Company: The Travelers Companies, Inc

LONDON (Reuters) - American insurers Travelers Co Inc <TRV.N> and United Services Automobile Association plan to raise about $300 million of protection against potential hurricane claims via a sale of catastrophe bonds, market sources said on Friday.

Stocks eased off their worst levels but still finished lower Thursday, following a volatile start, as investors remained on edge after some disappointing economic reports and amid jitters in the euro zone.

The property insurer blew past Wall Street estimates for the first quarter and raised its dividend by 12 percent, as insurance rates continued to rise after years of weakness and natural disaster losses shrank from a year earlier.

U.S. stock index futures struggled to hold gains Thursday after the weekly jobless claims report erased an earlier rally, but the better-than-expected Spanish bond auction and a round of solid earnings helped buoy the market.

Stocks closed mixed Monday, with the Dow edging closer to the psychologically-important 13,000 level and the S&P 500 holding near its key 1,370 level, but gains were limited as the Nasdaq was dragged down by heavyweights such as Apple and Google.

Property insurance rates are on the rise around the world, solidifying a turn in the market after years of declines, insurance brokerage Marsh said on Tuesday.

Stocks closed mixed in a quiet session Friday, but the Dow and S&P logged their best quarterly gain in almost 14 years. The Nasdaq posted its best quarterly performance since 1991.

After serving as CEO of McDonalds for more than seven years, Jim Skinner announced that he would step down from the post on July 1, 2012. Skinner, widely regarded as a no-nonsense CEO, is credited with managing a turnaround of the world’s largest fast-food chain, while significantly growing the company’s stock price in the process.  But where does Skinner stack up against the other Dow CEOs? Find out here.

Stocks eased off their lows but still failed to close in positive territory Friday, as gains were limited following a robust rally in recent weeks and no major news on the economic front gave investors little reason to jump in.

The Brookings Institution analyzed the financial data of the world’s largest metropolitan areas. They defined "productivity" as gross domestic product on a per-job basis, and uncovered some interesting findings. Read ahead to see which were the most productive cities.

Stocks came off their worst levels but still closed lower Monday as investors took a breather following the recent market rally and amid ongoing debt negotiations in Greece over a fresh austerity package.

Stocks finished mixed Friday, as investors digested a handful of tepid earnings and economic reports in addition to ongoing jitters in the euro zone. The S&P and Nasdaq posted their fourth weekly gains, while the Dow finished in negative territory for the week.

Travelers on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings slightly below analysts' forecasts.

The Dow and S&P clawed back into positive territory at the close Wednesday, adding to the sharp rally from the previous session, but gains were limited over renewed fears over the euro zone debt crisis.

Stocks finished narrowly mixed in a quiet session Thursday as investors took a breather following a sharp rally in the previous session and ahead of the crucial government non-farm payroll figure due Friday morning.