Category:

Disaster & Management

How pandemic bonds became the world’s most controversial investment

Here’s how the pandemic bonds worked.

The World Bank would sell $320 million of debt to investors. In the event of a pandemic, that debt would be written off and the principal would accrue to the bank to be distributed to needy countries. Premiums were juicy – the safest slice of the offering paid 6.9% over the Libor benchmark rate, similar to returns typically found on junk-rated corporate bonds and far greater than the 2.2% available on 10-year U.S. government debt at the time. For the second tranche, which had looser triggers for a writeoff, premiums were a whopping 11.5%.

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270 million people face starvation, says WFP as it receives Nobel Peace Prize

“Because of so many wars, climate change, the widespread use of hunger as a political and military weapon, and a global health pandemic that makes all of that exponentially worse — 270 million people are marching toward starvation,” David Beasley said from the WFP headquarters in Rome, upon receiving the Nobel medal and diploma.

“Failure to address their needs will cause a hunger pandemic which will dwarf the impact of COVID. And if that’s not bad enough, out of that 270 million, 30 million depend on us 100% for their survival,” he added.

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Prudence Foundation launches 2nd edition of its Tech Awards to find life-saving technologies for disaster resilience

Winners will have access to financial support, coaching and networking opportunities to help scale their innovative technology solutions
Since 2000, more than 40 per cent of global disaster events have taken place in the Asia Pacific region, resulting in around 800,000 deaths and affecting 3.2 billion people. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected more than 11 million people and expected to result in over $2.7 trillion in economic losses[ has magnified the importance of disaster preparedness and collaboration across all sectors in reducing the threat and impact of natural disaster events.

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4 of 5 cyclones this year were in severe cyclonic storms category and above

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said since 1990 four cyclones have formed every year in the seas along the eastern and western coasts (Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea) of the country.

“It is normal to have five cyclones a year,” he said.

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Cyclone Burevi slams into eastern Sri Lanka

The cyclone is likely to damage coastal buildings and power lines and unleash flash floods, the island’s disaster management center said, advising those living near its path to stay indoors.Those evacuated, from the Trincomalee district expected to be hit the hardest, have been moved into 237 relief centers until the cyclone passes, disaster officials said.

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Swiss Re to set up new fund for institutional and designated investors to access Nat Cat biz

Martin Bisping, CEO of Swiss Re Insurance-Linked Investment Management  said: “This new fund will open a unique opportunity for investors to invest in the same book of business as Swiss Re, benefitting from Swiss Re’s global reach, client access, risk knowledge and underwriting.“

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