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Transition Investing hits $1.8 trillion in 2023 a 17% increase to tackle climate change
03/03/2024
ESG or environmental social governance seemed to be telling people they were inadequate and telling them what they needed to do. Now Larry Fink of Black Rock sticks to Transition Investing. The dangers of climate change are everywhere and well known. The transition was needed, and how to make it happen, how to make the transition with the right investments, how to prepare for the future- this is Transition Investing.
Linked Articles
Step Aside, ESG. BlackRock Is Doing ‘Transition Investing’ Now.
WSJ 03/03/2024
WSJ News Exclusive | The Investment Firm That Keeps Raising Giant Climate FundsWSJ 02/05/2024
Reagan, Greenspan and America's lost years 1980-2009
11/17/2023
It was in this period that many of the problems that we face today were created through policies of low interest rates, deregulation and financial market speculation leading to the financial crisis of 2008. At the beginning of the Reagan administration in 1980 China was still a country of bicycles and largely rural, by 2009 it had transformed itself into the largest manufacturing nation in the world and continued to 2023. In the US financial deregulation and lack of health care for all allowed financial interests to become the dominant force in the economy in a speculative way , and defunded manufacturing, infrastructure and public services. The work of FDR, Truman Eisenhower and Kennedy unraveled, Clinton, Obama and Trump continued that decline.
Linked Articles
Puerto Rico Was Supposed to Be John Paulson’s Paradise. Then Came the Lawsuits.
WSJ 11/16/2023
Trader Made Billions on SubprimeWSJ Jan 15 2008 01/15/2008
Severe floods in Germany 2021 Italy 2023 and effects of climate change in Europe
05/21/2023
The floods in Germany and Europe, the severe drought in parts of Spain and Italy are seen as signs climate change is here. At one southernmost point in Sicily the temperature recently reached about 49 degrees centigrade the highest ever in Europe.
Linked Articles
Italy’s disasters suggest the climate crisis is at the gates of Europe
The Guardian 05/18/2023
Scores dead, hundreds missing after massive floods in Germany, BelgiumFrance 24 07/16/2021
The trajectory in 2023 and beyond for Russia and Ukraine that was not evident in the first year of the war
04/07/2023
Russia faces a difficult situation ahead for its economy. Ukraine has survived the most difficult period with EU assistance and American support.
Linked Articles
Russia’s Economy Is Starting to Come Undone
WSJ 03/28/2023
Thwarting Vladimir Putin: The Ukrainian Economy Just Keeps On Going - DER SPIEGELSPIEGEL ONLINE 04/07/2023
Deforestation- is the pledge at COP26 Glasgow a bit too late for Indonesian rainforest?
11/02/2021
This is one of the amazing links in Lyrarc because it shows WSJ article from 2007 noted by Lyrarc that year, showing UN maps on deforestation in Borneo island in Indonesia for 2000, 2005, 2020. By 2020 most of the rainforest is shown as gone. Deforestation and climate ecologist Clare Rewcastle Brown, sister in law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown, from Britain, recalls colonial days in Sarawak, north Borneo Island, where her father was a police officer. And how much of the canopy of forest from that part of Malaysia was disappearing. She continued her protests from outside Malaysia in 2013 as reported by NYT and noted in Lyrarc that year. This is an amazing story of how deforestation of some of the last rain forests in the world took place at a time when awareness of climate change was sorely lacking in 2007-2013, and how by 2020 the rain forests in Borneo may have already disappeared from planet earth to combat climate change. One woman's fight and a fight that is still on after world leaders took a pledge to end deforestation on the planet by 2030 including Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, China, and the US, and a UN report that had the foresight to show a rainforest disappearing in 2007 in Tom Wright's WSJ report from Surabaya, Indonesia the same year.
