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States sue to block US rules curbing tailpipe emissions in cars, light trucks
Republican-led states also have challenged the U.S. Securities and...
Investor climate group to go for assets in private equity, debt
The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, whose pension fund and insurer...
Hackers’ broad attack sets cyber experts worldwide scrambling to defend networks
“This hack was so big in scope that even our cybersecurity experts don’t have a real sense yet in terms of the breadth of the intrusion itself,” adding that it would take some time to fully vet all the agencies and targets.
The breach appeared to provide President-elect Joe Biden with an immediate headache when he takes office on Jan. 20. His transition team’s executive director Yohannes Abraham told reporters on Friday there would be “substantial costs” and the incoming administration “will reserve the right to respond at a time and in a manner of our choosing, often in close coordination with our allies and partners.”
Brazil’s supreme court rules Covid-19 vaccination can be made mandatory
Bolsonaro has launched an attack on coronavirus vaccines, even suggesting that the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.
“In the Pfizer contract it’s very clear: ‘we’re not responsible for any side effects.’ If you turn into a crocodile, it’s your problem,” Bolsonaro said on Thursday.That vaccine has been undergoing tests in Brazil for weeks and is already being used in the United States and Britain.
With climate change focus, Biden filling environmental, interior posts
Biden plans to pursue a goal of moving the United States to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – a once-unimaginable task that would require the world’s second-largest emitter to overhaul major parts of its economy, from cars, trucks and planes to power plants, farms and buildings.
Asia-Pacific life insurance market to reach $1.5 trillion in 2023:GlobalData
“Technology advancements is another area that has gained more prominence. Due to the social distancing norms and regulatory push, increasing number of insurers are shifting to digital platforms. In June 2020, Manulife Hong Kong launched a virtual face-to-face agency sales platform for most of its insurance product offerings,”Pratyusha Mekala, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData,
Ransomware attacks on the rise even as cyber insurers scale back
Ransomware attacks typically involve the infection of computers with malicious software, often downloaded by clicking on seemingly innocuous links in emails or other website pop-ups and leaving users locked out of their systems, with the demand of a ransom to be paid to restore computer functions.
Paul Bantick, Beazley’s global head of cyber and technology, said that ransomware attackers were demanding more money than in the past and had also become more creative in ways in which they sought to extort money.
“COVID-19, coronavirus, vaccines, all these things, they have enabled people to target organizations,” Bantick said.
EU watchdog wants a more hands-on approach to insurer capital
Insurance Europe, an industry body, said EIOPA’s “disappointing” proposals would make the capital rules more conservative and create a less competitive sector.
The review should focus on what needs fixing and not be an overhaul as proposed by EIOPA with its “very extensive list” of potential changes, Insurance Europe said.
Dutch court case claims Shell’s operations violate human rights
The case brought by the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth, Milieudefensie, links the oil major’s stance on climate change with human rights. The ruling will also have implications for Shell’s European peers as pressure mounts on polluting energy companies to step up the fight against global warming.
Over two weeks of court proceedings, lawyers for Milieudefensie have argued that Shell is violating human rights by extracting fossil fuels and undermining the Paris Agreement’s aim of keeping temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Shell says it’s playing its part in addressing climate change, which can only be tackled through collaboration and not court action.
S.African court dismisses insurer Guardrisk’s appeal in COVID-19 claims case
In South Africa, insurers argue that national lockdowns to stem the virus’ spread, forcing firms across many industries to shutter for weeks at a time, were not covered under their business interruption policies.
Canada records 20-year high in outbound insurance M&A
International deals in insurers involving Canadian investors rose to $11.6 billion in 2020, the highest in at least two decades, according to data from Refinitiv.
That places Canadian investors as the third biggest investors in insurance deals, behind the UK and the United States, according to the data. Last year, Canadian investors were the fifth largest in the space.
Japan Post insurer plans $2.9 billion buyback from parent
Japan Post Insurance is currently governed by a strict privatization law, which limits activities such as sales of new products, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Such restrictions will be eased if the holding company’s stake drops to 50% or less.