Waylon Wong

This year, Hurricane Melissa was like the definition of that once-in-a-generation hurricane.

Within a week and a half, the cat bond officially triggered.

And Favol says she was surprised at how tuned in the whole country was.

Thanks to its cat bond, Jamaica is going to get $150 million.

In fact, the money just hit the country's bank accounts this week.

So the more investors who get into cat bonds, then if markets work like they're supposed to, the better rates that countries like Jamaica can get.

And the better rates insurance companies can get on the reinsurance they need.

Right now, the price of reinsurance is actually going down, in part because of competition from cat bonds.

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Sign up at plus.npr.org slash planet money.

And I'm Waylon Wong.

This is NPR.

Thanks for listening.

And this is not the first time Trump has raised this possibility of interfering with the Fed or even firing Powell. Trump has been loudly critical of Powell for years now. And since January, the president has accused him of playing politics by keeping interest rates high.

And this is not the first time Trump has raised this possibility of interfering with the Fed or even firing Powell. Trump has been loudly critical of Powell for years now. And since January, the president has accused him of playing politics by keeping interest rates high.

And this is not the first time Trump has raised this possibility of interfering with the Fed or even firing Powell. Trump has been loudly critical of Powell for years now. And since January, the president has accused him of playing politics by keeping interest rates high.

And I'm Weyland Wong. Why is the independence of the Federal Reserve so sacred? Why does just the idea of Trump interfering with the Fed send economists into a tizzy?

And I'm Weyland Wong. Why is the independence of the Federal Reserve so sacred? Why does just the idea of Trump interfering with the Fed send economists into a tizzy?

And I'm Weyland Wong. Why is the independence of the Federal Reserve so sacred? Why does just the idea of Trump interfering with the Fed send economists into a tizzy?