“Catastrophes à vendre : Comment les obligations catastrophe sont devenues profitables?”

First of all, a big thank you to La Liberté for giving me a maximum of 1600 characters to express myself. It’s 5.71 times better than Twitter (280 characters), but 2.5 times less than the paid version of the little blue bird (4000 characters, spaces included). I have a weakness for Arte’s Thema evenings (Tuesday) even if they are sometimes long.

Last Tuesday, as part of Planet Finance, I learned that “catastrophe bonds” generate much higher interest rates than other assets. Investing in a bond that covers earthquakes in Mexico and typhoons in Japan is a sure win, as disasters rarely occur simultaneously.

These portfolios typically have an average of 200 positions. Genius mathematicians from India or China are hired at a high price in the USA to bet on horrible events which, the more they are, the more profitable their bonds become. Did the tsunami shock you? Them too! But not in the same way!

In the United States, some companies can take out life insurance policies for their employees of which they would be the sole beneficiary in the event of death! Here’s an argument in favor of the patient’s digital file! “We want your well-being, and we will have it.”

It’s hard to sum up three hours of documentary! “The misfortune of some makes the happiness of others”? No. Too long, too complicated for today. No, simply: “Catastrophes for sale, guaranteed returns!”

Daniel Ding, Lentigny