Show of federal support helps to arrest market slide

There was a notable slowdown in the downward slide of insurance and reinsurance stocks for the two week period ending 13th December. As over the previous two and a half months, stock price movements the world over were largely dictated by developments in the US, most of which were positive. Significantly, these were characterised by strong support from from the US authorities, in the shape of the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve Bank, which in turn galvanised private sector investment groups to provide capital support to individual banks, as well as to financial guaranty insurers in danger of losing their triple A ratings.