We’ve spent quite a bit of time lately discussing the declining investment in education, the need for more information, and ways colleges can help decrease risky borrowing,

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(Bridge archive photo)

Former college students in the eastern half of Michigan get hauled into federal court for defaulting on their student loans at 10 times the rate of the national average.

That doesn’t mean more Michigan residents are stiffing the federal government on their loans  – but it does mean they’re more likely to face legal consequences if they do.

A new report of federal data released by Syracuse University shows that there were 57 lawsuits filed to collect defaulted student loans in March, the second most in the nation — and the highest rate per-capita.

News and Analysis from The Center for Michigan

Michigan’s Eastern District covers 34 counties and has been at the top or near the top in federal student default civil lawsuits for the past five years.

About one in 10 student loans wind up in default in Michigan, about average for the country. But more of those defaults are taken to federal court because the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit has been aggressive in pursuing

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Wed May 16, 2012 2:37am EDT

* FY adj pretax profit up 2 pct to 1.34 bln stg, in line
with views

* Wholesale business boosted by higher output of renewable
energy

* Retail unit hurt by a drop in customer numbers, avg
consumption

* Total dividend up 6.8 pct to 80.1 pence per share

* Says economic outlook for UK and Ireland continues to be
uncertain

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) – SSE, one of Britain’s
biggest energy suppliers, reported a 2 percent rise in full-year
profit as growth at its production and generation unit offset a
drop in its supply business.

The utility said on Wednesday first-half adjusted profit for
the year ended March 2012 came in at 1.34 billion pounds ($2.15
billion), in line with estimates according to a Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S poll.

Perth, Scotland-based SSE said operating profit at its
wholesale business unit – which includes the production, storage
and generation of energy – was up 6.4 percent, helped primarily
by higher output of renewable energy.

That was offset by a 20 percent drop in operating profit at
the company’s retail business, which supplies electricity and
gas

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Matthew Lynn’s London Eye

Germany will blink, and won’t let Greece exit euro

1.

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