Old Republic Posts Loss, Warns of Continued Slump into 2010

" Old Republic International Corp. (ORI: 10.34 -14.62%), which provides residential mortgage insurance as well as title insurance and other real estate transfer-related services, on Thursday reported a quarterly net loss of $126.5 million, or 54 cents per share. “Substantially all the reduced performance stemmed from continued weakness in the company’s mortgage guaranty and title insurance lines,” Old Republic officials said in the earnings report. “Given the continuing downtrend in U.S. economic activity and the substantial dislocations that have enveloped all organizations with housing and mortgage-lending exposures, it is likely that these factors will exert additional earnings pressures throughout 2009 and, at the least, a part of 2010.”"