Berkley profit tops estimates as cat losses widen

Specialty insurer WR Berkley reported fourth-quarter profit that
beat most Wall Street estimates despite catastrophe losses that
more than tripled from the year-ago period, adding 2.3 percentage
points to weaken the Connecticut-based carrier's combined
ratio.
Operating profit fell 9.5 percent to $103.9mn, or $0.82 per
diluted share from $114.8mn, or $0.89 per share in the year-earlier
fourth quarter, the company said late today. But the results beat
the $0.78 profit per share consensus view of 1