Linked Articles
WSJ 07/03/2007
Barred From Malaysia, but Still Connecting With Critical JabsNew York Times 08/16/2013
How the WHO failed as early warning system in the coronavirus after being a model during the leadership of Dr. Brundtland in 2003 SARS
05/21/2020
The contrast could not be greater between the World Health Organization today and the WHO under Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, a three time prime minister of Norway between 1981 and 1996 with great experience and a record of handling difficult issues of climate change and sustainable development.
Linked Articles
A Failed Deception: The Early Days of the Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan - DER SPIEGEL
SPIEGEL ONLINE 05/20/2020
‘The only way forward for WHO is...’: Full text of Trump’s letter to WHO chiefHindustan Times 05/19/2020
The miscalculations and missteps of Russian president Putin in 2014 leading to a major crisis for the Russian economy in 2015
12/18/2014
A major miscalculation was totally misjudging Merkel and post-war German public opinion about policies that remind people about the period between the two World Wars- this is anathema to Germans who see the European Union as a way to build a new and different Europe. The other miscalculation was on how a foreign adventurous policy in Syria would affect Sunni world opinion, in particular Saudi Arabia. Just as Brezhnev took Russia into Afghanistan where Russia had no vital interest leading to eventual Soviet collapse, Putin risked alienating a key member in OPEC pricing moves and hurting Russia's economic interest. By not listening to Kudrin, the head of Sberbank, and other economic advisers from the first and second terms of the Putin-Medvedev administrations, Putin opened the door to two years of serious missteps, risking the very real accomplishments of the first and second term of creating a stable growing Russian economy with close economic ties to Europe. The only positive outcome of the crisis and low oil prices would be making the shift away from oil dependence, which was talked about but never seriously attempted in the Putin administrations. For this to happen major new investments would have to be made and technology links to the outside strengthened, both hammered by the missteps in 2013-2014. The irony of all this is that Putin gained the support of rural Russians in the countryside in the 2012 presidential elections by promising no return to the economic crisis conditions following earlier ruble collapses. Now by ignoring Kudrin and other wiser counsel from the first and second administrations he does just that.
Linked Articles
Putin’s Year of Defiance and Miscalculation
Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin Seeks to Reassure on EconomyWall Street Journal 12/18/2014
China, the U.S. and Japan- the task of reestablishing peaceful cooperation in the Pacific region after the missteps of 2011-2013
07/09/2014
Meetings for the sixth round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Bieijing between the U.S. and China, and Japanese prime minister's address to the Australian parliament in Canberra, at about the same time in July 2014, showing how the path of peaceful cooperation will have to be actively pursued to remain a reality. Underpinning the hopes of China, Japan and neighboring countries in Asia is the U.S. will and purpose for maininting the post war peace and stability for the benefit of all, that at times has been missing in the words and actions of the Obama administration. Lack of peace in the region would seriously affect China's effort to bring better incomes to the large majority of people still in the countryside and leave China stuck in middle income status of countries like Mexico, damage the prospects of improving incomes of billions of people in India, other parts of Asia and Latin America. In this sense the Japanese people have shown the wisdom of keeping the conditions of peace that have prevailed for the post war period, and the U.S. with undiminished will and purpose in its post war role can affirm the hopes of the people of the region, including the hope of people in China, India, Japan, S. Korea, and Latin America.
Linked Articles
U.S., China try to emphasize potential for cooperation - The Washington Post
Washington Post 07/09/2014
Abe's Constitutional Reform Push SlowsWall Street Journal 07/09/2014
U.S. Federal Reserve policy to leave bond buying tapering unchanged and the lower U.S. growth from adverse weather in 4th quarter 2013-1st quarter 2014
02/28/2014
Yellen leaves Fed policy on the same course as lower growth is attributed to bad weather in Feb. 2014.
Linked Articles
Yellen Sticks to Plan Amid Weather Doubts
Wall Street Journal 02/28/2014
That 2014 Growth Breakout? Not Looking LikelyWall Street Journal 03/02/2014
Losses at RBS in 2013 putting off date at which the UK government's 81% stake can be sold to the private sector
01/28/2014
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 01/28/2014
Legal Costs Set to Put RBS in the RedWall Street Journal 01/28/2014
China PBOC's efforts in early 2014 to slow and slightly reverse appreciation of the yuan and have it trade in a 2% up or down trading range
12/10/2013
PBOC continues to carefully manage the currency in 2014 by slightly lowering its value, with plans to widen the trading range up or down by 2%. The yuan appreciated by 2.9% in 2013.
