ESG / Sustainability New Leaks Reveal Insider Tips on S&P's U.S. Credit Downgrade to "Privileged Clients"
(Source: Global Research.ca) We live in an age where insider deals, conflicts of interest, revolving doors between "regulators" and the "regulated" (lubricated with oceans of cash) accompanies the generalized looting of social wealth by deviant capitalist elites. It now appears that insiders at Standard and Poor's or the Treasury Department, take your pick, may have leaked information to privileged clients on the recent U.S. credit downgrade, with confirmation coming from a surprising source. Associated Profiles : Standard & Poors
Jules Kroll Comments on Outlook for Credit Rating Companies
video (Source: Bloomberg) Jules Kroll, CEO and founder of Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), discusses the outlook for credit rating companies and the replacement of S&P's president on Bloomberg Television's "Taking Stock.” Associated Profiles : Kroll Bond Rating Agency Research/Reports Five Steps CFOs Need to Take to Improve Sustainability, Governance Visibility
(Source: On Wall Street) Chief financial officers navigating their firms through these uncertain and troubling economic times already have plenty to worry about. How these executives manage risk and enhance their corporate value through sustainability will play an increasingly larger role in how investors view their firms and their respective stocks going forward. A new report released this week from Ernst & Young details some important steps CFOs and other C-level executives can and need to take to improve investor relations, risk management strategies and external reporting and operational controllership. Does Climate Change Cause Civil War?
(Source: International Business Times) A theory that climate change could be a cause in triggering conflict has been given a new boost after a new scientific study found a correlation between climate fluctuations and violence. The reports explains tropical countries affected by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation are twice as likely to suffer internal unrest compared to the phenomenon's cooler, wetter counterpart, La Niña. The authors of the study cite the civil war and famine that is devastating countries like Somalia as a typical example of what happens when a climate swing causes drought, increasing pressure on societies that are already living in very precarious conditions. Sovereign Wealth Funds - Libya Libya's Gaddafi will try to sell Libyan gold- ex-central banker
(Source: Trust Law.org) Muammar Gaddafi will try to sell part of Libya's gold reserves to pay for his protection and sow chaos among tribes in the north African country, said his former central bank governor Farhat Bengdara. Bengdara, who has allied himself with the Libyan rebels, told the Italian daily, Corriere della Sera, that an ally of Gaddafi had offered 25 tonnes of gold to his friend "a little time ago". Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority Libya: NTC seeks £3 billion in emergency aid
(Source: Telegraph.co.uk) Libya's National Transitional Council sought $5 billion (£3 billion) in emergency aid from frozen Libyan assets at a meeting with foreign representatives, according to diplomats. "The participants in the meeting supported the Libyan demand for five billion dollars to be unfrozen urgently from blocked assets" of Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Aref Ali Nayed, the TNC's envoy to the United Arab Emirates said. Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority Depleted Fund May Hamper Libya Rebuild
(Source: The Tripoli Post) Analysing the current situation in Libya, Reuters news agency said that Libyan rebels on the verge of bringing Muammar Al Qathafi's year-old regime to an end will likely inherit a depleted investment portfolio in the country’s secretive sovereign wealth fund, as the market downturn this year worsens an already weak performance in 2010. Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority Investors eye promise, pitfalls in post-Gaddafi Libya
(Source: Money Control.com/ Reuters) London - Investors peering through the receding fog of war will find plenty of promise and a few pitfalls in a post-Gaddafi Libya. If peace takes hold in Africa's largest oil producer after a six-month civil war, the long-dormant economy could rapidly flourish provided there has been no substantial damage to the oil and gas infrastructure underpinning its national wealth. Much remains undecided as anti-government forces gain control of Tripoli in their final push to end the four-decade rule of Muammar Gaddafi but a new Libyan government could herald a bonanza for Western companies and investors Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority. United States Pension Funds California Admits to Almost $1 Trillion in Unfunded Pension Obligations
(Source: Big Government.com) The three largest California public retiree plans (CalPERS, CalSTRS, and UCRS) that administer pensions of approximately 2.6 million State and Local public current and retired employees have been under tremendous scrutiny since last year’s release of the Stanford University Institute for Public Policy report: “Going For Broke”. The study concluded that California retirement plans liability was under-funded by over $500 billion. KY Pension fund losses not as bad as first thought
(Source: Business Week) Kentucky is reporting that losses to the state employee pension fund in recent stock market volatility weren't as severe as first thought. The Kentucky Retirement Systems financial portfolio fell from $11.4 billion to $10.9 billion, a $500 million decline, between June 30 and Aug. 9. That's according to a press statement distributed by Kentucky Retirement Systems spokeswoman Amy D. Fields on Wednesday. Commentary Guest View: Public pensions are not to blame
(Source: SGV Tribune) In response to your recent editorial, "Dems stall state on pension reform" (Aug. 15), the condition of public pensions in California is not a crisis despite the best efforts of pension foes and editorialists to portray it as such. Elements of the issue are a concern: curbing pension spiking, ensuring public workers contribute a fair share of pension costs and pounding down the pensions of the small number of public workers who have outsized retirement benefits. What the editorialists don't say is that all of these concerns are being addressed here in California quickly. Watching the Watchers  Ceres – the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts Established: 1989, after Exxon Valdez tanker oil spill in Alaskan waters KEY PARTNERS – PROJECTS
Investor Network on Climate Risk (a Ceres-managed investor coalition project); the Sustainable Governance Forum on Climate Risk (with Yale University and Marsh); Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy. OVERVIEW/MISSION
“Ceres leads a national coalition of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change and water scarcity.” Mission: Ceres writes that its mission is "integrating sustainability into day-to-day business practices for the health of the planet and its people.” Ceres brings investors and environmental experts together to work with companies and industries to address environmental challenge. | Corporate ESG Performance Factors are important to financial analysts, asset owners and managers, and many stakeholders. The ESG framework or approach considers environmental and energy issues and impacts, the company’s positioning and actions on social/societal issues, and corporate governance. ESG key performance indicators are also considered proxies for effective governance and management of corporations by investors. Dozens of independent research and financial analysis firms are monitoring and measuring these and advising investors. The Sustainability HQ™ platform is an important profiling and monitoring resource for the G&A team, and for our clients and subscribers. Many of the ESG market players and corporate reputation influencers are profiled by G&A Institute. In these Highlights we offer a few of the results of our continuous global scanning for ESG, sustainability and corporate responsibility news, commentary and research from thousands of global sources. The Associated Profiles indicated are contained in our platforms. For more information, email us atinfo@sustainabilityhq.com. _______________________________
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