By James Eck, Vice President,Senior Credit Officer, Moody’s Investors ServiceMoody’s Weekly Credit Outlook, February 14, 2011 Earnings reports from global reinsurance firms over the past two weeks shed light on losses arising from the December and January catastrophic floods in Queensland, Australia. While insured loss estimates are preliminary, we believe they will impact reinsurers’ earnings, […]
9 Feb 2011, WASHINGTON, DC (The Economist) – MY COLLEAGUES have been discussing climate change, and it’s worth noting that global warming used to be the subject of genuine political debate in Washington as well. Al Gore made a movie about it. Barack Obama vowed to put a stop to it (indeed, he claimed that […]
By Mike Roddy14 February 2011 We came dressed for battle at Rancho Las Palmas Hotel. Gail Zawacki and I had matching tuxedo shirts, top hats, ghoul masks, and the best sign ever: KOCH KILLS, on an eight by two foot banner, painted in dripping red by Gail. We’d been planning it for weeks, and came […]
By ELISABETH ROSENTHALFebruary 12, 2011 Under the weight of record snows, roofs across the Northeast have been buckling this winter, raining debris on children skating in ice rinks, crushing cows and tractors in farmers’ barns and even flattening a garage full of antique cars. In December, nearly 18 inches of new heavy snow brought down […]
Colombo (AFP) Feb 13, 2011 – The damage from monsoon flooding in Sri Lanka over the last six weeks is estimated at $600 million, a government minister said Sunday amid a slow response to an international appeal for help. Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the government would spend 33 billion rupees ($300 million) to […]
Beijing, 11 February 2011 (AP) — China says it is launching a massive well drilling operation to save the crucial wheat crop stricken by the worst drought in decades. The plan to drill 1,350 wells across eight northeastern provinces follows the announcement of plans to spend $1 billion to alleviate the drought. China is the […]
By Yereth Rosen; editing by Steve Gorman and Greg McCuneSat Feb 12, 2011 12:43pm EST ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Thawing permafrost is triggering mudslides onto a key road traveled by busloads of sightseers. Tall bushes newly sprouted on the tundra are blocking panoramic views. And glaciers are receding from convenient viewing areas, while their rapid […]
By Bryan Walsh February 10, 2011 It’s not the heat that might get us with climate change—it’s the humidity, so to speak. The risk of sea level rise due to melting land ice is one of the most recognized—if controversial and hard to predict—threats posed by global warming. Other potential impacts from global warming include […]
By Staff WritersSantiago, Chile (UPI) Feb 10, 2011 Chile has ordered nationwide contingency planning to prepare for damaging effects of a drought triggered by La Niña weather phenomenon, already seen behind low rainfall and poor agricultural harvests in Argentina. A succession of natural disasters has put unexpected financial pressures on President Sebastian Piñera’s announced plans […]
By Megan NeilFebruary 11, 2011 As Dudley Maslen watched in horror TV footage of the deadly ‘inland tsunami’ raging across southeast Queensland, it reminded him of September 11. ”To me, it was a bit like watching that 9/11,” he recalls. ”You’re watching it and it’s real but it’s just unbelievable. It’s just staggering, the absolute […]