Linked Articles
China Intervenes to Lower Yuan
Wall Street Journal 02/27/2014
Brawny Yuan Stands Apart from the CrowdWall Street Journal 12/10/2013
The U.S., European and Emerging Markets stock markets in October 2013
11/17/2013
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 11/17/2013
Is This a Bubble?Wall Street Journal 11/17/2013
Missteps of German brands in the U.S. market 2013-2015- Adidas and VW
09/06/2013
Linked Articles
How Adidas Aims to Get Its Cool Back
Wall Street Journal 03/26/2015
VW's $1 Billion Bet on U.S. Factory SputtersWall Street Journal 09/06/2013
Carlos Tavares and the contrast with Fiat Sergio Marchionne, Tesla Elon Musk- the need today for new role models for health and worklife balance, respect for dignity of workern
02/05/2024
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis that brings together Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, as shown in a WSJ report, respects workers right to have a weekend free of email requests to recharge their batteries for the new week starting Mondays. Tavares sees great value in worklife balance, respect for dignity and health of workers. He believes this delivers productive work better than alternatives such as that under Sergio Marchionne the Fiat leader running Chrysler who worked constantly, with excessively long hours, unending travel and smoking incessantly say reports, that took its toll on health- setting a poor role model for managing business and for the younger generation. A similar situation is presented by Mr. Musk compared to Mr. Tavares. Striking is the respect for the dignity of workers that comes with respecting worklife balance. This was a major issue in this years UAW negotiations. Leaders from Scholz in Germany and Biden in US, Modi in India, have called for respect for dignity of work and workers as the kind of society we want to build and we want to live in. The founder of Silicon Valley Andy Grove who founded Intel that powers the chips on every laptop always reminded his readers this is the kind of society he wanted to live in.
Linked Articles
Elon Musk Says Donald Trump Should ‘Sail Into the Sunset’ in Latest Spat
WSJ 07/12/2022
WSJ News Exclusive | The Money and Drugs That Tie Elon Musk to Some Tesla DirectorsWSJ 02/04/2024
Li Keqiang and the era of Openness in China 1977-2023
11/02/2023
LI Keqiang was able to pass entrance exams to Peking University in 1977 after entrance exams were reinstated following Mao's death. He led the modernization of China during the 2000-2022 period two decades of fast growth turning China into a middle income industrialized country after centuries of decline. During this period China urbanized at a rapid rate and Li's advanced studies focused on urbanization. It was also a period when China realized the damage done to the environment and quality of air, water, with haphazard growth, and shifted to climate change action through focus on solar energy and limiting use of coal.
Linked Articles
China Mourns Former Premier Whose Death Hovers Over Xi Jinping
WSJ 11/02/2023
Next Premier Came of Age in Era of OpennessWall Street Journal 11/16/2012
Mr. Trump's loosening of banking regulation and regulatory culture and the crisis it caused.
04/29/2023
The laws passed in the US Congress to limit the regulation of US banks imposed after the 2009 crisis led to leaving a gap for midsized banks where there would be less regulation. The appointment of Randy Quarles to Fed Vice Chair Supervision by Mr. Trump in 2019 led to the new culture which took the attitude the less regulation the better 14 years after the 2009 banking crisis, and the collapse of several banks in 2023, endangering the US banking system when the US needs a huge capacity to invest in the nation.
Linked Articles
The indictment of Donald Trump for hush payments to a porn actress
04/01/2023
The indictment by a grand jury of Donald Trump in March 2023, with other investigations underway in other places.
