Stock Markets
Prudential debuts new indexed universal life product
NEWARK, N.J. – Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:) has introduced a new insurance offering, the Prudential Momentum IUL, which aims to provide customers with a combination of growth potential and financial protection. The product is issued by Pruco Life Insurance Company and, in New York, by Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey.
The Momentum IUL is designed to offer policyholders the ability to accumulate cash value on a tax-advantaged basis, with the choice of linking their accounts to the S&P 500 or indices. This indexed universal life product also features full downside market protection to shield against market volatility. Additionally, it includes a unique six-month segment duration option, a first in the market according to Prudential.
Rob Schaffer, head of Product Design & Innovation, Individual Life Insurance at Prudential, emphasized the product’s flexibility, allowing policyholders to adjust their coverage as their personal needs evolve. This flexibility extends to the ability to access the policy’s cash value for various purposes, including supplementing retirement income.
Momentum IUL also provides options to increase the death benefit value and includes a no-lapse guarantee. Policyholders can further customize their policies with optional riders for chronic and terminal illnesses, disability, and accelerated death benefit among others.
The launch of Momentum IUL is part of Prudential’s broader commitment to offering financial solutions that adapt to life’s changing circumstances, aiming to protect what is most important to customers while giving them the power to adjust to new situations.
Prudential Financial, a company with a heritage spanning nearly 150 years, manages approximately $1.5 trillion in assets as of June 30, 2024, and operates across the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The company is known for its Rock symbol, representing strength, stability, expertise, and innovation.
This new product release is part of Prudential’s ongoing efforts to expand access to financial tools and services. Further details about the Prudential Momentum IUL can be found on the company’s website. The information in this article is based on a press release statement from Prudential Financial, Inc.
In other recent news, Prudential Financial has shown robust growth and strong investment performance. The company’s second-quarter report highlighted a 67% surge in Retirement Strategies sales, reaching nearly $22 billion. Its asset management division, PGIM, also saw a 35% increase in capital deployment, totaling close to $11 billion. Prudential’s US insurance operations reported a rise in sales, with group insurance and individual life sales increasing by 13% and 7% respectively, compared to the first half of the previous year.
Wells Fargo recently upgraded Prudential’s stock from Underweight to Equal Weight, reflecting the analyst’s view that Prudential’s strong brand and positive momentum in its core businesses will continue. The firm anticipates that Prudential will maintain robust sales in Individual Retirement and healthy deposits in Institutional Retirement, including Pension Risk Transfers.
Prudential also announced it has entered into a Selling Agent Agreement to facilitate the ongoing sale of its Prudential Financial InterNotes®, a part of the company’s broader financing strategy. This move reflects Prudential’s ongoing efforts to manage its capital structure and financial flexibility. These are the recent developments concerning Prudential.
InvestingPro Insights
As Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) launches its innovative insurance product, the Prudential Momentum IUL, it’s worth noting the company’s financial strength and market performance. Prudential’s commitment to innovation and customer flexibility is reflected not only in their product offerings but also in their financial metrics. With a market capitalization of $41.33 billion and a P/E ratio that stands at 14.78, the company demonstrates a solid position in the market. Moreover, its P/E ratio adjusted for the last twelve months as of Q2 2024 is even more attractive at 13.87, indicating potential for investors looking at near-term earnings growth.
Prudential’s reputation as a prominent player in the insurance industry is backed by a track record of consistent dividend payments, having maintained them for 23 consecutive years. This is complemented by a dividend yield of 4.53% as of the latest data, showcasing the company’s dedication to returning value to shareholders. The fact that Prudential has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years further underscores its financial resilience and commitment to shareholders.
For those interested in further insights, there are additional InvestingPro Tips available that shed light on the company’s financial health and future outlook. For instance, six analysts have revised their earnings downwards for the upcoming period, which may suggest caution for potential investors. However, the tip that Prudential is trading at a low P/E ratio relative to near-term earnings growth could indicate an undervalued stock opportunity. For a deeper dive into these metrics and more, readers can explore the full range of tips on InvestingPro’s dedicated Prudential page at https://www.investing.com/pro/PRU, which lists 8 additional tips for a comprehensive analysis.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
Stock Markets
Palantir, Anduril join forces with tech groups to bid for Pentagon contracts, FT reports
(Reuters) – Data analytics firm Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:) and defense tech company Anduril Industries are in talks with about a dozen competitors to form a consortium that will jointly bid for U.S. government work, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The consortium, which could announce agreements with other tech groups as early as January, is expected to include SpaceX, OpenAI, autonomous shipbuilder Saronic and artificial intelligence data group Scale AI, the newspaper said, citing several people with knowledge of the matter.
“We are working together to provide a new generation of defence contractors,” a person involved in developing the group told the newspaper.
The consortium will bring together the heft of some of Silicon Valley’s most valuable companies and will leverage their products to provide a more efficient way of supplying the U.S. government with cutting-edge defence and weapons capabilities, the newspaper added.
