Institutional Investor (December 8)
“COP21 is an important turning point for the global economy and the financial markets that underpin it. Smart investors will not only examine the risks but also clearly appreciate the opportunities in this space, as our $100 trillion economy embarks upon a decarbonization trajectory over the next two generations.”
Tags: COP21, Decarbonization, Financial markets, Global economy, Investors, Opportunities, Risks, Turning-point
The Economist (November 14)
The Great Recession has morphed into the never ending crisis. Over the past decade, we’ve seen fallout from the U.S. housing crisis, the Euro crisis brought on by Greece, and now “a third instalment in the chronicles of debt is now unfolding. This time the setting is emerging markets. Investors have already dumped assets in the developing world, but the full agony of the slowdown still lies ahead.”
Tags: Assets, Crisis, Debt, Emerging markets, Euro crisis, Great Recession, Greece, Housing crisis, Investors, Never ending, Slowdown, U.S.
Institutional Investor (October 29)
“Just as information from barometers and thermometers can help us prepare for tomorrow’s weather, so corporate information on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can help investors make better decisions and prepare for the future” by providing such information “as whether supply chain management takes account of climate risk, whether fixed assets are based in areas prone to flooding and cyclones and whether the scale of a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is contributing to more extreme weather events over the long term.” But the problem is “too few companies report on such ESG factors. And when they do, it is often voluntarily reported, which tends to mean different methodologies and measures too inconsistent for investors to compare efficiently.” There is an obvious solution. Global stock exchanges should “coordinate the reporting of sustainability metrics just as they do with financial metrics.”
Tags: Climate risk, ESG, Extreme weather, Fixed assets, GHG emissions, Investors, Methodologies, Stock exchanges, Supply chain management
Institutional Investor (October 18)
Falling U.S. equity prices during the third quarter have “left investors asking whether the terrific run in U.S. equities since 2011 is over. Is the setback a buying opportunity or the beginning of a more serious downturn?” Overall, “we think there are enough positives to keep profits increasing at a high-single-digit rate over the next five to seven years.”
Tags: Buying opportunity, Downturn, Equity prices, Investors, Positives, Profits, Q3, Setback, U.S.
Bloomberg (October 14)
“Ernst & Young LLP took Bernie Madoff at his word when it signed off on audits of a fund that helped feed the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. The firm must now defend that decision at the first trial of an auditor over losses tied to Madoff, who’s serving a 150-year prison term for stealing billions of dollars from thousands of investors.” The case will be tried by jury in a state court in Seattle and comes just after “the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the lead U.S. audit regulator, warns that one in three audit opinions in the U.S. lack appropriate supporting evidence.”
Tags: Audits, Bernie Madoff, Ernst & Young, Evidence, Investors, PCAOB, Ponzi scheme, Prison, Regulator, Seattle, Trial, U.S.
Bloomberg (September 16)
Standard & Poors became the latest credit-rating company to downgrade Japan, following earlier moves by Moody’s and Fitch. “Could the Japan downgrade presage a stampede for the exits by international investors? Unlikely.” Most JGB investors are domestic “and probably won’t be concerned about the verdict of U.S. financial services companies, especially ones with the questionable reputations of the credit raters.” Japanese investors will continue to “view Japanese bonds as the ultimate safe zone.”
Tags: Credit rating, Downgrade, Fitch, Investors, Japan, JGBs, Moody's, Reputations Bonds, Safe, Standard & Poors, U.S.
Financial Times (August 31)
“China’s government has decided to abandon attempts to boost the stock market through large-scale share purchases, and will instead intensify efforts to find and punish those suspected of “destabilising the market.” Many will appreciate the capitulation to market forces, but the prospect of a witch hunt stokes new fears. “In a worrying signal for global investors with a presence in China, some officials have argued strongly for a crackdown on ‘foreign forces,’ which they say have intentionally unsettled the market.”
Tags: China, Crackdown, Foreign forces, Government, Investors, Officials, Share purchases, Stock market, Witch hunt
Wall Street Journal (August 28)
“The turmoil in world markets may push back the date the Federal Reserve raises interest rates…. One consequence even in anticipation of the Fed’s move is that investors in emerging markets risk getting caught in a rip tide of liquidity heading back to the U.S.”
Tags: Emerging markets, Federal Reserve, Interest rates, Investors, Liquidity, Markets, Turmoil, U.S.
Institutional Investor (August 27)
Gold is losing “its luster as an asset class.” Long considered a “hedge against inflation, currency volatility and geopolitical turmoil,” many experts are now questioning gold’s status as a legitimate investment. “Gold has failed to benefit from global economic and political turbulence recently…. Given that gold offers investors no yield, if it doesn’t rise in value during episodes like these, investors don’t have many reasons to hold it.”
Tags: Asset class, Currency volatility, Geopolitical turmoil, Gold, Hedge, Inflation, Investment, Investors, Turbulence, Value, Yield
Financial Times (August 20)
“Capital is cascading out of emerging markets as investors, companies and financial institutions lose confidence in developing countries… If the cycle cannot be arrested, the risk is that a growth slump in developing countries—which account for 52 per cent of global gross domestic product in purchasing power parity terms—could pull the wider world into recession.”
Tags: Capital, Confidence, Developing countries, Emerging markets, Financial institutions, GDP, Growth slump, Investors, Recession, Risk