MetLife Inc warned that 2013 earnings might be well below Wall Street expectations and said it did not expect to purchase back any shares next year, a blow to investors who have been waiting more than a year for a capital return.The largest life insurer in the United States also said it needed to move faster on strategic changes amid a persistently low-interest-rate environment.While MetLife has said in the past that it was well equipped to handle years of low rates, particularly with a hedging program it has put in place, the company acknowledged on Thursday that it was in a "lower-for-longer" scenario.Because their obligations are usually long-term, life insurers invest the premiums they collect in hopes of generating sufficient return to pay those obligations over time. In a low-rate environment, it becomes much harder for insurers to generate enough return to meet those commitments.
MetLife, Inc. (MetLife), is a provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Shares of MET traded higher by 1.52% or $0.51/share to $34.12. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $27.60 and as high as $39.55. On average, 10634900 shares of MET exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3280904.
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