Financial Times (October 5)
“Japan’s demographics — for all the socio-economic hand-wringing they cause — are now arguably the biggest ‘buy’ signal the country has sent for decades…. In several critical areas, Japan’s demographics are aligned to work strongly in favour of companies and investors.” One of these stems from “from labour shortages and the profound psychological difference they make to corporations’ ability to restructure.” This will enable corporations to “divest everything non-core and focus instead on what they are best at.”
Tags: Buy signal, Companies, Demographics, Divest, Hand-wringing, Investors, Japan, Labour shortages, Non-core, Psychological, Restructure, Socio-economic
Bloomberg (September 1)
“That jump in the unemployment rate was not a reflection of companies firing workers in anticipation of a slowdown.” A “very large 700,000 increase” in job seekers “caused the labor force participation rate to jump to 62.8%, the highest since before the pandemic.”
Tags: 62.8%, Companies, Firing, Highest, Job seekers, Jump, Labor force, Pandemic, Participation rate, Slowdown, Unemployment rate, Workers
Investment Week (July 31)
“British American Tobacco is resisting shareholder pressure to move its primary listing from London to New York.” Others haven’t. “The London Stock Exchange has seen a string of departures this year, as companies flee from cheap valuations towards the deeper investor pool the US market offers.”
Tags: BAT, Cheap valuations, Companies, Departures, Flee, Investor pool, London, LSE, New York, Primary listing, Resisting, Shareholder pressure, U.S.
American Banker (June 22)
“Companies and government agencies have been added in recent days to the list of institutions victimized by a supply chain cyberattack by a ransomware gang that exploited a weakness in file transfer software popular with enterprises.” Cl0p, a ransomware gang, “started exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Progress Software’s product MoveIt to steal data from at least 91 organizations, including state and federal agencies and at least 10 U.S. banks and credit unions. Data compromised in the leaks included names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers and more.”
Tags: Banks, Companies, Compromised, Credit unions, Cyberattack, FTP, Government, Institutions, MoveIt, Ransomware, Supply chain, U.S., Victimized, Weakness, Zero-day vulnerability
New York Times (May 14)
Nearly three years after George Floyd’s murder prompted many companies to embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.), “some companies are amending their approach to D.E.I., even renaming their departments to include ‘belonging.’ It’s the age of D.E.I.-B.”
Tags: Approach, Belonging, Companies, D.E.I.-B., Diversity, Equity, George Floyd, Inclusion, Murder, U.S.
Nikkei Asia (October 31)
“A record sell-off of China stocks has revealed investors’ fears over the country’s largest companies after Xi Jinping secured his third term,” cementing his grip on leadership. Any hopes “that China’s down-beaten tech sector would revive” or that more open borders might “boost the economy were apparently dashed” when the CCP’s national congress affirmed a Politburo Standing Committee most “notable for a lack of reform-minded top leaders.”
Tags: Borders, CCP’s, China, Companies, Dashed, Down-beaten, Economy, Fears, Grip, Hopes, Investors, Leadership, Politburo Standing Committee, Record, Reform, Sell-off, Stocks, Tech sector, Xi
Washington Post (October 9)
“Quantum research still has plenty of obstacles to overcome before it reaches widespread use. But banks, health-care companies and others are starting to run experiments on the quantum internet. Some industries are also tinkering with early-stage quantum computers to see whether they might eventually crack problems that current computers can’t, such as discovering new pharmaceuticals to treat intractable disease.”
Tags: Banks, Companies, Computers, Early-stage, Health care, Industries, Internet, Obstacles, Overcome, Quantum, Research, Tinkering
Investment Week (July 25)
“Excluding investment companies and international companies whose London quote was secondary, 1,180 companies were listed on the LSE as of the last day of trading in May 2022, down from 1,349 in May 2019.” During the first half of 2022, “the number of companies floating on the LSE also fell drastically…with just 26 companies debuting, marking a 45% decline compared to the first half of 2021. The UK was not alone. Global IPO activity was poor, with the number of deals falling to 46%.”
Bloomberg (June 21)
“The Development Bank Of Japan, which has supported companies with funding during the pandemic, is gearing up to boost sustainable financing.” With over $40 billion earmarked for sustainable purposes, the Bank will take pains to “scrutinize the use of funds to ensure companies aren’t greenwashing.”
Tags: $40 billion, Companies, DBJ, Earmarked, Funding, Greenwashing, Pandemic, Scrutinize, Sustainable financing
Boston Globe (June 19)
“Many firms are implementing hybrid plans that call for two or three days a week in-office, though few enforce them. And fully remote situations remain common.” Things will never return to fully in-office, but offices are likely to grow more enticing. Companies that signed big leases, “with years of big rent checks ahead of them,” are left trying to rethink “the role — and look — of the office in a post-COVID world.” They are “trying to design an office worth coming back to.”
Tags: Companies, Design, Enforce, Enticing, Hybrid, In-office, Leases, Office, Post-Covid, Remote, Rent
