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Global life insurance outlook revised to stable amid brightening growth prospects:Moody’s

“Strong solvency capital ratios globally underpin our view of the outlook,” Moody’s Vice President Manoj Jethani says.

“Although pandemic mortality continues to weaken profitability, the overall impact on the credit profile of life insurers has been less severe than originally expected due to differences in demographics of the general versus the insured population, as well the benefits of diversification from longevity-type insurance products, ” he adds.

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Cathay Pacific working with Airbus on single-pilot system for long-haul

That promises savings for airlines, amid uncertainty over the post-pandemic economics of intercontinental flying. But it is likely to encounter resistance from pilots already hit by mass layoffs, and safety concerns about aircraft automation.

Lufthansa has also worked on the single-pilot programme but currently has no plans to use it, a spokesman for the German carrier told Reuters.

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US, China trade war costs global value chains 3-5 years of growth, says UN

The report from the United Nations Development Programme looking at the post-pandemic future of global value chains found that trade within those supply lines shrank in absolute terms along with other types of trade. Still, they’ll remain at the core of economic recovery in the Asia-Pacific region even as global manufacturers consider moving production closer to home.

The supply troubles come as the cost of shipping goods across the globe is skyrocketing, threatening to boost consumer prices and compounding concerns in global markets already bracing for accelerating inflation.

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COVID-19 cases surge in Africa, less than 0.8% of fully vaccinated, say officials

New cases are up nearly 30% in the past week and deaths are up by 15%, she said, with five countries — South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, Uganda and Namibia — accounting for 76% of the new cases. The continent of 1.3 billion people has not yet been battered with an emergency during the pandemic on the scale of that recently facing India, but officials including Moeti continue to warn that such a catastrophe could hit.
“Africa is in the midst of a full blown third wave…We’ve seen in India and elsewhere how quickly COVID-19 can rebound and overwhelm health systems,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, told a news conference.

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 Suicide remains one of leading causes of death worldwide: WHOWHO

From job loss to financial stress and social isolation, the many risk factors triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic make suicide prevention “even more important now”, said the top WHO official.
Among young people aged 15-29, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death after road injury, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence, according to the study: Suicide worldwide in 2019.

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U.S. Supreme Court rejects Republican challenge to Obamacare law

If Obamacare had been struck down, up to 20 million Americans stood to lose their medical insurance and insurers could have once again refused to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions. Obamacare expanded the Medicaid state-federal healthcare program and created marketplaces for private insurance.

The provision, called the “individual mandate,” required Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a financial penalty. It marked the third time the court has preserved Obamacare since its 2010 enactment. 

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