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What: Shares of reinsurer Flagstone Reinsurance
So what: Now is a very poor time to be in the insurance and reinsurance business, and it's especially hard for Flagstone. The company pegged losses at $60 million to $90 million in the quake-ravaged region of New Zealand and it has sizable policies underwritten in Japan.
Now what: It's clearly too early to tell what the company's overall exposure and loss will be from the Japan earthquake and tsunami. What I do know is the stock market doesn't like uncertainty and Flagstone isn't large enough to have the financial flexibility to deal with a very large potential loss. Very few reinsurers will escape this disaster without a substantial loss, but if you are looking at the sector for potential values, considering passing over Flagstone in favor of Berkshire Hathaway
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