The FINANCIAL -- ING announced on November 18 that the European Commission has formally approved the restructuring plan submitted by ING .

The FINANCIAL -- Asia Pacific has seen an increased intensity of floods and typhoons in Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and heat waves and bushfires in Australia in 2009. In the coming decades scientists expect a growing frequency of natural catastrophes which they relate to climate change.

The FINANCIAL -- World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims takes place on November 15 / According to WHO statistics, 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes, and as many as 50 million more are injured each year worldwide / For decades, improving road safety has been a major effort of Allianz, one of the largest car insurers in the world.

The FINANCIAL -- Aviva, the UK’s one of the largest insurers, is to introduce an innovative continuous money-back guarantee option for new with-profits investments in response to customer demand.

The FINANCIAL -- With premium income of CHF 3.2 billion in the third quarter of 2009, the Swiss Life Group achieved 5% growth over the previous year. At the same time, operating costs were reduced by 3% over the same period.