EXceLent Failure

From Bloomberg:

XL Capital Ltd., the biggest Bermuda- based insurer by assets, is seeking a buyer after reporting investment losses larger than its market value, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

Big oops. I could be mean about actuaries. I could be mean about monoline-type business models. But for now I just want to raise a glass to a company that was mostly a sophisticated risk taker. Sadly `mostly' and `not enormously hugely massively well-capitalised - more capital than you can shake a stick at' can be a toxic mixture.