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☆ Bank of America Reverses Its Pledge Not to Finance Fossil Fuels
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two years ago, Bank of America won kudos from climate activists for saying it would no longer finance new coal mines, coal-burning power plants or Arctic drilling projects because of the toll they take on the environment. The bank’s latest environment and social-risk policy reneged on those commitments. Wall Street in particular has come under fire for what some Republicans have called “woke capitalism,” a campaign that has pulled banks into the wider culture wars. States including Texas and West Virginia have passed financial regulations designed to ward off efforts to deny fossil-fuel companies access to banking services. In New Hampshire, state lawmakers have sought to criminalize the business principle known as E.S.G., shorthand for environmental, social and governance.

Persons: ” Organizations: of America, ” Bank, Republican Locations: Texas, West Virginia, New Hampshire

The Davos consensus on the presidential electionPublicly, the global business leaders who gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, haven’t wanted to predict the winner of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. In an interview with Andrew on CNBC, he didn’t predict that Trump would win, but suggested that dismissing the former president and his supporters would be a mistake. “He wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues, and that’s why they’re voting for him,” he said. “Trump is already the president at Davos — which is a good thing because the Davos consensus is usually wrong,” Alex Soros, the son of George Soros, said on a panel. A little history: The Davos consensus was that Hillary Clinton would beat Trump in 2016.

Persons: haven’t, Donald Trump, DealBook, Trump, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Andrew, “, ” Dimon, ”, MAGA, bode, “ Trump, ” Alex Soros, George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Sting, Biden, It’s, Reddit, Macy’s, Tony Spring, Warren Buffett, Morningstar Organizations: Economic, JPMorgan, CNBC, Trump, NATO, Biden, Trump’s Republican, Davos, Apple Watch, Reuters, Investors Locations: Davos, Switzerland, U.S, China, American, Indonesia, E.S.G

☆ Investors Pull Billions From Sustainable Funds Amid Political Heat
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Bernhard Warner | More About Bernhard Warner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The investing strategy has become increasingly politicized after being used by companies to address E.S.G. Investors pulled $5 billion out of E.S.G.-focused “sustainable” investment funds last quarter, according to a new report by Morningstar. The withdrawals came amid a wider market rally at the end of 2023. For the full year, $13 billion was pulled from E.S.G. All in all, it was the “worst calendar year on record,” wrote Alyssa Stankiewicz, Morningstar’s director of sustainability research.

Persons: Morningstar, ”, Alyssa Stankiewicz Organizations: Economic, Investors Locations: Davos, Switzerland, E.S.G

☆ Opinion | The Reactionary Futurism of Marc Andreessen
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Ezra Klein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

I think the Republican Party’s collapse into incoherence reflects the fact that much of the modern right is reactionary, not conservative. It’s a coalition obsessed with where we went wrong: the weakness, the political correctness, the liberalism, the trigger warnings, the smug elites. The Silicon Valley cohort Andreessen belongs to has added a bit to this formula. Rather, it’s the pairing of the reactionary’s sodden take on modern society with the futurist’s starry imagining of the bright tomorrow. So call it what it is: reactionary futurism.

Persons: Jordan Peterson, J.D, Vance, Peter Thiel, Donald Trump, Patrick Deneen, ” Mark Lilla, “, —, ”, else’s, Andreessen, Nietzsche, ” “, John Galts Locations: incoherence, It’s

☆ U.S. Judge Denies States’ Bid to Block Biden Rule on E.S.G.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Biden administration rule that allows employee retirement plans to consider environmental, social and governance issues in investment decisions survived a legal challenge by 26 states on Thursday. Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, said in a 14-page opinion that he would not block the rule, part of the so-called E.S.G. investment trend that places emphasis on companies’ records on labor issues, social justice and environmental factors. Judge Kacsmaryk’s opinion found fault with the lawsuit, filed in January by Republican-led states claiming that the rule violated the federal law governing retirement plans. investing generally or ultimately agree with the rule to reach this conclusion,” Judge Kacsmaryk wrote.

Persons: Biden, Judge Matthew J, Kacsmaryk, hadn’t, ” Judge Kacsmaryk Organizations: Republican Locations: U.S, Amarillo , Texas

☆ Larry Fink’s Bet on Saudi Oil Money Is Also His Latest E.S.G. Woe
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Maureen Farrell | More About Maureen Farrell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Larry Fink, the chief executive of the giant asset manager BlackRock, has been broadcasting a message to corporate America: Environmental, social and governance goals should be core to how companies do business. So when BlackRock announced in July that it would appoint Amin Nasser, the head of the world’s largest oil company, Aramco, to its board, investors and politicians immediately called out Mr. Fink on what they said was his hypocrisy. It’s the latest example of the increasingly difficult situation Mr. Fink finds himself in: His championing of E.S.G. has drawn accusations of “woke” capitalism from the right while his embrace of energy companies has upset those on the left. The political blowback has made it more challenging for Mr. Fink to do his day job of finding new sources of money that BlackRock — which oversees $9 trillion in assets — needs to drive growth and keep shareholders happy.

Persons: Larry Fink, Amin Nasser, Fink, ”, Giuseppe Bivona, Fink’s, “ Organizations: BlackRock, Aramco, Bluebell Locations: America, London

☆ Go Green, Then ‘Go Dark’?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ephrat Livni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The term is a cousin of greenwashing — the idea that an organization is overstating its environmental practices. Those kinds of critiques from the left, as well as newer criticism from the right over environmental, social and governance (E.S.G.) initiatives, have led some companies to keep quiet even about legitimate green goals. Some context: Last spring, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules that would require public companies to disclose and account for their environmental impact all along the supply chain.

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