WASHINGTON, March 19- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a homeowner seeking to sue his insurer could not file suit in a state court considered friendly to plaintiffs. Greg Knowles, whose house had sustained hail damage, accused Travelers Cos' Standard Fire Insurance Co unit of refusing to pay the cost of hiring general contractors.
NEW YORK, Feb 7- New York state's highest court on Thursday said a trial must determine whether Travelers Cos deliberately structured a nearly $1 billion asbestos settlement to force its reinsurers to pay more than their fair share.
*4th- qtr earnings $0.78 per share vs $1.51 year earlier. *Operating earnings $0.72 per share vs est $0.14 per share. Jan 22- U.S. insurer Travelers Cos Inc's quarterly profit handily beat Wall Street expectations as it charged more for insurance coverage while holding on to its customers, sending its shares up as much as 5 percent to an all-time high.
*Google, IBM and Texas Instruments to report late Tuesday. NEW YORK, Jan 22- U.S. stocks were little changed near five-year highs on Tuesday as investors held back from making large bets ahead of earnings from key tech companies.
*DuPont revenues beat expectations, Verizon hit by Sandy losses. *Google and Texas Instruments to report late on Tuesday.
U.S. stock futures were flat Tuesday, after major averages hit multi-year highs last Friday, as investors hesitated to jump in ahead of several major earnings reports.
*DuPont posts drop in profit, Verizon impacted by Sandy. *J&J, Google and TI all on tap to report on Tuesday. *Both the Dow and S&P 500 closed at their highest levels since December 2007 on Friday, spurred by a strong start to earnings season.
*Google, IBM and Texas Instruments to report late Tuesday. *Dow up 0.2 pct, S&P 500 up 0.1 pct, Nasdaq off 0.1 pct. Recent concerns about waning demand for Apple Inc products and a weak outlook from Intel Corp have diminished optimism about the tech sector's prospects.