Business news in brief

Overhaul urged for Lloyd's of London

Beazley PLC Chief Executive Officer Andrew Horton called on Lloyd's of London to overhaul the way it manages trade information to make the world's oldest insurance market more efficient and globally competitive.

"The transfer of data in the market has got to become more automated," Horton, 53, said in a telephone interview late last week. "What Lloyd's needs to do, with brokers' support, is to improve that data flow. That will make the market much more efficient and open to other brokers."

Lloyd's CEO Inga Beale warned in June that the 327-year-old market must respond to new industries such as genetic engineering and nanotechnology. Lloyd's offered the world's first motor insurance, and it must continue to cover any emerging risks, she said.

Brokers are still an essential part of Lloyd's, especially with any large-scale deal, Horton said. Identifying which Wal- Mart properties in the U.S. are vulnerable to earthquakes or hurricanes would be good example, he said.

"At the large-risk end, I think the face-to-face trading will continue," Horton said. "But if we take a 3 percent share of a risk and 10 other insurers do the same, all of us will then key the data into our systems, and that makes no sense whatsoever."

Lloyd's is "currently working with managing agents and the wider London market to improve information sharing and data system," Lloyd's said in an e-mailed statement.

Marshall Islands 1st to vow carbon cuts

The Republic of the Marshall Islands, one of the nations most threatened by rising sea levels, became the first developing country to pledge absolute cuts in carbon emissions as part of a global fight against climate change.

An estimated 10,000 Marshallese live in Northwest Arkansas, making the area home to the largest population of Marshallese in the continental United States.

The Pacific atolls, mostly just 6 feet above sea level, aim to reduce emissions by almost a third by 2025 and by 45 percent by 2030, according to a statement from President Christopher Loeak's office.

The cut in greenhouse gases is a minuscule proportion of the world's emissions and will have little impact reining in global warming. At the same time, the action by a nation whose very survival is endangered by warming temperatures that spark rising waters is designed to spur bigger emitters into making significant cuts when envoys gather in Paris in December in a bid to forge a new global climate agreement.

"We're sending several messages and one is that if we can do it, so can they," Foreign Minister Tony de Brum said in a phone interview from Paris, where he's attending informal climate talks with other ministers.

China, the biggest emitter, has promised its greenhouse gases will reach a peak in about 15 years while the U.S., the next largest, says it will reduce the gases by at least 26 percent by 2025.

YouTube plans 360-degree videos in 3-D

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- YouTube says it's making a further push into virtual reality, promising to add 3-D support for videos that play back in its 360-degree format.

Last week's announcement comes a day after the debut of the first online 360-degree ad, a commercial for Bud Light.

Right now, viewers using the mobile YouTube app or Google's Chrome browser can pan around in any direction in the 360-degree videos. They're shot using special camera rigs that look in many directions, and software stitches together all the video.

Support for 3-D means wearers of headsets such as Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard can see images in three dimensions as they swivel around to change their view. YouTube also said it would provide special camera rigs that support the format at its studios around the world, including at two locations opening in the next year in Toronto and Mumbai, also known as Bombay.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced the push during VidCon, an annual convention for fans and creators of online video at the Anaheim Convention Center.

-- The Associated Press

Tower set on Trump-tied foreclosure site

TAMPA, Fla. -- Ten years after Donald Trump announced plans for a 52-story tower on the Hillsborough River, a developer has filed plans for a 52-story tower on the same site.

Plans submitted to the city say the proposed tower would have 203 dwelling units atop office space, a restaurant and parking for 630 vehicles.

A decade ago, buyers plunked down deposits, taking Trump's word that he was a partner in the $300 million project with SimDag-RoBelo, a group of bay area real estate investors.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that when Trump sued SimDag for failing to pay licensing fees, it was revealed that the Trump name was about all he'd invested in the project.

The property went into foreclosure and was sold in 2011 to Brownstone Tampa Partners for $5 million.

-- The Associated Press

SundayMonday Business on 07/27/2015

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