QUAKE

Last month's huge earthquake in Chile might cost the insurance industry up to $7 billion in damage claims, the world's top two reinsurers said, but it looks unlikely to raise reinsurance prices.

Some Chileans were still waiting for government aid on Saturday, a week after one of the strongest earthquakes on record and a roaring tsunami killed hundreds and ravaged cities and villages along the South American country's south-central coastline.

Aftershocks rattled south-central Chile on Friday, seven days after one of the strongest earthquakes on record ravaged the area, and the government said it was revising faulty death toll figures.

Chilean officials estimating the damage of Chile's earthquake say that as of Tuesday, 796 people have died, roughly 2 million people have been affected and 500,000 homes have been damaged.

Chilean rescue crews fanned out with sniffer dogs on Wednesday around quake-ravaged cities and villages, some still hoping to find survivors and others to begin the daunting task of recovering the bodies buried under mountains of rubble.

Global copper prices eased Tuesday after earthquake hit Chile's Codelco mine reported minimum damage to its facilities. Chile is one of the largest producers of the industrial metal. However, most of its production plants and mines are in the north of the country, while the earthquake struck near the country's southern region.

Chile's government sent more troops to restore order and hand out aid in the country's second-largest city on Tuesday after a devastating earthquake unleashed a wave of looting.

Chilean authorities extended a curfew in the country's second-biggest city on Tuesday as troops struggled to contain worsening looting and crime in the wake of a devastating earthquake.

Chile's mines returned to service on Monday after the massive weekend earthquake briefly shut nearly a quarter of the top copper producer's output, while improving power supply eased concerns of further disruption.

A family of four that was buried in rubble after a devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Concepcion City in Chile survived after making their way out through the darkness.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in Chile on Tuesday to help officials assess and help provide post-quake needs.

A massive earthquake and tsunamis killed 350 people in one Chilean coastal town, doubling the total death toll on Sunday as the government tried to get aid to hungry survivors and halt looting.

Global miner Anglo American said Monday it had restarted operations at Los Bronces and El Soldado copper mines in Chile after a massive earthquake cut supply to the deposits.

Payrolls could give the U.S. stock market some direction this week as investors comb through the key report on one of the economy's weakest areas.

Tsunami waves of up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) hit far-flung Pacific regions from the Russian far east and Japan to New Zealand's Chatham Islands on Sunday after a powerful earthquake struck Chile, but there were no reports of injuries or serious damage.

Chile's huge earthquake on Saturday morning was followed by big aftershocks.

A powerful earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday halted production at two oil refineries and two major mines in the world's top copper supplier, but exports of the metal will not be affected, officials said.

The death toll following Saturday's earthquake in Chile rose to 214, Chilean television reported Saturday afternoon.

A powerful earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday halted production at two oil refineries and two major mines in the world's top copper supplier, but exports of the metal will not be affected, officials said.

The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile early Saturday released 500 times more energy than the quake that hit Haiti on January 12, a scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Chile's Codelco, the world's top copper producer, suspended operations at its El Teniente and Andina mines after a powerful quake hit Chile on Saturday, a company spokesman said.