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Alcohol policies need sharper focus on gender, WHO says
After broad successes in tackling the public health impact of other...
Generali CEO Philippe Donnet targets big insurance deals in Europe
Philippe Donnet,Chief Executive Officer The current takeover...
Lloyd’s first Digital Syndicate Ki goes live, announces list of broker trading partners
The creation of Ki was first announced in May 2020. Ki aims to significantly reduce the amount of time taken for brokers to place their follow capacity.
Ki’s algorithm, developed with support from University College London, will evaluate Lloyd’s policies and automatically quote for business through an always available digital platform, built by Google Cloud and accessed directly by brokers.
Google faces regulatory scrutiny in Britain over ‘Privacy Sandbox’ advertising data revamp
The complaint follows up on concerns about Google’s new system that the watchdog raised in a July report about online platforms and digital advertising. The report recommended the British government adopt a new regulatory approach to governing digital giants making big money from online ads.
Google said the new technology will increase privacy for users while also supporting publishers.
Meanwhile,Russia has opened a case against U.S. tech giant Google for failing to remove banned content from its search engine, communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said on Monday.
AstraZeneca and Oxford say COVID-19 vaccine shows 70% efficacy
AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said that the lower first dose of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine meant more people can be vaccinated more quickly, as the British drugmaker unveiled interim late-stage trial results.
“Being able to vaccinate more people faster is a really a big plus,” he told a briefing.AstraZeneca said it would “immediately prepare regulatory submission of the data to authorities around the world that have a framework in place for conditional or early approval.”
The Astra vaccine does not require ultra-cold storage which may make it easier to administer than the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, which needs to be refrigerated at -70 degrees.
Surge in greenhouse gases sustained despite COVID lockdowns – U.N
Many scientists expect the biggest annual fall in carbon emissions in generations this year as measures to contain coronavirus have grounded planes, docked ships and kept commuters at home.
However, the WMO described the projected 2020 drop as a “tiny blip” and said the resulting impact on the carbon dioxide concentrations that contribute to global warming would be no bigger than normal annual fluctuations.
UAE eases limits on foreign ownership to attract investors
The presidential decree changing the corporate law helps the UAE “strengthen its leading position regionally and globally as an attractive destination for projects and companies,” state-run WAM news agency reported.
The reforms allow foreign entrepreneurs and investors to set up their own companies without involving local shareholders, the agency said.
42 failed airlines and counting: Wait for vaccine crushes industr
“The fourth quarter and the first quarter of next year could be equally terrible,” IBA’s Stuart Hatcher said in an interview. “Airlines will be trying everything to get through to Easter, when higher demand should coincide with the roll-out of the vaccine, but there comes a point when the money runs out.”
Biden names Kerry as U.S. climate envoy, emphasizing diplomacy’s role in the issue
Biden has pledged to reverse course on climate from President Donald Trump, who doubts mainstream climate science. Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate, and dismantled Obama-era climate and environmental regulations to boost drilling, mining and manufacturing.
While secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, Kerry, 76, called climate change “the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.” In travels from glaciers in Greenland to the Solomon Islands, Kerry has emphasized cooperation on tackling climate change.
$22 billion tech giant dream of China’s Ping An Insurance face headwinds
China’s tightening grip on fintech firms and an antitrust crackdown complicate Ping An’s bid to lift its valuation closer to those garnered by tech giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. The Shenzhen-based finance firm, which gets three-quarters of its revenue from insurance, trades at about 10 times 2019 earnings; Alibaba’s ratio is six times higher.
Ping An has pledged to plow more than $22 billion into research from big data to blockchain to make it more “tech” than “fin,” while carving out some of its units through public listings to maximize value.
Insurer Inigo raises $800 million from investors including QIA, CDPQ
In a statement, Inigo said that current conditions are ideal to launch a new insurance business, at a time when demand across a number of classes of insurance and reinsurance is high.
Inigo has chosen London as its principal base since it regards the overall insurance ecosystem offered by Lloyd’s as exceptionally attractive and believes it will best support the growth and development of the new syndicate.
UK FM says he hopes for a Brexit deal but not at any price
“If we don’t get a deal, why is that? It is because they are refusing to compromise on what are some completely reasonable and very transparent principles that we’ve laid out from the beginning. We are not asking for … super-special treatment.”