As the economy increasingly struggled amidst the COVID19 pandemic, many corporations halted their dividend plans but appeared instead more reticent in sacrificing their executive compensation plans. For instance, the cases of IAG, British Airways owner, and Ryanair Bonus payment to CEO Michael O’Leary bring forth ethical considerations on the...
JPMorgan is to investigate clients and staff over illegally obtained federal aid. The bank has nearly arranged $29bn of forgivable loans under the PPP, a business loan initiative established as part of the US $2.2tn economic stimulus package. It is difficult to believe that this happened...
At SVI we reflect that traditional confrontation on oil and gas reserves has to be considered in the light of climate change risk and decarbonization trend of world economies. The awareness of such topics is still very low but geopolitics will need to be revisited...
China is pressuring the Pakistani army to impose a hybrid martial law to speed up the pace of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative in the country. Will workers' democratic rights of strike, freedom of association, and collective bargain be safe? Pakistani military seeks greater control over...
Pros and cons of hydrogen-powered vehicles, the "latest" solution to greening the transportation sector. When it comes to transportation and other industries heavily dependent on fossil fuels, what does create a stronger emotional commitment than the image of a Huracán 5.2 V10? Perhaps nothing, as far...
MorganStanley, Citi and Bank of America have joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, a global group composed of 70 financial institutions representing more than $10 trillion in assets, which aims to provide financial institutions with a common methodology to assess and measure greenhouse gas emissions. Morgan Stanley,...
Investors fear that firms’ financial statements do not represent the real long-term outlook for many businesses as only a minority of them accurately incorporate climate change risks. The oil and gas company BP has cut $17.5 billion off the value of its assets, reflecting the material...
Bolsonaro has imposed a ban on forest fires during the dry season and arranged military operations against deforestation practices. This decree comes after pressure from financial investors, international companies and foreign governments on the need to improve Brazil’s environmental commitment and to stop deforestation, a practice that is...
According to a recent study, institutional investors, among which BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, JPMorgan, are responsible for increasing price volatility and mispricing in company stocks. Moreover, stocks with higher ownership by such investors show greater price drops during periods of market turmoil. The findings of this study provide...
Alphabet has launched one of the largest sustainable bond offerings to be ever recorded, devoted to funding ongoing and new green and social justice-oriented projects. Sustainable bonds are not without risk of social washing and investor monitoring is much needed. The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the offering of socially-related bonds,...
The modern slavery case at Boohoo shows the importance of investigating firms' ESG practices more deeply. The Manchester-based online fast-fashion retailer Boohoo has launched an independent review of its domestic supply chain after the Sunday Times published an investigation affirming that workers manufacturing its products at a...
After the fraud scheme, Wirecard’s links to the Italian Mafia have also been discovered. The firm processed payments for Maltese gambling companies that laundered money for the Ndrangheta. A good ESG analysis would have been effective in detecting Wirecard's controversies. The German payment service provider Wirecard, which went bankrupt...
The recent oil price shock has deeply affected corporations such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil, but also the long-term trend in oil demand seems to pose risks. As the sector is evolving, activist investors are becoming increasingly vocal with respect to environmental matters and are leading change in...
Despite the worldwide increase in ESG and sustainable investments, in the USA we are assisting to a great deterrence against ESG policies reviving the old objection they provide low returns, which has not been supported by the facts. In the last decade, a fundamental shift towards sustainable...