Washington Post (December 30)
ESG investing has become a political hot potato in the U.S. New York is considering a motion to shift from BlackRock, which “oversees $42.3 billion in index funds for city pensions” to other asset managers with a more proactive stance on ESG. Ironically, “BlackRock and its leader Larry Fink leaned into ESG during a different political moment. But that changed after Texas passed a law blacklisting BlackRock for its fossil fuel ‘boycott.’”
Tags: $42.3 billion, Asset managers, Blacklisting, BlackRock, Boycott, City pensions, ESG investing, Fink, Fossil fuel, Hot potato, Index funds, New York, Political, Texas, U.S.
Fortune (May 24)
“Predictions that the dollar’s dominance will come to an end soon have proliferated since President Donald Trump launched his trade war,” but it’s not so simple. “Assets in other top economies like China, Japan and Europe still aren’t as attractive as those in the U.S.” while potential rivals also “suffer from governance or political headwinds.” Until another currency surmounts these issues, “global investors are faced with the familiar reality that there is still no alternative to the greenback, which has been the currency of choice for international payments and reserves for decades.”
Tags: Alternative, Assets, Attractive, China, Dollar, Dominance, Europe, Governance, Greenback, Headwinds, International payments, Investors, Japan, Political, Predictions, Rivals, Top economies, Trade war, Trump, U.S.
Washington Post (September 13)
The White House may not immediately “move to block Nippon Steel’s bid to acquire U.S. Steel amid mounting concerns over the political and economic consequences of nixing the deal.” In recent weeks, “investors, Pennsylvania Democrats and some members of the steelworkers’ union warned that the deal’s collapse could spark an economic calamity for Pennsylvania’s beleaguered steel belt.” Optimism again appears to be growing that the deal might go through with shares of U.S. Steel rising “by more than 12 percent over the past two days of trading.”
Tags: Block, Calamity, Concerns, Consequences, Economic, Investors, Nippon Steel, Nixing, Optimism, Pennsylvania, Political, Shares, Steelworkers’ union, U.S. Steel, White House
Financial Times (September 10)
“Central bankers on both shores of the Atlantic are under pressure from many sides — political circles, financial markets, public opinion — to cut interest rates.” But the European Central Bank (ECB) faces distinctly different circumstances than the Fed or BoE. The ECB has already cut rates to 3.75 per cent, which “is already a solid 1.5 percentage points below” the Fed’s rate and inflation is less controlled. “The ECB has no room to cut rates.” It should “maintain a moderately restrictive stance on monetary policy to make further progress on inflation.”
Tags: 3.75%, BOE, Central bankers, ECB, Fed, Financial markets, Inflation, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Political, Pressure, Public opinion, Restrictive
Time (May 30)
“There are moments in American history that we all know matter, even if we aren’t clear at the time about their weight.” These moments become “political inflection points” and one of them “just took place in lower Manhattan. Thursday’s decision by a dozen jurors to find former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony crimes is an era-defining event, but how it will shape the age remains entirely uncertain.”
Tags: Decision, Era-defining event, Felony crimes, Guilty, History, Inflection points, Jurors, Manhattan, Moments, Political, Trump, U.S., Uncertain
Wall Street Journal (September 6)
Numerous states have warned the “Big Three” asset managers (BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street) that their ESG policies appear to run counter to “the sole interest rule, a well-established legal principle. The sole interest rule requires investment fiduciaries to act to maximize financial returns, not to promote social or political objectives.”
Tags: “Big Three”, Asset managers, BlackRock, ESG, Fiduciaries, Financial returns, Investment, Maximize, Political, Social, Sole interest rule, State Street, States, U.S., Vanguard, Warned
New York Times (April 28)
“Delaying the Tokyo Games by a year already poses enormous economic, political and logistical challenges, including whether Japan can hope to recoup its $10 billion investment.” Without a vaccine, however, a 2021 “timeline may be optimistic.”
Tags: Challenges, Delay, Economic, Investment, Japan, Logistical, Optimistic, Political, Recoup, Timeline, Tokyo, Vaccine
The Economist (November 2)
“Investors betting on Aramco as the last oil major standing in 30 years’ time will have to consider the risk of revolution or invasion. Aramco’s flotation is a sign that the end of oil could be in sight. But it is also a reminder that the black stuff’s capacity to cause economic and political havoc will be undiminished for decades to come.”
Tags: Aramco. Oil majors, Economic, Flotation, Havoc, Invasion, Investors, Political, Revolution, Risk, Undiminished
The Guardian (May 23)
“All political careers end in failure. Not all end in a punishment beating. The apparently imminent departure of Theresa May as Tory leader has seen a brutality rare even for the British Conservative party.”
Tags: Beating, Brutality, Careers, Departure, Failure, Imminent, May, Political, Punishment, Tory, UK
Wall Street Journal (October 19)
“China’s economic data are so consistent they’re hard to believe.” China’s 6.7% third-quarter growth was “perfectly in line with official targets and precisely as claimed in quarters one and two, a feat of consistency never before achieved. This is a reminder that China’s statistics remain fundamentally political.”
Tags: China, Consistent, Economic data, Growth, Political, Statistics, Targets
