Greenwashers Beware – Global Regulators Turn Their Attention To ESG Ratings Agencies Investor appetite for sustainable assets has been growing rapidly. As institutions and organizations have increased their production of climate-friendly instruments and assets that incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns, the market for ESG ratings has exploded. However, in the absence
Does Rising Inflation Herald A New Economic Reality Or Are Higher Prices A Blip On The Radar? After a long hiatus, inflation is back. In June, the US recorded its highest annual inflation rate since 2008 and in the EU, last year’s deflation has turned into a healthy level of inflation. The turnaround
Big Oil, Big Problems: Listed Oil Majors Are Under Fire, But Oil Production Is Rising During just a few days in May, three of the world’s largest listed oil companies were dealt powerful public blows by climate activists. In the face of shareholder revolts and legal challenges, energy supermajors including Chevron, Exxon Mobil,
Cryptocurrency vs. Central Bank Money: Does the Future of Digital Currency Lie with Central Banks? As cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin become an increasingly established part of the financial landscape, central bankers have begun to explore the broader potential of digital currency more seriously. With a flood of white papers, task forces, and workshops,
Year of the SPAC? Opportunities and Risks in the Listings Boom In recent years, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have exploded in popularity and today, they account for a sizeable proportion of total IPO funding. Once viewed as a listing backdoor for weaker firms, they are now seen as an efficient and simplified vehicle
Australia China Trade War And Its Implications The current China and Australia trade dispute is actually a war of words and trade restrictions. And it is largely one way, why? China is imposing barriers with seemingly little response from Australia. The reason is the relative high importance to Australia of cross border trade between
Gamestop, Wall St Bets And Robinhood – What Happened And Why? In January we had a curious situation involving Gamestop stock. The underlying stock GME, was on the face of it unlikely to be the center of such a wild move. GME is a bricks and mortar retail video and
ESG Reporting Revolution – Firms Must Grapple With The Need For Real Numbers As socially responsible investing (SRI) became increasingly important to investors, many companies began to produce glossy annual sustainability reports. However, those reports often offered style over substance and a lack of widely accepted reporting standards meant that many companies were
As LIBOR Deadline Looms, Low SOFR Swap Volumes Threaten Efforts to Build Term Rates LIBOR, which serves as a reference rate for over $300 trillion of global financial contracts, is scheduled to be phased out by the end of next year. At that time, financial contracts will need to transition to new reference rates, with
Governments Are Borrowing At Record Rates, But Yields Remain Low (For Now) As governments around the world roll out enormous stimulus programs in a bid to resuscitate their pandemic-hit economies, government debt issuance has hit record levels. Yet, despite double-digit budget deficits around the world, yields on government debt remain low. Indeed, in some large