Palantir, Anduril, OpenAI, Scale AI and Saronic did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. SpaceX could not be immediately reached for a comment.
Reuters reported earlier this month that President-elect Donald Trump’s planned U.S. government efficiency drive involving Elon Musk could lead to more joint projects between big defense contractors and smaller tech firms in areas such as artificial intelligence, drones and uncrewed submarines.
Musk, who was named as a co-leader of a government efficiency initiative in the incoming government, has indicated that Pentagon spending and priorities will be a target of the efficiency push, spreading anxiety at defense heavyweights such as Boeing (NYSE:) , Northrop Grumman (NYSE:) , Lockheed Martin (NYSE:) and General Dynamics (NYSE:) .
Musk and many small defense tech firms have been aligned in criticizing legacy defense programs like Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet while calling for mass production of cheaper AI-powered drones, missiles and submarines.
Such views have given major defense contractors more incentive to partner with emerging defense technology players in these areas.
Stock Markets
Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says
By Simon Lewis (JO:)
(Reuters) -The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding that he was briefing President-elect Donald Trump’s team on the risk.
Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel’s assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
“It’s no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, ‘Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now … Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine’,” Sullivan said.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
“It’s a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It’s a risk that I’m personally briefing the incoming team on,” Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with U.S. ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hardline Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran’s oil industry.
Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran’s “weakened state.”
“Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions for the long term,” he said.
Stock Markets
Ukraine says Russian general deliberately targeted Reuters staff in August missile strike
(Reuters) -Ukraine’s security service has named a Russian general it suspects of ordering a missile strike on a hotel in eastern Ukraine in August and said he acted “with the motive of deliberately killing employees of” Reuters.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement on Friday that Colonel General Alexei Kim, a deputy chief of Russia’s General Staff, approved the strike that killed Reuters safety adviser Ryan Evans and wounded two of the agency’s journalists on Aug. 24.
In a statement posted on Telegram messenger the SBU said it was notifying Kim in absentia that he was an official suspect in its investigation into the strike on the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk, a step in Ukrainian criminal proceedings that can later lead to charges.
In a separate, 15-page notice of suspicion, in which the SBU set out findings from its investigation, the agency said that the decision to fire the missile was made “with the motive of deliberately killing employees of the international news agency Reuters who were engaged in journalistic activities in Ukraine”.
The document, which was published on the website of the General Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, said that Kim had received intelligence that Reuters staff were staying in Kramatorsk. It added that Kim would have been “fully aware that the individuals were civilians and not participating in the armed conflict”.
The Russian defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the SBU’s findings and has not replied to previous questions about the attack. The Kremlin also did not respond to a request for comment. Kim did not reply to messages sent by Reuters to his mobile telephone seeking comment about the SBU’s statement and whether the strike deliberately targeted Reuters staff.
The SBU did not provide evidence to support its claims, nor say why Russia targeted Reuters. In response to questions from the news agency, the security agency declined to provide further details, saying its criminal investigation was still under way and it was therefore not able to disclose such information.
Reuters has not independently confirmed any of the SBU’s claims.
Reuters said on Friday: “We note the news today from the Ukrainian security services regarding the missile attack on August 24, 2024, on the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk, a civilian target more than 20 km from Russian-occupied territory.”
“The strike had devastating consequences, killing our safety adviser, Ryan Evans, and injuring members of our editorial team. We continue to seek more information about the attack. It is critically important for journalists to be able to report freely and safely,” the statement said.
Reuters declined to comment further on the allegation that its staff were deliberately targeted.
The SBU statement said Kim had been named a suspect under two articles of the Ukrainian criminal code: waging an aggressive war and violating the laws and customs of war.
“It was Kim who signed the directive and gave the combat order to fire on the hotel, where only civilians were staying,” it said.
Evans, a 38-year-old former British soldier who had worked as a safety adviser for Reuters since 2022, was killed instantly in the strike.
The SBU statement gave some details about how the strike had occurred, according to its investigation.
“To carry out the attack, the Russian colonel general involved one of his subordinate missile forces units,” the Ukrainian agency said, adding that the strike was carried out with an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
The SBU did not identify the specific unit.
Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey, a videographer for the news agency who was in a room across the corridor, was seriously wounded. Kyiv-based text correspondent Dan Peleschuk was also injured.
The remaining three members of the Reuters team escaped with minor cuts and scratches.
- Forex2 years ago
Forex Today: the dollar is gaining strength amid gloomy sentiment at the start of the Fed’s week
- Forex2 years ago
How is the Australian dollar doing today?
- Forex2 years ago
Unbiased review of Pocket Option broker
- Forex2 years ago
Dollar to pound sterling exchange rate today: Pound plummeted to its lowest since 1985
- Cryptocurrency2 years ago
What happened in the crypto market – current events today
- World2 years ago
Why are modern video games an art form?
- Commodities2 years ago
Copper continues to fall in price on expectations of lower demand in China
- Forex2 years ago
The dollar is down again against major world currencies