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☆ Young VCs thought the good times would never end. They did, and now they're pissed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider's Stephanie Palazzolo and Madeline Renbarger have a fascinating report on how young venture capitalists who came from investment banking and consulting are not having a good time. I encourage you to read Stephanie's and Madeline's story, which has all the juicy details about the current environment for young VCs. I've written a lot about how young investment bankers view their jobs as a means to an end, as opposed to an actual career. Timing has a lot to do with why young VCs are feeling like they've gotten such a raw deal. Click here to read more about why some young investment bankers are regretting their move to venture capital.

NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A new superseding indictment against FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried containing 12 charges was unsealed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Bankman-Fried was previously charged with eight counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges over the collapse of the now-bankrupt exchange. He has pleaded not guilty. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How coaching can turn passion for ESG into action
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created International Coaching Federation With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Coaching is a development practice that can help ESG professionals become more effective in their roles. "Coaching conversations enable people to take a step back and explore the many influences on successfully achieving ESG goals," Scotton said. "Coaching is not just for executives and senior leaders but can be helpful to any employee working in an ESG setting. According to Scotton, employees at all levels can positively influence an organization's ESG policy, however many individuals struggle to translate their passion for change into meaningful action. For more information on how coaching can help your professional development, and to find a coach for your workplace, please visit the International Coaching Federation website.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block software maker Adobe Inc's (ADBE.O) $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Responding to the report, Adobe said it and Figma were in different product areas, with Figma focusing on interactive designs. The Justice Department declined comment. Adobe shares edged lower in trading post-market trading after the story came out. Adobe, which makes Photoshop, said in September it would buy Figma, with investors concerned about the hefty price tag.

[1/2] Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationNEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - CoinEx was sued on Wednesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused the cryptocurrency exchange of transacting business without registering with the state. In a complaint filed with a New York state court in Manhattan, James said CoinEx's activities violated the Martin Act, a powerful state law used to fight financial fraud. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biotech Founder Vivek Ramaswamy Enters GOP Presidential Race
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( John Mccormick | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vivek Ramaswamy says the nation faces an identity crisis over what it stands for and where it needs to go. Vivek Ramaswamy , a multimillionaire biotech company founder and investor, said Tuesday that he is entering the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race. The native of southwestern Ohio has criticized what he calls woke capitalism, including investment based on environmental, social and corporate-governance principles. Under ESG, individuals seek to invest in ways consistent with their own values and to benefit from growth in sectors such as renewable energy.

☆ Here's why Florida pulled $2 billion out of Blackrock's ESG fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's why Florida pulled $2 billion out of Blackrock's ESG fundJimmy Patronis, Florida CFO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the growing anti-ESG movement, how much money the state pulled from the Blackrock investment and more.

☆ Anti-ESG crusader Ramaswamy launches U.S. presidential bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Isla Binnie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A former biotechnology investor and executive, Ramaswamy will pursue the Republican nomination in what is shaping up to be a crowded field. A political outsider, Ramaswamy rose to prominence in 2021 as the author of "Woke Inc: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam". But Ramaswamy's contrarian message made him popular in conservative political circles and a regular guest on cable TV shows. Ramaswamy co-founded Strive with former Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA executive Anson Frericks, who will continue to run the firm. Reporting by Isla Binnie in New York; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Companies Liberty Energy Inc FollowFeb 22 (Reuters) - A coalition of Republican-led states has asked a federal judge to block a Biden administration rule allowing retirement plans to consider environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors in selecting investments pending the outcome of their legal challenge. The 25 states in a motion filed in Amarillo, Texas federal court on Tuesday said the rule, which took effect Jan. 30, could lead to millions of Americans losing retirement investments and harm states' finances. The Biden administration has moved to transfer the lawsuit to a different court, accusing the states of engaging in judge shopping. An appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, Kacsmaryk has previously struck down Biden administration rules on immigration and healthcare protections for LGBTQ people. The ESG rule makes it easier for retirement plans to invest in socially-responsible funds and companies, though it also requires traditional financial considerations.

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The foreperson of a Georgia grand jury that investigated former U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state told media on Tuesday that the panel recommended multiple criminal indictments. The foreperson of the recently concluded Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury, Emily Kohrs, did not discuss specific charges that the grand jury in interviews with outlets including CNN and the New York Times. The special grand jury did not have the authority to issue indictments. Willis opened the special grand jury investigation shortly after Trump's January 2021 phone call to a state official asking him to "find" more votes to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory. Trump called Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and claimed falsely that the election results were fraudulent.

