Responsible Investor (June 9)
“Only in finance can a product lose 24% of its value and be celebrated as success. Since traditional benchmarks have lost more than ESG funds since the beginning of the year, ESG is feted by some as a success, a ‘refuge’.” Kudos, however, are not in order. “The rude fact is that, on the whole, ESG risk management frameworks did not prepare us for the inevitability of the pandemic. They did not help investors and banks anticipate the crisis, nor how to navigate it. The pandemic is a failure of mainstream risk management frameworks. Sadly, it is also a failure of ESG risk management frameworks.”
Tags: Banks, Benchmarks, Crisis, ESG funds, Finance, Frameworks, Investors, Pandemic, Refuge, Risk management, Success, Value
Market Watch (July 31)
“Both Facebook and Netflix saw their shares fall into bear-market territory on Monday, defined by a decline of at least 20% from a recent peak, and nearly 40% of the S&P 500’s technology sector is in correction territory.” Some say there’s been a seismic shift, but “it remains to be seen if the recent moves represent a sea change for a reemergence for value, which has been overshadowed by growth plays, or if moves of the past few days are a blip.”
Tags: Bear market, Correction, Facebook, Growth Blip, Netflix, S&P 500, Shares, Technology sector, Value
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
The Economist (March 28)
“More and more money is being spent on higher education. Too little is known about whether it is worth it.”
Tags: Higher education, Money, Value
USA Today (May 28)
“Despite what politicians say,” entrepreneurs don’t create many jobs. “Successful entrepreneurs almost always create real value in the economy and grow the economic pie for all of us,” but they “do not always create enormous numbers of jobs, particularly for the middle class.” In fact, “the creative destruction that accompanies entrepreneurship today often destroys middle-class jobs.”
Tags: Creative destruction, Economy, Entrepreneurs, Jobs, Middle class, Politicians, Value
The Economist (September 21)
“Nine of the world’s ten most valuable firms are American.” A rising stock market and the euro crisis are partly responsible, but the reasons go deeper. “First, America’s mix of resilience and renewal. Three of its nine biggest firms have their roots in a 16-year period in the late 19th century—Exxon, General Electric and Johnson & Johnson. Their durability reflects their powerful corporate cultures. But the country still does creative destruction, too. IBM and Intel have slid down the rankings to be replaced by Apple and Google. Chevron, an energy firm, has gone from a laggard to a world-beater. Success has been anything but parochial. Six of the nine biggest firms sell more abroad than at home.”
Tags: Apple, Chevron, Corporate culture, Creative destruction, Durability, Euro crisis, Exxon, General electric, Google, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Rankings, Stock market, Success, U.S., Value
Washington Post (July 6)
While universities in the U.S. may be among the world’s best, 57% of Americans feel they do not provide good value. The Post believes universities should condense the study period and offer three-year degrees to make college more affordable. “Today’s students have the capability to acquire and distribute knowledge faster than any previous generation, thanks to technology. Higher education needs to catch up.”
Tags: Affordability, Education, U.S., University, Value