Artemis.bm Relaunch and Newsletter – March 2008

It’s been a long time since my last communication to the subscription base of Artemis. First off my apologies for the break in service! It was never my intention for Artemis to fall by the way side but due to circumstances beyond my control there was nothing else I could do.

The good news is that Artemis is now back and will be kept updated. I’ve relaunched it now as I want to give you, the subscribers, notice of its return.

Please pass this good news on to your colleagues by forwarding this email and asking them to visit the site to subscribe or submit their details for our directories (coming soon).

Right now you can access the site through the normal address http://www.artemis.bm/ There you will find the latest news on alternative risk transfer, catastrophe bonds and weather trading. We also have our famous Deal Directory, fully updated and still the most comprehensive resource for cat bond and securitisation deals online. Also available is our events calendar, detailing the upcoming industry events and conferences of interest.

As ever, please do contact us if you would like to submit some information or events for publication. We also have advertising and sponsorship opportunities available, with a large visitor base (yes, even while Artemis was dormant we were receiving a few thousand visitors a day) it’s the perfect place to showcase your speciality to industry professionals. Contact us for more details using the contact form accessible at http://www.artemis.bm/contact_us/

Latest Market News:

Munich Re issues new cat bond
Munich Re has issued a €170m catastrophe bond through a newly established programme. Following on from previous Munich Re transactions, peak windstorm risks are again being placed on the capital market. Read more about this deal on our Deal Directory: http://www.artemis.bm/deal-directory/

TFS Energy hosts largest ever weather derivatives Dutch auction
TFS Energy, LLC announced its weather derivatives division completed a successful Dutch auction on behalf of UBS Investment Bank’s Hybrid Trading Desk soliciting CDD (Cold Degree Day) Swap Offers. The auction marks the largest risk transfer that the market has accommodated in one transaction. The 13,775 lots that were placed represent 13% of the open interest in CDD futures and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Fitch updates cat bond rating criteria
Fitch Ratings has updated its global ratings criteria for catastrophe bonds. This new methodology reflects Fitch’s current thinking and incorporates a new default grid derived from Fitch’s leading-edge Prism insurance capital model. Under the new methodology, measurement of the insurance risk embedded in catastrophe bonds is symmetrical with the reinsurance credit given to the insurers who sponsor the bonds.

Guy Carpenter publishes annual cat bond report
Guy Carpenter announced publication of “The Catastrophe Bond Market at Year-End 2007: The Market Goes Mainstream.” The sixth annual review shows the pace with which the market is gaining traction and reflects another record year in the marketplace.

Catlin buys $150m of cat bond cover
Catlin Group Ltd. has purchased $150 million property reinsurance coverage through the issuance of a catastrophe bond. Catlin purchased the reinsurance coverage from Cayman Islands-based special purpose reinsurer Newton Re Ltd., which has issued the $150 million catastrophe bond. The catastrophe bond will be triggered if Catlin’s losses from U.S. windstorms and earthquakes, European windstorms, and Japanese windstorms and earthquakes exceed an annual aggregate threshold amount. Willis Capital Markets has acted as Co-Lead Manager.

Weather Derivatives Traders Get Starter Kit
Three service providers have teamed to create the Weather Derivatives Starter Kit. OTC energy derivative trading network and solution provider YellowJacket; Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions; and Rockville, Md.-based weather consultancy MDA EarthSat Weather will combine their offerings to provide derivatives traders with a suite of services designed to enhance weather trading operations.

Insurance Futures Take Flight in Turbulent Cat Risk Market
With four months to go until the start of the hurricane season, insurers are taking a harder look at a new tool in the eternal battle to protect themselves from substantial windstorm losses: exchange-traded futures contracts.

For full details of all these news stories please visit http://www.artemis.bm/news/

Upcoming Events:

For details of upcoming events and conferences please visit our Events Calendar at http://www.artemis.bm/events_calendar/

Deal Directory:

To view our entire Deal Directory, featuring deals going back to 1994, please visit http://www.artemis.bm/deal-directory/

MarketView and Personnel Directories:

We will soon have our famous market and personnel directories back online. If you’d like to be included please contact us and fill out as much of this form as possible http://www.artemis.bm/contact_us/

I hope you enjoy the new look Artemis and will continue to return to see it’s progress as we add updated Market and Personnel Directories and more.

Finally, please note that you can unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time by using the link at the foot of this email. We sincerely hope you won’t as we promise not to spam you and to only send newsletters of market updates and pertinent updates related to our service.

Best wishes and enjoy Artemis! It’s good to be back!