Description: The United States has received severe negative press the last several years regarding its massive U.S. federal government debt, currently estimated as of April 2007 at about $8.9 trillion. This article looks at the U.S. debt relative to other countries and also explores the impact on U.S. investments.

Description: To inform and educate stakeholders for health plans and insurers on novel ways to optimize reinsurance structures to meet capital related goals and boost RBC and liquidity ratios. In lieu of traditional market-based financial instruments involving equity and/or debt, a quota share transaction can be used with potentially far more attractive terms and achieving essentially the same result.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Boston Meeting examines the background and reasons leading to recent Canadian and U.S. insurance company failures, covering the roles of management, actuaries, rating agencies, and regulators. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 4a.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Boston Meeting describes the expansion and consolidation of the U.S., Canadian and Mexican life insurance industries and the discusses the top players in the insurance industry in the world and their market share. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 4b.

Description: After a very challenging year, actuaries need to look back and consider the lessons learned. Have we returned to where we were, or have we moved on to a new norm? What does the COVID-19 pandemic market data tell us that will help us to prepare for future global crises?

Description: During March 2020, COVID-19 concerns escalated in the U.S. and lockdown measures were announced. Market returns in March 2020 were quite extreme and choppy, alternating between days of huge gains and losses. As investors prepare for the future, it is important to understand whether these volatility surges and sharp movements are understood and captured by commonly used models. In this article, we will explore equity market performance in 2020 using the S&P 500 Total Return Index (SP500TR) and the relevant equity modeling implications

Description: Article from The Actuary, April 1985, Volume 20, No. 4 that discusses from usury to interest. Usury definitions are 1 The lending out of money with an interest charge for its use: the taking or practice of taking interest 2 An unconscionable or exorbitant rate or amount of interest, specifically interest in excess of a legal rate charged to a borrower for the use of money. Between definitions 1 and 2 are 2000 years of Western history, beginning with Biblical strictures against charging any interest and reaching today's sophisticated credit economy, in which interest, per se, is accepted and only excessive interest is illegal.

Description: This article provides a retrospective on investment risk management while highlighting actuarial tools used by portfolio risk managers.

Description: British actuary, also a noted financial expert, talks about the way that domestic financial systems are not in equilibrium. He specifically describes some of the underlying financial flows in the system, how those underlying financial flows drive markets responsible for markets either rising or falling, and then the behavior of those markets. Next, he assesses the sentiment of the markets. Last, he talks about what happens when the financial flows and expectations are in the same direction. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 3.

Description: This is a continuation of an article published for the speculative future contest in 2023. It mentions how the collapse of China would cause a global recession in 2029 due to the current and predicted geopolitical climate in 2023.