Daily Market Update - July 21, 2014

​Can Malaysia Airlines ever recover their reputation after being hit by two tragedies and was their risk management strong enough?… Former US treasury secretary says climate change is the ‘biggest risk of our time’… And financial firms have mixed views on the new EU rules ‘forcing’ them to upgrade risk management…

Risk Management News

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Tragedies bring reputation risk into focus
With the tragedy of flight MH17 still dominating the news and the tragic loss of flight MH370 just a few months ago, there are a lot of unanswered questions. While those being asked by the grieving families and friends are paramount and the authorities’ investigations are vital, there is also a business question; can Malaysia Airlines recover their reputation? These tragedies appear to be the result of external forces, but that can be one of the biggest reputation risks for businesses. However, some suggest that airlines should not be flying near conflict zones: “It is unthinkable from a risk management point of view that the plane was flying where it was,” said Kuniyoshi Shirai, crisis management expert at A.C.E. Consulting. “Their brand is going to suffer serious damage,” he said. “There is even a possibility the airline will go out of business.” One thing Malaysia airlines seem to have learnt since the March disappearance of flight MH370 is communication; experts say their information delivery then was poor but that they seem to have responded faster and with the right tone this time around. Whether there is anything they can do to avoid long term damage to the brand remains to be seen. Read the full story.

Climate change ‘biggest risk of our time’ says former treasury secretary
An end to fuel subsidies and taxing carbon could be the first steps to tackle the risk of climate change. That’s the message that former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. told political and business leaders on Friday. He said that he considers climate change to be the biggest risk of our time and urged business to consider both the environmental and the economic impacts. Mr Paulson said that businesses need to invest in tackling the issue including replacing outdated technologies. Politicians, he said, need continue engaging with their local businesses, but more need to be done at a federal level. Read the full story.

Hedge funds ‘forced’ to upgrade risk management
The European Union has introduced new requirements on the financial sector which increases the status of risk management. The Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive comes into effect this week and applies to hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds. One of the main requirements is a risk manager at board level. Experts say that compliance with this new directive may well mean firms paying a premium to get a full time experienced risk manager; such is the potential for getting on the wrong side of the rules. There are many opponents to the new regulations while others wait to see how they may affect them, especially those not based in the EU but operating there. Read the full story.

Training the next generation of digital risk experts
As one of the fastest growing risks for business, states and individuals it makes for students to be studying cyber risk. Most experts predict that the need for digital risk experts will continue to increase and those with the right skills will be much sought after. This week University of Adelaide computer science students are taking a few days out of their mid-year break to boost their knowledge and skills in cyber security. Students at all levels will attend the first in a series of events aimed to build their ability to defeat computer hacking and other cyber attacks. The event is being co-ordinated by Yuval Yarom who says:”The risks for organisations or government are significant. Computer technology drives the daily infrastructure and services we rely on. It’s important that we have the capacity to identify and handle these threats. In these events, our students will be learning how these attacks work and how best to defend against them.” Many of the students intend to work in software development after graduation and the hope is that by being fully aware of cyber risks from the start will help them create more resilient software products.
 

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