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Eco/Invest/Demography

Covid vaccine rush in China raises fears of booming black market

As developers from AstraZeneca Plc to Pfizer Inc. near the finish line for their coronavirus vaccines, nations are preparing for the challenge of rolling them out, with inevitable supply shortages fueling concerns about inequitable distribution and even the emergence of illegal markets. One place where vaccine delivery is already being road-tested is China, which has allowed local developers’ shots for emergency use since mid-year.

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New Zealand’s Ardern set to declare climate emergency

“We’ve always considered climate change to be a huge threat to our region, and it is something we must take immediate action on,” Ardern said, according to state broadcaster TVNZ.If a climate emergency is passed, New Zealand would join countries like Canada, France and Britain that have taken the same course to focus efforts on tackling climate change.

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Action needed to spur British government-backed pandemic insurance, says project chair

Stephen Catlin, chairman of the Pandemic Re Steering Committee, a British industry group, said he had hoped in early June that a launch would be possible in 2021.“But as time went on, it became clear that the complexity was going to slow it down,” Catlin, who is also chairman and CEO of insurer Convex, told the Reuters Events Future of Insurance Europe conference.

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COVID-19 pandemic could be stopped if at least 70% public wore face masks consistently: Study

“The highly efficacious facemask, such as surgical masks with an estimated efficacy of around 70 per cent, could lead to the eradication of the pandemic if at least 70 per cent of the residents use such masks in public consistently,” the scientists, including Sanjay Kumar from the National University of Singapore, wrote in the study

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Indian govt to invest $812 million in NIIF

Javadekar also said that the AIFL will predominantly focus on under construction, greenfield, brownfield assets with less than one year of operations whereas NIIF IFL will operate as a take-out vehicle for mature operating assets.

It is expected that well-capitalized, well-funded and well-governed NIIF debt Platform can play a major role in infrastructure financing and development of Bond Market in India by acting as a AAA/AA-rated intermediary between the bond markets and infrastructure projects and companies.

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Fintechs seen eating into market share of established insurers, EU says

Insurers and reinsurers such as AXA and Munich Re have been investing in so-called insurtech companies, considered a faster way for them to adapt to technology changes.

Stephen Catlin, chairman and chief executive of Convex, a newcomer to the insurance, told the event that fintech firms faced a learning curve to compete with established players.

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