Earlier this month LVMH, a Parisian luxury-goods giant, made off with Bulgari, a Roman jeweller; and French firms have recently had an Italian insurer and power company in their sights.

本月早些时候，巴黎奢侈品巨头—路易·威登集团拐跑了罗马珠宝品牌宝格丽，各个法国公司最近瞄上了一个意大利承保人加强大公司。

youdao

In a separate development, Bank of America earlier announced it had reached a settlement with mortgage insurer MBIA in a dispute over mortgage securities issued during the housing boom.

BBC: Bank of America and Wells Fargo to be sued by New York

Weak companies are still failing, like insurer Dai-ichi Mutual Fire and Marine earlier this month.

CNN: You Need Two Legs To Walk

It had taken out some reinsurance policies to cope but earlier this week it was investigating claims about "additional arrangements" designed to shore up the insurer's finances.

BBC: Independent maverick falls to earth