☆ Republicans seek records on SEC's climate proposal as part of push against ESG investing plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gensler recently announced that the agency is considering adjustments to the proposal, first introduced in March 2022, after pushback from investors. Gensler told CNBC's "Squawk Box" earlier this month that the proposal simply required a clear climate transition plan from public companies. Earlier this month, McHenry formed a Republican working group on environmental, social and governance, or ESG, plans in part to target the rule disclosure. ESG platforms broadly apply to taking into account the environmental and social implications of a company's decisions, and not just its financial performance, as part of investing decisions. Many House Republicans have criticized ESG plans — but some of them have received campaign contributions from the very financial firms they are targeting.

FCA officials said the sector will begin adapting ahead of the rules, as it did with similar rules in the European Union. They rejected concern among lawmakers the new regime would create "bubbles" as money flocked to the fewer funds that qualify as sustainable. Lawmakers on the committee examining the FCA's proposals put Cummings on the defensive over his criticism that too many funds will be excluded. Kate Levick, associate director of sustainable finance at think tank E3G, told the hearing the FCA's plan "would remove the significant amount of greenwashing currently in the market". ($1 = 0.8290 pounds)Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Huw Jones; Editing by Mark Potter and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biotech Founder Vivek Ramaswamy Enters 2024 GOP Presidential Race
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( John Mccormick | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ GOP lawmakers vilify ESG moves at BlackRock, Vanguard but take their money nonetheless
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

But Republicans have vilified BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street for leading the push on Wall Street to promote clean energy and what GOP lawmakers often title "left-wing social priorities." Still, many Republican lawmakers received money from the very firms their party is criticizing. It was the third election cycle in a row that both lawmakers took donations from the firm's PAC. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., received $10,000 from BlackRock and a combined $6,500 from Vanguard and State Street in the 2022 cycle. Huizenga's spokesman Brian Patrick said the donations won't affect the lawmaker's position on ESG issues.

☆ Ukraine yet to make defence a safe investor haven
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

MUNICH, Feb 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The West’s rush to supply weapons to war-torn Ukraine looks like a golden opportunity for defence companies to exit the ESG doghouse. As with air-polluting coal, socially-minded investors including pension funds and insurers - particularly European ones - have long excluded or heavily restricted investment in defence companies on ethical grounds. Risk committees, particularly at domestic banks, are now more frequently assessing the merits of financing defence companies, two senior bankers among the 850 or so conference participants said. Proponents of the approach argue military companies that help Ukraine perform a globally valuable social function by upholding democracy. The Munich Security Index, a global risk perceptions survey conducted before the conference, showed security concerns had replaced climate challenges as the top concern.

☆ Morgan Stanley says these stocks are making improvements on ESG that can also boost returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan Stanley honed in on publicly traded companies that are improving on ESG in ways that can boost shareholder returns. "We think ESG rate of change will be a critical focus for investors looking to identify companies that can generate alpha and ESG impact," he said in a note to clients in late 2022. Though he said both approaches to ESG screens can be useful, he specifically looked for companies doing under-the-radar ESG work. Eighty-percent of analysts rate the stock a buy, FactSet data shows. Roughly two-thirds of analysts rate the stock as buy or overweight, and the average price target implies upside of nearly 15%.

☆ Climate reparations are not going to be helpful, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S Senator Lindsey Graham has said the world should focus on environmental damage prevention rather than on climate reparations. The world should focus on environmental damage prevention rather than on climate reparations, U.S Senator Lindsey Graham said Friday, calling for approaches that integrate countries worldwide. The idea of ESG [Environmental, Social and Governance investing], you know, paying climate reparations ... is not going to be helpful." Voluntary carbon offset schemes have in the past come under fire for being insufficiently regulated, potentially undermining net-zero targets, and for the challenge in quantifying whether emissions have been fully compensated. Graham underlined the need to focus on preventative action and to draft countries into green transition efforts.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio's Regeneration VC fills $1.6 million funding gap in AI recycling startup Greyparrot after key investor falls short on commitment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leonardo DiCaprio's Regeneration VC has plugged a $1.6 million funding gap in Greyparrot. But Una Terra, one of its key backers, was unable the fulfill the entirety of its promised investment. Leonardo DiCaprio-backed fund Regeneration VC has plugged a $1.6. million funding gap in recycling analytics startup Greyparrot after one of its key backers fell short on a promised investment. The founder expects continued growth in waste data, analytics, and reporting as industries are forced to green up.

