Paul Heaton of Deutsche Morgan Grenfell has calculated life firms' solvency ratios roughly, the ratio of capital to premiums written.

ECONOMIST: Japanese insurance

Those with below-average solvency ratios included household names such as Komatsu, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsui, Toshiba, Sony and Fuji Photo.

ECONOMIST: Worse to come

This creates additional pathways for the flow of ECB funds into the marketplace to address the problem and will also allow more time for the issues of solvency to be addressed as the collateral issues for capital tier ratios and Basel III still will persist.

FORBES: Currencies, Credit Ratings and the Compact: Affairs of States