Bermuda's international insurers took a battering on the stock market yesterday after new US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's announcement of a $2 trillion financial rescue plan failed to inspire investors' confidence.

Every one of the US-listed Bermuda firms tracked on The Royal Gazette's international companies list saw its share price fall yesterday, many losing more than five percent of their market value.

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indices fell almost five percent, as observers said Mr. Geithner's plan to deal with troubled assets lacked detail.

XL Capital suffered a 14.4 percent fall ahead of releasing its fourth-quarter results last night, while Ace Ltd. plunged seven percent to $42.07. AIG, once the world's biggest insurer, saw its share price plunge 11.5 percent to $0.92. Companies with an average closing share price of less than one dollar for 30 consecutive trading days can have delisting proceedings brought against them by the New York Stock Exchange.

Financial guarantor Ram Holdings plunged 16.3 percent. Several companies fell by six percent, including Argo Group, Max Capital, Primus Guaranty and Platinum. Assured Guaranty, Allied World and Validus all fell by around five percent. Other Bermuda-based companies to suffer a bad day on the markets were Ingersoll-Rand and Orient-Express Hotels, which both fell by around eight percent, and Nabors, which was down nearly nine percent.

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