Last week, Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A and BRK.B), said India's 26% foreign ownership cap on insurers deters him from such an investment. This follows an earlier report that Buffett aims to enter the Indian insurance sector as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

After numerous world calamities, Buffett's focus on insurance companies, and the fact that many hedge funds seem to be heavily focused on banks and neglecting insurance companies -- with the exception of Bruce Berkowitz -- I decided to explore the possibilities.

Even though we can anticipate billions of dollars in claims there still are buying opportunites.

Do you have any interest in insurance companies amidst the turmoil, disaster and current crises in Japan? A crises that followed so closely on the heals of the destruction of the New Zealand city of ChristChurch by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Perhaps you think this is even a poorer idea than catching that proverbial falling knife we are always hearing about when stock prices are collapsing.

Certainly there will be billions of dollars in claims. On the other hand, perhaps the burden will be spread around the globe to reinsurer's such that none is struck too hard and this is a buying opportunity. After all, when the dust settles, insurers will cry for mercy, and in particular, rate increases. It is also likely those that never saw the need for insurance have been awakened and demand will increase.

The stock of insurer Chubb Corp (CB), first discussed here on May 29, 2009 at a price of $39.65, continues to move higher, in incremental fashion, and I obviously still like the business model at this juncture.

Look for Chubb to post a small rise in premiums in 2011, bolstered by solid operational characteristics. Chubb boasts a strong personal insurance brand, a diversified business (personal lines, commercial insurance, specialty insurance), and a stronger balance sheet than many competitors. The aforementioned should translate in continued market share gains for CB in 2011. Further, pricing is showing signs of bottoming/firming. Investment income will also likely rise slightly in 2011.

Analyst Upgrades

• Athenahealth (ATHN), Ensco (ESV), Pride International (PDE) and Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• CIRCOR (CIR) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Urban Outfitters (URBN) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Shaw Group (SHAW) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) to buy from neutral, as well as Intrepid Potash (IPI) to neutral from underperform, at BofA/Merrill.
• Carlisle (CSL) to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

Analyst Upgrades

• Heico (HEI) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Eaton (ETN), Silgan Holdings (SLGN), MYR Group (MYRG) and Shaw Group (SHAW) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Infosys (INFY) to buy from Neutral at Nomura.
• Isle of Capri (ISLE) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• NovaGold (NG) to sector perform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• CarMax (KMX) and Rockwell Collins (COL) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• DHT Holdings (DHT) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) to overweight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst Upgrades

• NYSE Euronex (NYX) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• General Dynamics (GD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and ExlService (EXLS) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Aflac (AFL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Amdocs (DOX) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Juniper (JNPR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Rudolph Tech (RTEC) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Hershey (HSY) and Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Micron (MU) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.

Has insurer Chubb Corp (CB), first discussed here on May 29, 2009 at a price of $39.65, peaked at/near $60?

From a technical standpoint, the shares have formed a short-term double-top at/near $60, and that generally warrants a bearish conclusion.

But not with Chubb. A strong personal insurance brand, a diversified business (personal lines, commercial insurance, specialty insurance), and a stronger balance sheet than many competitors tip the scale in favor of maintaining the trade. The aforementioned should translate in to continued market share gains for CB in 2011 and 2012. Further, pricing is showing signs of bottoming/firming.

Insurer Chubb Corp (CB), first discussed here on May 29, 2009 at a price of $39.65, continues to power ahead, and I obviously still like the shares here.

The song remains the same regarding Chubb: a strong personal insurance brand, a diversified business (personal lines, commercial insurance, specialty insurance), and a stronger balance sheet than many competitors. The aforementioned should translate in to continued market share gains for CB in 2010. Further, pricing is showing signs of bottoming/firming.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded VeriSign (VRSN) to outperform from perform, citing better-than-expected domain names trends and the potential for a sizeable share buyback. The firm has a $33 price target for shares.
• Oppenheimer also upgraded EMC (EMC) to outperform from perform, citing valuation and expectations for strong Q2 results. The firm set a $22 price target for shares.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Juniper (JNPR) to overweight from neutral, citing valuation and its longer-term outlook. The firm keeps a $31 price target for shares.
• Kilroy Realty (KRC) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Veolia Environment (VE) was upgraded to buy from add at WestLB.
• QEP Resources (QEP) was upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.

"Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffet is a disciple of the teachings of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, who made their fortunes by buying businesses that were selling for less than the value of their working capital (current assets minus current liabilities," notes Vita Nelson.

The editor of The Moneypaper explains, "The pair developed a Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) model to determine if a company was worth its market price. Their formula subtracts all liabilities, including short-term debt and preferred stock, from a company's current asset balance"

When the government stepped in to begin bailing out financial institutions, it impeded the growth prospects of the best run companies and disrupted the smooth operation of markets. John Finnegan, CEO of Chubb (CB), called the intervention "troubling," as it essentially took weakened companies out of the acquisition market.

Finnegan wrote in his annual letter to shareholders, "The opportunities for financially strong companies to absorb the business of weakened competitors were initially compelling." This is the natural result of a disproportionately depressed capital base in the reinsurance business. He continued, "This is as it should be in a free market unimpeded by federal intervention. But the willingness of the federal government to prop up weakened competitors by artificially injecting capital is troubling."

The nagging notion that Twitter is nothing more than a way for a kids to piss away their time was put to bed in 2009. It came together, especially, for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season that followed, but even when you look at the year as a whole, it's clear that major businesses jumped on the microblogging bandwagon readily. A new study by the Society for New Communications Research shows that Fortune 500 companies became addicted to communicating in 140-character blurbs last year.

Among the Fortune 500, 35% of companies had active Twitter accounts last year, which means that at least one tweet had been unleashed in the past 30 days. And, the use of Twitter is concentrated at the top: 47% of the Fortune 100 had active accounts last year. Only 22% of Fortune 500 companies had public-facing corporate blogs as of last year, but those that do see the value of integrated communications: more than 80% of these blogs were linked to a corporate Twitter account.

Homeowner insurance provider Chubb (CB) is having a rough day, as the company was downgraded to market perform from outperform at FBR Capital. The downgrade was accompanied by a price-target lowering from $60 to $65. This news forced the stock more than a percentage point lower in pre-open trade, and CB was more than 2% lower in early trading.

I find it rather difficult to believe that CB is going to get anywhere near $60 anytime soon. The shares are currently trending sideways between the support of its 10- and 20-monthly moving averages and the $53 to $55 region. I'm not sure why the company's target price would be set in all-time high range, but I am not one of the expert analysts.

Last week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reported stellar quarterly results. Lots more third quarter reports from the big banks are due this week.

However, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters anticipate year-over-year earnings declines from Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT), M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB), Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS), PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC), State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).

Other insurers' loss is Chubb Corp.'s (NYSE: CB) gain. Back in May, the case was made that given competitors' woes, and Chubb's demonstrated business model, superior personal lines, and diverse business mix, CB deserved a higher multiple than its May P/E of 9.

Well, the market finally took note of CB, boosting shares this summer, hence I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for Chubb, first recommended on May 29, 2009 at a price of $39.65. If you bought CB then, you're up about 23%.