STEPPING DOWN - In response to intense pressure from dissatisfied shareholders, Aetna chairman Richard Huber announced his resignation last Friday. Shareholder complaints include Aetna's ailing stock price and its ailing relationship with patients and doctors.

ANOTHER EXECUTIVE CHANGE - Citigroup's co-CEO, John Reed, is planning to retire in April, leaving Sandy Weill as the sole chairman and CEO. Mr. Weill at age 66, however, may not be far behind, having notified the board that he wants a successor named within two years.

CONFLICTING PRIORITIES - According to an analysis of state legislation by the Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association, the states have two major health care priorities: managed care reform and expanding access to health insurance. The problem is that some of the efforts to regulate managed care plans and mandate more benefits might actually undercut state efforts to reduce the number of uninsured.

WEISS REPORT - Weiss Ratings reports that the nation's life and health insurers suffered a 50%, or $1.8 billion, decline in realized capital gains, while profits from underwriting increased by only 4.6%, or $1.6 billion, in the first nine months of 1999. Combining both capital gains and underwriting, the industry's overall profits declined $200 million, or 1.5%.

LOOKING TO SELL? - Financial advisors looking to buy or sell practices have a couple of online resources available. Mutual Service Corp. (http://www.practice-exchange.com) and SunAmerica (http://www.4ivalue.com) both claim to match advisors who want to sell their practices with potential buyers.

CYBERCOPS - SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt announced that the agency plans to add up to 100 people to its enforcement staff, with about 60 of them dedicated to combating what is described as "burgeoning Internet fraud." Mr. Levitt also announced that SEC staff members are conducting a "special review" of mutual fund companies' marketing and sales literature.

BANK ACQUISITIONS - We will undoubtedly see some banks buying insurance companies, but expect to see more insurance companies buying banks. Reason: Most banks' return on equity is in excess of 20% and they don't want the drag of an insurance company's lower ROE.

APPEAL DENIED - State Farm's request to the Illinois Supreme Court for an expedited appeal of the $1.2 billion class action judgment in its "aftermarket" crash parts lawsuit has been denied. As a result, State Farm will now submit its appeal to the Illinois 5^th District Court of Appeals.

HEROES OR HEELS? - Check out Insure.com (http://www.insure.com/life/consultants.html) for a story about a group of former life insurance agents who are used by lawyers to develop courtroom strategies against insurance companies. Several are making good money as expert witnesses and "rainmakers."

PRIVACY GOES INTERNATIONAL - The European Union, which considers the decentralized approach to data protection in the U.S. as unacceptable, and the United States are in negotiations to reach an agreement that would allow U.S. companies to conduct business with Europe if they meet certain private data commitments. It's conceivable that the privacy of European consumers could end up better protected than that of their American counterparts.

MERRILL MEGA-MERGER? - Merrill Lynch is again the subject of takeover speculation. Last year Merrill was linked with Chase Manhattan and AIG. Now Merrill is rumored to be a takeover target for Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and General Electric.

VIATICAL INDUSTRY FRAUD - In reaction to adverse viatical industry publicity, particularly in Florida, the Viatical Association of America has publicly endorsed anti-fraud efforts. Most of the problems stem from a practice called "cleansheeting," in which seriously ill people lie about their medical condition in order to obtain new policies for the sole purpose of immediately selling them (known in the viatical industry as buying "wet paper").