PwC faces a fine of at least 1 billion yuan ($138 million), the...
Category:
International News
Latest
1st June Renewals: Moderated risk-adjusted property-catastrophe reinsurance pricing, says Howden Re
Risk-adjusted property-catastrophe rate-on-line 5% lower on...
Lloyd’s and Bermuda Monetary Authority to foster innovation and education access
``This joint agreement will ensure we share the knowledge and...
Airbus and tech firm Luminar partners to test autonomous flight tech
The two companies will work on enhancing aircraft sensing and perception, Luminar said, adding that its technology could also substantially improve the safety of existing aircraft applications.
Europe embraces digital health pass,to face security, fraud, political challenges
The EU Commission plans to award a contract this month for a central system for verifying the digital passes, which will use QR codes that can be scanned into a smartphone app. It will also provide a template to help member countries develop their own apps – though some have already readied their own versions.
There is still no consensus on whether antibody tests provide sufficient proof that a person who has recovered from COVID-19 is immune, sources involved in the efforts say.
Member states also worry about the security of personal information, though the Commission has promised the online certificates will contain minimal data: name, date of birth, the specific health information, its date of issue and a unique identifier code.
California Governor seeks ban on new fracking by 2024
Fracking — short for hydraulic fracturing, the process of extracting oil and gas embedded in rock deep underground — accounts for a small portion of the state’s oil and gas production each year. But environmental advocates have long sought its banishment because of its harmful effects on the environment and public health.
Covid vaccine shortage holds emerging markets back from global rally
“Not only do we have a much slower vaccination program across emerging markets, but worries over debt loads, external vulnerabilities, fiscal prudence, inflation and currency stability will hamper a much stronger recovery post-pandemic,” said Mohammed Elmi, a portfolio manager at Federated Hermes in London. He recommends rotating into countries and assets that benefit from U.S. growth via trade links or exports, such as Mexico.
EU publishes rules to help investors decide what’s ‘green’ and what’s not
The EU’s new rules, known as the “sustainable finance taxonomy”, are a list of economic activities and the rules they must meet to be deemed green.
Starting next year, they will decide which activities can be labelled as a sustainable investment in the EU. The Commission published climate-related criteria for green investments ranging from building renovations to the manufacture of cement, steel and batteries, reflecting draft plans previously reported by Reuters.
Health care systems still disrupted by pandemic but some recovering: WHO
“Health systems around the world are still being tested more than one year into the pandemic. Nearly all responding countries reported at least one service disruption and disruptions were reported across all health areas, demonstrating the far-reaching impact of the pandemic on health systems,” the WHO said.
Britain’s driverless car ambitions hit speed bump with insurers
Insurers are key players in the shift to automated driving, with some investing in a technology they believe will slash accidents and deaths, and save them billions in payouts.
But they are worried drivers might equate today’s lower levels of automation with fully self-driving vehicles, potentially causing more accidents in the short term and permanently damaging public confidence in the technology.
Bank of England sees potential risks from cloud data providers
Regulators globally have been tightening scrutiny of outsourced functions as they worry that core services financial firms provide to customers are vulnerable to outages at third parties.
Britain’s government is keen to promote fintech as an area of growth and hopes that nimbler regulation will enable it to steal a march over the European Union, where British financial firms now have reduced access due to Brexit.
On Monday, finance minister Rishi Sunak asked the BoE to work with the finance ministry on whether the central bank should set up a digital version of sterling to compete with cryptocurrencies, which he dubbed ‘Britcoin’.
Chinese military seen behind Japan Cyber-attacks, NHK Says
The cyber-security firm FireEye Inc., which characterizes Tick as a suspected Chinese espionage group with attacks dating to at least 2009, has seen it target hundreds of Japanese organizations. These include research institutions and government agencies, said John Hultquist, vice president of intelligence analysis at the firm.
Insurers prefer private equity investments over Hedge Funds: Goldman Sachs Survey
Private equity was the most-favored asset class for insurers seeking to increase investment returns, followed by middle market corporate loans and infrastructure debt, the survey said.
Private equity returns in the past 10 years “have been strong and have outperformed other asset classes,” Michael Siegel, global head of insurance asset management at GSA, told a media briefing, which he said helped explain consistent insurer interest in the asset class in recent years.