Institutional Investor (July 28)
“CSR reporting is on the rise, and so is its impact. More companies are publishing corporate social and sustainability reports on their operations amid fresh evidence that transparency enhances valuations.”
Tags: CSR, Evidence, Impact, Operations, Reporting, Sustainability, Transparency, Valuations
Wall Street Journal (July 28)
When China’s roller-coaster stock market plunged downward in early July, “the Communist Party responded with every measure conceivable to fix the market.” This included the suspension of trading. “At one point in the middle of July 97% of all listed companies’ shares were not trading, 51% because management had sought a suspension and 46% because the share prices were down by the 10% daily limit.” On July 27, the Shanghai Composite took its biggest tumble ever, but this downswing “may be good news. Monday’s drop was due in large part to investor fears that the government is pulling back on market support. If Beijing has learned from its failure to prop up stock prices, that could mean the market finds a bottom.”
Tags: Bottom, China, Government, Listed, Market, Shanghai Composite, Shares, Stock market, Support, Suspension, Trading
Financial Times (July 27)
“Ending the tyranny of quarterly earnings is an idea that is on the march. The case for reforming shareholder capitalism is strong.” An “investment drought” is resulting from the focus on short-termism. “With healthy profits and a near zero cost of capital, now ought to be the time to lay down plans for the future. Today’s investments yield tomorrow’s dividends. But listed companies are almost uniformly opting for dividends today.” In the U.S., leading listed companies are, on average, investing only one dollar for every $8-$9 they return to shareholders.
Tags: Cost of capital, Drought, Future. Dividends, Investment, Profits, Quarterly earnings, Shareholder capitalism, Shareholders, Short-termism, U.S.
Washington Post (July 27)
After great devastation, the Ebola crisis appears to be winding down in Africa. “Now it is time to confront another hard problem: addressing the weaknesses in global response that allowed the virus to spread so rapidly. Without the urgency of another outbreak, national governments and the World Health Organization will be disinclined to change the way they do business. But change they must, or there will be another wave of disease, panic and unnecessary death.”
Tags: Africa, Change, Death, Devastation, Disease, Ebola, Global response, Outbreak, Panic, Urgency, WHO
Reuters (July 26)
“Tokyo office rents have climbed to their highest since April 2011 as the economy gathers steam and demand for office space increases. But property analysts say the growth in rents is small and will be capped by imminent launches of new office towers.”
New York Times (July 26)
“While the eurozone may have temporarily avoided a Greek exit, it is hard to see how a deal that requires more spending cuts, higher taxes and only vague promises of debt relief can restore the crippled economy enough to keep Greece in the currency union.”
Tags: Currency union, Debt relief, Economy, eurozone, Exit, Greece, Spending cuts, Taxes
The Economist (July 25)
“Employees are often said to be a company’s biggest resource. It is equally true that they are its biggest liability. Scarcely a week goes by without a company falling victim to employees-turned-enemies-or-embarrassments.”
USA Today (July 24)
“America has a transportation problem. Its highways and bridges are in desperate need of repairs. Its major population centers are in desperate need of road and rail capacity to get people and products out of traffic jams. And the Highway Trust Fund—used to build and maintain those roads, bridges and transit systems—is running short of cash.” Congress needs to take action and increase the “federal gasoline tax which hasn’t been raised since 1993.” This “simple and fair” solution “hits people who use the roads the most and drive the least fuel-efficient vehicles. Just raise it already.”
Tags: Bridges, Congress, Gasoline tax, Highway Trust Fund, Highways, Rail, Repairs, Road, Traffic jams, Transportation, U.S.
Financial Times (July 23)
The Toshiba and Olympus accounting scandals suggest “that Japanese companies are prone to manipulating their accounts. But foreign investors should not give up and go home.” Instead investors have an opportunity to “short shares in companies that will be struck by scandal next, to buy those that will be forced to change their ways, or to do both these things in turn.”
Tags: Accounting, Investors, Japan, Olympus, Opportunity, Scandals, Short, Toshiba
New York Times (July 22)
“Given the rapid changes in that region, the fishing ban hasn’t come too soon.” With the Arctic melt proceeding faster than many imagined, the U.S., Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark have proactively “put a ‘No Fishing’ sign on the high seas portion of the central Arctic until full scientific studies have been conducted.”
Tags: Arctic, Ban, Canada, Changes, Denmark, Fishing, High seas, Norway, Russia, Scientific studies, U.S.