NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lots of companies try to turn themselves into mini-Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)-style conglomerates, but Leucadia National Corp (LUK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has had more success than most at pulling it off.

The diversified services company, which struck a deal on Monday to acquire investment bank Jefferies Group Inc (JEF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for $3.6 billion [ID:nL1E8MC4I6], models itself in more than cosmetic ways on Warren Buffett’s empire.

Nov 8 (Reuters) – Businesses in New York and New Jersey that
were preparing insurance claims for losses from Superstorm Sandy
now have a second headache: how to deal with new losses from an
early winter snow storm.

The snow and wind from the nor’easter made continuing power
outages worse, once again snarled road and rail traffic, and may
have contributed to fresh damage at businesses that had not made
repairs yet from Sandy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Superstorm Sandy is threatening to drag the U.S. government’s debt-ridden flood insurance program back into the political crosshairs just months after Congress attempted to put the controversial program on a sound financial footing.

It is unclear if claims from Sandy, which delivered a wallop to the Northeastern United States earlier this week, will exceed the $3.7 billion the National Flood Insurance Program can spend before Congress needs to authorize more funds.

/BOSTON (Reuters) – The people of the Jersey Shore may feel alone in the world right now, their homes destroyed and their beaches ruined by Hurricane Sandy. But they will soon face a decision familiar to others who have survived massive storms – do I rebuild?

There is a reason New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called the destruction Sandy wrought on the shoreline “unthinkable.” The one-time vacation paradise, familiar to fans of Bruce Springsteen, is now a twisted wreck, with remnants of a roller coaster floating in the ocean, and houses erased like they were temporary markings.

Oct 30 (Reuters) – Hurricane Sandy appears to have easily
caused more losses than last year’s Hurricane Irene, but final
totals will be hard to come by for some time because of the
scale of the disaster, catastrophe forecasting companies said on
Tuesday.

One of the biggest questions now is who will pay for the
extensive damage to municipal infrastructure — subway tunnels,
train tracks, electrical transformers, coastal boardwalks and
piers — that Sandy left behind along the East Coast.

By Ben Berkowitz

(Reuters) – Hurricane Sandy appears to have easily caused more losses than last year’s Hurricane Irene, but final totals will be hard to come by for some time because of the scale of the disaster, catastrophe forecasting companies said on Tuesday.

Sandy left millions without power, caused widespread flooding that may shut New York City’s subways for days, and killed potentially dozens of people up and down the U.S. east coast.

By Ben Berkowitz

(Reuters) – Hurricane Sandy has the potential to cause some of the largest losses the global insurance industry has faced this year, but nothing that would strain insurers financially aside from hurting earnings this quarter, analysts said on Monday.

Disaster modeling company Eqecat, used by the industry to forecast storm exposure, said Monday there was no way to assess what kind of losses Sandy might ultimately cause until after landfall sometime early Tuesday.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Insurers say they are making the usual preparations for a hurricane – activating claims teams, staging adjusters near the locations most likely to be affected and generally getting ready to pay for a potentially huge volume of losses.

“We plan for weather events such as this, so we feel well prepared with resources strategically positioned to quickly assist customers who may be impacted,” Travelers spokesman Matthew Bordonaro said in an early Sunday e-mail.

By Ben Berkowitz

(Reuters) – As Hurricane Sandy makes its way toward the eastern seaboard of the United States, disaster experts and meteorologists warn that the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states face dangerous winds and heavy rains that could trigger flooding in the coming days.

Some forecasters even say that Sandy has the potential to be a multibillion dollar disaster greater than last year’s Hurricane Irene, though it may be too soon to tell if it has the power and trajectory to fulfill that worst-case scenario.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Corporate America has been talking a good game this earnings season, but a closer look shows the results are not nearly as strong as CEO optimism might lead investors to believe.

In fact, a number of companies are coming up short on either earnings or revenue as measured against Wall Street estimates, even as their leaders try to paint a picture of steady returns and solid prospects for 2013. Some investors say earnings expectations have been managed so low they are easy to beat, even if sales come up short.