Higher reserve releases help Validus to earnings beat

Higher reserve releases helped offset losses from Tianjin and a
Chilean earthquake at Validus Holdings as the Bermudian reported
operating profits of $73.6mn for the third quarter.
The performance was below the $84.9mn generated in the
prior-year period, but at $0.86 a share was a modest beat on Wall
Street consensus of $0.78 a share.
Gross written premiums were up by a noticeable 11.9 percent,
driven by the inclusion of Western World in results.
Validus said the GWP growth was...