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IMF official warns coronavirus will weigh on some economies for years

The Fund has provided some $90 billion in total financing to 79 countries, including 20 in Latin America, since the start of the health crisis, an IMF spokeswoman said.

It is continuing to work with member countries on how to contain the pandemic and mitigate its economic impact, First Deputy Managing Director Geoffrey Okamoto told an online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Okamoto told that Fund officials were in talks with the Group of 20 major economies about extending a temporary halt in official bilateral debt service payments by low-income countries under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), and how to kickstart private sector participation.

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California to ban sale of new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles starting in 2035

The move is the most significant yet by a U.S. state aimed at ending the use of fossil fuel-burning internal combustion engines, and clashes with the pro-fossil fuel policies of President Donald Trump’s White House.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will turn Newsom’s goal into a legally binding requirement by writing regulations to mandate that 100% of in-state sales of new passenger cars and trucks are zero-emission by 2035. The board also plans to mandate by 2045 that all operations of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles be zero-emission where feasible.
Environmental groups praised the governor’s action on clean vehicles, but automakers were skeptical.
California said it was joining 15 countries that have made similar pledges, including Britain.

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Insurance losses from Western U.S. Wildfires to Be Between $4bn and $8bn:RMS 

RMS estimates include losses from property damage, including evacuation and smoke damage, business interruption (BI) across residential, commercial, industrial lines, and additional living expenses (ALE). Smoke and evacuation are significant contributors to losses during the ongoing Western U.S. wildfires, contributing about 20 percent of losses in Northern California fires and about 35 percent in Oregon and Washington fires, respectively.

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PartnerRe appoints John Mok as CEO Life & Health, Asia Pacific

Commenting on . Mok’s appointment, Marc Archambault, CEO Life & Health and Group Executive Committee member.said, “ We believe in the growth potential of these markets and Asia Pacific is an important part of growth plans for the Life & Health business. . Mok’s appointment underlines our commitment to the region, and to continuing to deliver reinsurance solutions and value added service to our clients in Asia Pacific. I look forward to leveraging John’s experience to continue to build the team, develop profitable business and grow the Life & Health business.”

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More than 150 nations join global vaccine plan,U.S.,but China absent

With some wealthier nations reticent over COVAX, the plan has highlighted the challenge of distributing vaccines equitably around a world of haves and have-nots.

The vaccine alliance said it expected another 38 wealthy countries to join the initiative in coming days.

It said it had received commitments for $1.4 billion towards vaccine research and development, but a further $700 million-$800 million was urgently needed.

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AIR Worldwide Releases updated Multiple Peril Crop Insurance Model for China

An outbreak of African swine fever—a highly infectious and deadly disease—started impacting pigs in China in 2018, resulting in a loss of half of China’s 400 million pigs, or 40% of the world’s total agricultural pig population, as of the first half of 2020.
“China is a leading global producer of wood and paper products; the country’s forests can be insured under the national crop insurance scheme and incur large losses not only from extreme weather but also fire, pests, and disease,In addition, livestock (including poultry) policies now make up about a quarter of agricultural premiums in the country and have a large potential for losses. To get a comprehensive view of agricultural risk in China, companies must consider the risk to crops, forests, and livestock,”said Yizhong Qu, assistant vice president, AIR Worldwide China.

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Risk professionals face six challenges in addressing reputational risks:Airmic,RIMS Report 

The six challenges are Unclear definition of reputation,Confusion on the categorization of risks to reputation,No commonly agreed upon, consistent measurement of the business impact from specific risks to reputation,No framework for linking the strategic, operational, and tactical aspects of reputational risk management,An absence of integrated ownership and accountability across organizations and Slow development of solutions for risk transfer including insurance.
The report states that risk professionals today are at a crossroads, where they can follow one of two paths: the first, where they have the responsibility but no influence and control; or the second, where they can contribute value to the organization by leading implementation of a structured, data-driven and systematic approach to reputational risk that draws the whole organization together around a common framework

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