WHOA! - We don't want to imply that the financial reform legislation (H.R. 10) is a "done deal." The major stumbling block remains the confidentiality of patient medical records. The best prediction at this point is that, in order to enact H.R. 10, medical privacy provisions will be broken out of the current bill and considered later as separate legislation.

PURCHASES - MetLife has purchased The St. Paul personal lines business unit for a reported $600 million. The acquisition vaults Met from the 20th to the 12th largest personal lines property and casualty insurer in the U.S. Meanwhile, Allstate is acquiring American Heritage Life Investment Corp. for a reported $1.1 billion. The acquisition provides Allstate with entry into the fast-growing insurance worksite marketing arena and continues the company's expansion into new lines of business.

Y2K COMPROMISE - Insurers are generally pleased with the Y2K liability compromise legislation that was agreed to by the White House and Republicans. The bill is retroactive to January 1 of this year, caps damages for companies with 50 or fewer full-time employees, contains a 90-day cooling-off period, provides for alternative dispute resolution and imposes a 2003 "sunset" date.

ON THE SAME PAGE - As a result of a summit convened by SEC chairman Arthur Levitt, the major U.S. stock exchanges have agreed to coordinate their moves toward extending trading hours. Mr. Levitt's objective is to have extended hours that are the same for all U.S. markets, together with a uniform date on which extended hours will be available (probably not until later in 2000).

NALU DESIGNATION? - NALU, soon to be NAIFA (the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors) is poised to endorse `PFP' as its professional designation. The PFP (Personal Financial Planning) designation was started by UCLA over 30 years ago, but has relatively low public acceptance and awareness.

PRU PAYS NASD - Pruco Securities Corp. has been fined $20 million by the NASD for deceptive sales practices arising from the sale of 200,000 variable life insurance policies from 1983 to 1995. Prudential has already paid $70 million in penalties and has also paid out $1 billion of the $2.6 billion it expects to pay some 900,000 policyholders.

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE - There may be fire...at least for some insurance companies. According to a report by investment bank Schroders, some European and U.S. insurance companies "may be forced to reimburse tobacco companies paying out billions of dollars in settlement and compensation claims in the U.S." Companies mentioned in the report include Royal & Sun Alliance, Lloyd's of London, Zurich, Liberty Mutual and The St. Paul Companies.

CREATIVE MOVE - LPL Financial Services (formerly Linsco/Private Ledger), the largest independent broker-dealer in the nation, has announced tentative plans to offer equity to its reps and then take the firm public. According to CEO Todd Robinson, reps will have the opportunity to swap 30% to 50% of their practices for an equity interest in the company.

LEADING THE PARADE - Mutual Life of Canada is set to become the first of the major Canadian insurers to go public, with its initial public offering this month. ManuLife and Sun Life have IPOs scheduled for the fall, with Canada Life and Industrial- Alliance General set to join the IPO parade in 2000.

OUR TURN - According to the Wall Street Journal, NYSE officials are exploring whether the stock exchange should convert from member ownership to for-profit status through a public stock offering. This follows reports that the NASD is exploring an IPO of its Nasdaq market.

MORE ON LAWYERS - As reported previously, expect to see more of the legal profession selling financial products. Now this...the American Bar Association has announced it will consider ending the ban on attorneys forming partnerships with other professionals. You may soon see lawyers and financial planners "teaming up."

THIS IS SOMETHING - A 6-year-old Canadian boy attempted to sue his mother for his permanent disabilities caused when she had a car accident while pregnant with him. The boy's maternal grandfather brought the case against his daughter in "amicable" litigation designed to get money from her insurance company to pay for the boy's care. The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that an unborn child is one with its mother and has no right to sue her.

SO IS THIS - It seems that NYSE chairman Richard Grasso has been out spreading the gospel of capitalism. Investment News reports that he recently visited Colombia and "dropped in" on Paul Reyes, a chief comrade in the Marxist junta FARC that holds 40% of the Colombian countryside. The visit ended with an invitation to Commandante Reyes to visit the NYSE. One problem though...while FARC isn't opposed to foreign investment, their methods of "taxation" (random kidnappings and the skimming of drug profits) have landed the group on Washington's list of terrorist organizations, so it looks like Chairman Grasso won't be rolling out the red carpet for Commandante Reyes anytime soon.