Articles by Marc Jones

Beryl-Battered Grenada Becomes 1st Country to Use Government Bond Hurricane Clause

Grenada has become the first country in the world to use a so-called hurricane clause in a government bond – a special feature that allows authorities to postpone debt payments in the wake of a major natural disaster. The move …

World Bank Eyes First ‘Drought’ Bond in Next 12-18 Months

The World Bank is looking to issue its first drought bond in the next 12-18-months and broaden its offering of catastrophe bonds supporting countries suffering devastation from storms and earthquakes, a senior executive at the lender said. The drought bond …

Companies in Ukraine See Problems Pile Up; Insurance Issues Make Matters Worse

German supermarket chain Metro and its 3,400 employees in Ukraine have worked hard to get their business back to where it was before Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago. After a sales slump of 10.4% in 2022 – when the …

Central Bank Test Lab Develops Global Bitcoin Mapping System

A global central bank test lab has designed a prototype bitcoin monitoring system aimed at giving authorities a clearer picture on how, when and where the cryptocurrency is used. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) project, codenamed Atlas, began at …

FTX Collapse Shows Need to Regulate Crypto World: Bank of England

The implosion of cryptocurrency exchange FTX shows the need to bring the crypto world within the regulatory framework, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Monday. FTX, which has filed for U.S. bankruptcy court protection, has said it …

Barbados Issues 1st Pandemic-Protected Bond, Which Also Covers Natural Disasters

Barbados has issued the world’s first government bond with a clause allowing payments to be suspended in the event of another global pandemic, a move expected to attract interest from dozens of other countries savaged by the COVID-19 crisis. The …

Global Supply Chain Woes Worsen, With Major Ports Facing Long Delays: Report

Global supply chain problems look to set to worsen, a new report published on Tuesday said, as China’s COVID-19 lockdowns, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other strains cause even longer delays at ports and drive up costs. The study by …

Climate Change Could Put 4% of Global GDP at Risk by 2050: S&P Study

Climate change could see 4% of global annual economic output lost by 2050 and hit many poorer parts of the world disproportionately hard, a new study of 135 countries has estimated. Ratings firm S&P Global, which gives countries credit scores …

Global Regulators Warned About Entry of ‘Big Tech’ Firms into Financial Services

Central banks and financial regulators urgently need to get to grips with the growing influence of “Big Tech,” according to top officials from central bank umbrella group the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Global watchdogs are increasingly wary that the …

Individual Results of Climate Stress Tests Should Not Be Disclosed: Oversight Group

Climate change financial ‘stress tests’ will need to be improved with better data and modeling, a new paper by a global oversight body has recommended, but potential losses at individual banks or insurers should not be publicly disclosed. The report …