Category:

Policy

Still no clarity from UK to assess financial market access, says EU

With less than two months before Britain’s full access to the EU ends under post-Brexit transition arrangements on Dec. 31, London’s giant financial hub faces being largely cut off from its biggest customer.

Britain’s finance minister, Rishi Sunak, said on Monday he would not wait for Brussels to decide on UK access and would instead unilaterally allow EU financial firms to offer selected services to UK customers from January.

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Much at stake as Supreme Court weighs future of ‘Obamacare’

What’s at stake has real-world consequences for just about every American, as well as the health care industry, a major source of jobs and tax revenues. Whether the Affordable Care Act stays, goes, or is significantly changed, will affect the way life is lived in the US
The argument against the law from the Trump administration and conservative states is that the 10-year-old statute was rendered unconstitutional in its entirety when Congress dialled down to zero a penalty on those remaining uninsured.
President-elect Joe Biden would build on the ACA by improving it and adding a new public health insurance option. But party liberals want a government-run system for all Americans, including the 160 million covered through employer plans.

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Global Markets: Risk assets cheer Biden win, dollar nurses losses

“The best opportunities now lie within segments of emerging markets, in particular China and North Asia. I believe earnings momentum and valuation put China in a very attractive risk/reward position.”

Chinese shares started higher with the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 up 2.2% on hopes of better Sino-U.S. trade relations under Biden.

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U.S. crosses 10 million COVID-19 cases as third wave of infections surges

More than 237,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since the illness caused by the coronavirus first emerged in China late last year.

The daily average of reported new deaths in the United States account for one in every 11 deaths reported worldwide each day, according to a Reuters analysis.

The number of reported deaths nationwide climbed by more than 1,000 for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday, a trend last seen in mid-August, according to a Reuters tally.

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Cyber agency alerts against ransomware attacks of ‘Egregor’ virus

It is anticipated that Egregor ransomware may infiltrate via spam email attachments or maliciously crafted link shared via email/instant messaging chats.”

“The modus operandi used is typically breaking into organisations, stealing sensitive data, and running the malware to encrypt their files and (it) threatens ‘Mass-Media’ release of corporate data if ransom not paid in due time,” the advisory stated.

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Threat of crackdown on U.S. insurers fades as political ‘Blue Wave’ sputters

That bodes well for the insurance industry, which had feared a Democratic sweep would allow progressives to reprise regulations introduced after the 2008-2009 financial crisis and push a disruptive healthcare overhaul.

Health insurance stocks jumped on Wednesday, as fears of a dramatic change faded. The S&P 500 managed care index .SPLRCHMO rose 9.8% as investors and insurance trade groups cheered an expected Republican hold on the Senate. 

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There would be significant cyber losses in the next 10 years: Mumenthaler

`There are certain tail risks that are too big, in my view, for the insurance industry to carry. We can carry a certain amount of risk, and we are active in the market, but I think the capacity will run out within the next three years.The shadow of cyber risk still looms large, with bad actors or rogue states capable of launching damaging cyber attacks that could even result in human losses, given our dependence on technology. It’s not a random event. It’s perpetuated by people and on the aggregation side it’s a real challenge,” he explained…

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