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Insurance brokerage firm PCF Insurance said on Friday it had secured a $500 million investment at a valuation of $4.7 billion in a fundraising led by private equity firms Carlyle Global Credit and minority shareholder HGGC. Minority investors Crescent Capital and Owl Rock, a unit of alternative asset manager Blue Owl, also took part in the funding round, PCF said. HGGC, which was previously the owner of PCF, sold the company in 2021 to the insurance firm's management and Owl Rock, in a deal that had valued it at $2.2 billion. The brokerage connects its more than 415,000 clients to insurance agencies in its network, providing advisory services with its risk management programs. Reporting by Niket Nishant and Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ McGhee: This is not going to be a straight line, and markets will have a knee-jerk reaction to inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMcGhee: This is not going to be a straight line, and markets will have a knee-jerk reaction to inflation dataPivotal Advisors CEO & CIO Tiffany McGhee says periods of volatility offer investors moments to get in on the market recovery, and highlights potential names with high ESG ratings, such as Microsoft.

☆ 2 portfolio managers at a $24 billion firm share 8 stocks that are pursuing innovation even in a slowing economy — and explain why investors should focus on boring businesses for success during a rece
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

David Souccar and Daniel Kranson, portfolio managers focused on global equities at Vontobel Quality Growth — which manages $24 billion in assets — are following the same philosophy. But they believe that investors can still find innovative and growth-oriented companies when they go looking for high-quality stocks. That may seem counterintuitive, since growth stocks have recently struggled against their value peers as investors have reemphasized fundamentals. Boring stocks can be the most innovativeSometimes, quality growth stocks like the ones Souccar and Kranson invest in can be more boring than companies with high speculation and flashy CEOs. So as life goes back to normal, there is going to be an acceleration of earnings growth," Souccar said.

☆ A Bank of America indicator just signaled the economy is tipping into a recession. Their stock chief shares 5 trades that are likely to outperform the rest of the market based on decades of history.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bank of America shares where to invest in a recession: high quality; low risk; large caps; small caps; and stocks that generate high free cash flow. It can be difficult to pinpoint where in a market cycle stocks are — to be able to tell whether there's further downside in a sell-off, or whether stocks have already seen their lowest point. "We have found that factor behavior is relatively predictable during different phases of the US Regime Indicator," Subramanian added. Bank of AmericaFurther, Subramanian said stocks that generate high cash flow should also outperform in the current late cycle environment and into the downturn phase. "As the market cycle matures, companies that continue to generate healthy free cash become scarcer and sought after," she said.

☆ Analysis: Gazprom's export revenue may fall by 50% in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Oksana Kobzeva | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

If the trend continues, Gazprom's export revenues for the whole year could be halved compared to 2022 when its export volumes also declined by nearly half. LOWER REVENUESIn 2022, Gazprom's export volumes fell by 46%, according to the company. Gazprom has not provided forecasts for gas exports for this year. Gazprom's exports outside ex-Soviet Union fell by more than 45% to 100.9 bcm in 2022 from 185.1 bcm in 2021. The Economy Ministry forecasts Gazprom's export price for 2023 at $700 per 1,000 cubic metres.

☆ Larry Fink has a new chief of staff, an under-the-radar position that's become a powerful post at BlackRock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has named executive Willie Alford as his new chief of staff. Sarah Schaffer, an executive and Fink's prior chief of staff, will take on a new role at BlackRock. This may be especially true if you worked directly with Larry Fink, the firm's chief executive and among the most powerful people on Wall Street. Fink's chief of staff position has vaulted executives into new heights. A more common C-suite roleThe chief of staff role has taken off across corporations and beyond the position's roots in government and military operations.

☆ ESG tops regulatory demands in finance as UK, EU rules diverge - KPMG
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Financial firms in Britain and the European Union remained under significant pressure to comply with diverging environmental, social and governance (ESG) rules over the past six months, KPMG's Regulatory Barometer showed on Monday. The barometer, aimed at helping firms with compliance planning, also tracks the scale of the divergence between UK and EU regulations, with KPMG saying the biggest differences are in areas like customer protection and access to markets. "The volume of emerging requirements for ESG and Sustainable Finance may lead to further divergence despite global standard-setters' best efforts," she said. Being aligned with EU rules would be a pre-condition for Britain if it wanted to regain access to the bloc's financial market. Britain has said it wants to tailor some rules inherited from the EU to better fit into UK markets, while maintaining high international standards.

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