Daily Market Update

Japan, US and India targeted by banking malware… Businesses seek to mitigate effects of Obamacare… Food security under threat from Middle East unrest…

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Japan, US and India targeted by banking malware
A report by Trend Micro says that the banking sector was targeted by a malicious software (malware) program called VAWTRAK in the second quarter of this year. In May alone, the program and other similar applications resulted in 13,000 infections in Japan, 5,000 in the US and 3,000 in India. The high level of attacks in one month shows the proliferation of cyber risks. As a further indication, India saw malware detections of 2.5 million in a single month, although these did not lead to infection, highlighting the importance of robust cyber security solutions. Read the full story.

Businesses seek to mitigate affects of Obamacare
The full effects of the Affordable Care Act won’t be felt by businesses until 2018 when excise taxes will be due on high-level healthcare policies. In a recent survey 81 per cent of employers said they are seeking to reduce this burden by making changes to the cover they provide for employees; this is likely to include reduced cover or higher deductibles. With premium costs set to rise next year and an average of 4 or 5 per cent additional costs to businesses, many are looking at alternative ways to provide benefits to employees with lower costs to the business. Read the full story.

Wars in the Middle East causes concern over crops
Growing unrest in Iraq and Syria has raised concerns about future food security. Although few of our food products come directly from the Middle East, the region produced wild flowers which are essential in the development of our domestic crops. The region is part of what’s called the Fertile Crescent; an area providing fertile soil and rivers which have been supplying us with new foodstuffs for centuries. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization are involved in trying to protect native crops especially in war zones. The risk to food security includes denial of access to crops and perhaps of more concern, the chance that they will be destroyed during wars.

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