Company: Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp. said Wednesday that a decline in catastrophic losses helped push first-quarter profit up 46 percent, even though revenue rose just 3 percent.

As weather disasters strike with more frequency, homeowners first get hit with the destruction or total loss of property. Then many are hit with the unexpected loss of homeowners insurance policies as insurance companies re-evaluate their financial liabilities.

Stocks clawed back from their worst levels but still ended in negative territory Tuesday following the latest Fed meeting minutes that showed policymakers toned down the likelihood for further quantitative easing.

Ten companies have stopped advertising on Limbaugh's program on Clear Channel's Radio Network, after the radio host insulted Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke. 

The dream of self-sufficiency through hard work is still alive, an Allstate survey found, but many middle-class Americans feel they'll be forced to put off retirement for financial reasons.