Ben MacCarthy, Head of Real Estate, Hospitality & Leisure,...
Category:
International News
Latest
Deepfake video meeting with fake CFO costs company $25.6 mn
The company employees in the call looked and sounded like real...
At least 19 dead as forest fires approach densely populated areas of central Chile
The El Nino weather pattern has caused droughts and hotter than...
Asia-Pacific countries begin to ease pandemic-related travel bans, but hurdles remain
For now, few people are likely to travel because of testing and insurance requirements, and in some cases the need to quarantine upon return home, meaning the deals offer limited hope for airlines and the tourism industry.
A Singapore-Indonesia deal announced on Monday for essential business and official travel will require an application and COVID-19 swab tests both before and after travel.
Solar the new ‘king of electricity’ as renewables make up bigger slice of supply: IEA
Despite the increase in solar and wind power, carbon emissions are projected to pick up in 2021 after a 2.4 gigatonne (Gt) drop in 2020, and to exceed 2019 levels in 2027 before growing to 36 Gt in 2030, it added.
The IEA said gaps remain in many cases between long-term ambitions and specific near-term plans to curb emissions.
U.N. chief urges development banks to stop financing fossil fuel projects
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged a virtual meeting of a coalition of finance ministers and economic policymakers from dozens of countries to ensure development banks phase out fossil fuel investments, rapidly scale up support for renewable energy, and back projects to help those most exposed to the impacts of climate change.
Enforcement against foreign bribery down sharply since 2018 – group
“Too many governments choose to turn a blind eye when their companies use bribery to win business in foreign markets,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, chair of the group.
A collapse of global tax talks could cost $100 billion, says OECD
The aim is update international tax rules for the age of digital commerce, in particular to discourage big Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon from booking profits in low-tax countries like Ireland regardless where their customers are.
In the absence of a new international rulebook, a growing number of governments are planning theirIn the absence of a new international rulebook, a growing number of governments are planning their own digital services taxes, which has prompted threats of trade retaliation from the Trump administration.
Swiss Re and Daimler launch new company Movinx, to transform automotive & mobility insurance business
Both shareholders of the 50/50 joint venture will leverage their complementary expertise to establish a new business model.
The aim is to develop fully digital automotive and mobility insurance products that both fulfill changing customer needs and offer best-in-class service quality. The first insurance products and services are planned to launch in France in 2021.
In the coming years, further market entries are planned across Europe, in the Americas, and in Asia.
Pravina Ladva, Swiss Re’s Digital Transformation Officer, said: ”We believe that partnering with Daimler Insurance Services and establishing Movinx will take us to the next level in innovating mobility insurance. Our joint long-term ambition is to unlock an ecosystem interplay where insurance supports the introduction of new technologies such as advanced driving assistance systems and autonomous cars as well as new business models in the mobility area.”
As globe gallops into vaccine trials, insurers remain unfazed
While more than 40 experimental COVID-19 vaccines are being tested on humans, the insurance companies with decades of experience in assessing the risks of clinical trials don’t see anything to be unduly concerned about.
Executives at insurer Allianz and brokers Gallagher and Marsh, among the leading players in clinical trials insurance, told Reuters that premiums had only marginally increased so far in the current pandemic
Natural disasters surge in past 20 years, likely to continue to wreak havoc: U.N.
China (577) and the United States (467) recorded the highest number of disaster events from 2000 to 2019, followed by India (321), the Philippines (304) and Indonesia (278), the U.N. said in a report issued the day before the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. Eight of the top 10 countries are in Asia.
Climate change poses ‘profound threat’ to global growth: IMF chief
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told finance ministers meeting on climate change that countries should also ensure their stimulus funding aimed at halting the COVID-19 pandemic should target green investments.
Lloyd’s of London reviews insurance contracts due to COVID-19
“The insurance industry must urgently reassess how it can better serve and support its customers,” Lloyd’s Chief Executive John Neal said in a statement.
Lloyd’s recommendations for simpler products including insurers carrying out a “linguistics review” of policy documents, investing in new products such as parametric insurance which pay out immediately when specific triggers are hit, and involving customers in product design.