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Mirae Asset wins U.S. lawsuit against China’s Anbang on scrapped $5.8 bln hotel deal

The case in Delaware, where many companies are registered, could set a precedent for deals that have seen valuations drop since the COVID-19 pandemic, as buyers no longer want to buy assets under the terms of agreements reached before.

A consortium led by Mirae agreed last year to buy the hotels from Anbang, which had been selling some of its overseas assets after the Chinese government took control of the troubled insurer in 2018.

People proving to be weakest link for apps tracking COVID-19 exposure

The problem starts with downloads. Stefano Tessaro calls it the “chicken-and-egg” issue:

The system works only if a lot of people buy into it, but people will buy into it only if they know it works.

“Accuracy of the system ends up increasing trust, but it is trust that increases adoptions, which in turn increases accuracy,” Tessaro, a computer scientist at the University of Washington who was involved in creating that state’s forthcoming contact-tracing app, said in a lecture last month.

U.S. insurers dig into corporate diversity practices as lawsuits pile up

Insurers are meeting company officials to examine diversity practices before renewing or signing new so-called D&O policies to cover lawsuits against directors and officers, insurers and brokers said.

Before pricing coverage, insurers want details about top-level succession planning and how companies recruit, they said.

A ‘mission of the century’ as airlines prep for gargantuan vaccine supply

This will be the largest and most complex logistical exercise ever,” said Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive officer of the International Air Transport Association, the industry’s chief lobby. “The world is counting on us.”

IATA estimates that the equivalent of 8,000 loads in a 110-ton capacity Boeing 747 freighter will be needed for the airlift, which will take two years to supply some 14 billion doses, or almost two for every man, woman and child on Earth. It’s a tall order, given about one-third of the global passenger fleet is still in storage, based on data from Cirium.

AXA to sell its Gulf business to GIG for $269 mn

“This transaction marks another step in AXA’s continued simplification journey. We are convinced that AXA’s operations in the Gulf region will benefit from GIG’s leadership and scale in the region, to further pursue their focus on delivering growth and excellent customer service. I would like to thank the management teams and all the employees of our operations in the Gulf region for their continuous contribution and engagement over the years, and wish them all the success for the future, said Thomas Buberl, CEO, Axa.

Aegon to sell its Central and Eastern European business to VIG

“This transaction will simplify Aegon’s footprint and strengthen our balance sheet.We are sharpening our strategic focus and are concentrating on those countries and business lines where Aegon can create most value. I would like to thank our employees in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Turkey for their significant contribution to Aegon over the years. We believe that our businesses will benefit greatly from the vast experience of VIG, a leading insurance group in the region””, said Lard Friese, CEO of Aegon. 

Centre to vaccinate around 300 mn by July-August: Harsh Vardhan

The Union Minister highlighted that India has one of the highest recovery rates in the whole world. “From 1 lab in January 2020, we now have 2,165 labs. More than a million people are being tested on a daily basis. We have completed 14 crore cumulative tests today. This all shows the determination of the government and relentless efforts of our corona warriors whose contribution is significant in fighting the pandemic,” he said.

Moderna to ask US, European regulators to OK its vaccine for emergency use

Moderna created its shots with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and already had a hint they were working, but said it got the final needed results over the weekend that suggest the vaccine is more than 94% effective.
Moderna is just behind Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech in seeking to begin vaccinations in the U.S. in December. Across the Atlantic, British regulators also are assessing the Pfizer shot and another from AstraZeneca.

Swiss Re to set up new fund for institutional and designated investors to access Nat Cat biz

Martin Bisping, CEO of Swiss Re Insurance-Linked Investment Management  said: “This new fund will open a unique opportunity for investors to invest in the same book of business as Swiss Re, benefitting from Swiss Re’s global reach, client access, risk knowledge and underwriting.“

Pandemic Motors: Europeans snap up old cars to avoid public transport

The surge in interest in used cars is neither good news for struggling mass transit networks nor the environment as dirty old cars appear to be more in demand than new electric vehicles.

In the longer term, however, the shift away from public transport towards “individual mobility” in the pandemic era is expected to help carmakers, hit by a 27% slump in new vehicle sales across Europe in the first 10 months of 2020.

Insurers winning most, but not all, Covid-19 business interruption lawsuits

The stakes are high for thousands of businesses. The outbreak has led to a surge in U.S. bankruptcies, including rental-car company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. Century 21 Stores said it couldn’t survive after its insurer denied its business-interruption claim.

But the pandemic is also squeezing insurers. In the second quarter — after the initial shutdowns — Chubb Ltd. reported $1.16 billion in Covid-19 losses. Munich Re said this month coronavirus losses keep growing. Overall, the industry could face at least $100 billion in total underwriting losses from the pandemic, Lloyd’s of London predicted in May.