Linked Articles
How Alvin Bragg Resurrected the Case Against Donald Trump
NYTimes.com 04/01/2023
Donald Trump Indictment Sets Historical MarkerWSJ 03/31/2023
How to get to a family friendly home and workplace- important for women's Mental Health
09/24/2021
WSJ provides ways women can accomplish two goals important for women's Mental Health and for a decent work-life balance- 1. How to find a family friendly workplace. 2. How to get men to share in household chores so that women are not overwhelmed or frustrated, as more women return to the workplace to improve incomes and use their skills.
Linked Articles
How to Find a Family-Friendly Workplace
WSJ 09/24/2021
Women Still Do More of the Housework. Here’s How to Share the Load.WSJ 09/23/2021
The devaluation of the yuan in August 2015 as China responds to lower exports, the appreciation of the euro and the yen, and the U.S. Federal Reserve's plan to raise rates
08/12/2015
China's currency appreciated 9.2% against the euro and 57% against the Japanese yen with its soft peg to the dollar in 2013-2015. The 8.3% decline in China's exports for July 2015 over the prior year led to the policy action to devalue the Chinese currency, the yuan on August 11, 2015.
Linked Articles
China is trying to save its economy with a cheaper currency - The Washington Post
Washington Post 08/12/2015
China’s Devaluation GambitWall Street Journal 08/12/2015
China and corruption under the Xi Jinping administration
12/02/2014
Transparency International gives China 36 points , a decline of 4 points in 2014. Since 2013 China has dropped 20 place in the Corruption Perceptions Index, only Turkey had a steeper drop in points in 2014. Transparency, independent judiciary, free speech, whistleblower protection, and accountable government are factors that determine ranking in the index.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 12/09/2014
China Slips in Corruption Perceptions ReportNew York Times 12/02/2014
GE (General Electric) low tax rate of 4.2% in 2013, 10.3% in 2014, and the move to a normal tax rate in 2015
03/05/2014
An aggressive policy of tax reduction using GE Capital at GE leads to an astonishingly low tax rate. Shareholders see the uncertainty from GE Capital's volatile earnings and tax strategies with great skepticism. GE shares dropped to $6 during the 2008 global financial crisis because of GE Capital losses, and GE needed government rescue funds. The day CEO Immelt announced the decision to exit the banking business GE shares went up by 11%. GE's tax rate without the banking business will go up to about 20%.
Linked Articles
Price of Selling GE Capital? Tax Breaks
Wall Street Journal 04/14/2015
How corporate America is losing the debate on taxesWashington Post 03/05/2014
Britain's RBS bank and the issue of high bank bonuses after a $15 billion loss in 2013
02/27/2014
Linked Articles
Royal Bank of Scotland to Slash Costs as Losses Deepen
Wall Street Journal 02/28/2014
Bailed-Out Royal Bank of Scotland Sees Years of LossesNew York Times 02/27/2014
China's steadily growing automobile market in 2014-2015 (2)- the 49% increase in SUV sales in 2013 over 2012
12/16/2013
Ford Motor's early push into SUV's in China is helping it catchup with GM and Toyota.
Linked Articles
Renault to Focus on Building SUVs in China
Wall Street Journal 12/16/2013
Ford's SUVs Propel Its China GainsWall Street Journal 04/08/2014
Change and South Africa- The African National Congress in 1944 and the African National Congress in 2013
12/05/2013
The changing mood of young people in South Africa as the ANC fails to live up to its ideals.
Linked Articles
New York Times 12/05/2013
In Mandela's Home, Grief and GlorificationWall Street Journal 12/06/2013
Liu He, top economic advisor to president Jinping, and Zhou Xiaochuan, head of the People's Bank of China, push for deposit insurance and private banks in China
10/30/2013
Deposit insurance and private banks to support lending to new private enterprises moves to the top of China's agenda and priorities in 2013 for the Jinping-Keqiang administration.
Linked Articles
China's Central Banker Leads Push to Overhaul Economy
Wall Street Journal 11/05/2013
China Think Tank Offers Reform Wish ListWall Street Journal 10/30/2013
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