Sustainability

Vale’s Brazil dam damage will hurt its peers too

29 Jan 2019

A second disaster in three years has already cost the mining giant $19 bln in market value. Fines and a management overhaul will likely follow. Fresh scrutiny from stakeholders will hit an industry already grappling with high costs, slow projects and risk-averse shareholders.

Vale disaster threatens Brazil’s deregulation push

28 Jan 2019

A lethal dam collapse wiped $18 billion off the mining company’s value. It may also derail President Jair Bolsonaro’s plans to bolster business by rolling back environmental and other regulations. Angry Brazilians and skittish lawmakers may want to go in the opposite direction.

Apollo makes a $6 bln virtue of plastic accounting

23 Jan 2019

The buyout group is getting RPC on the cheap. That’s partly because investors were spooked by the packaging-maker’s alleged misleading financials, which Apollo has had a chance to scrutinise through due diligence. Call it an informational arbitrage – at public markets' expense.

Wildfires will hasten catastrophe casino shake-out

7 Jan 2019

Hurricanes and wildfires may trigger losses of $79 bln in 2018, and the second bad year in a row for funds that bet on disaster protection. The bigger issue is that damages are getting harder to predict. The flood of money that has poured into the sector may start to trickle out.

Brazil’s new president starts with the easy part

3 Jan 2019

Ex-army captain Jair Bolsonaro has fired a salvo of temporary decrees, favoring farmers over indigenous people and crimping NGOs. He may do the same to ease gun controls and start vital pension reform. But conquering Congress, which is needed for lasting change, will prove harder.

Scooters will soon find city-friendly sweet spot

19 Dec 2018

They're tech toys that clog up streets and sidewalks. Yet they are also a clean, low-cost bridge between cars or mass transit and walking. The Bird CEO talks about sharing the cost of infrastructure. That could be a way forward, as long as the business model can stand it.

Climate change on carbon is coming to Wall Street

12 Dec 2018

Extreme weather and wildfires underscore the threat of rising greenhouse-gas emissions. White House obstructionism at the global climate conference isn’t helping. But 2019 will bring more investor activism, broader funding options, better data and more realistic carbon prices.

The Exchange: Erika Karp talks climate change

5 Dec 2018

As world leaders meet in Poland to beef up the Paris accords, Cornerstone Capital’s founder explains why the economics of battling global warming trump naysaying politicians. She also lays out how to spot green washing and says investors who ignore ESG factors should go to jail.

Shell’s climate pay gesture lacks thermostat

3 Dec 2018

Linking executive bonuses to carbon targets, as the $258 billion giant has pledged to do, should focus bosses’ minds. Yet the goals and sums involved are unclear, and the plan only starts in 2020. Investors can do more to hold energy groups’ feet to the fire on emissions.

India is hit hardest by Asia’s $4 trln water risk

30 Nov 2018

That’s how much GDP is at stake if the region doesn’t better manage the 10 Himalayas-fed rivers its economic hubs rely on. China appears to be steering a good course. But India isn’t fixing the governance mess exposed by rising water stress. That threatens economic growth.

Viewsroom: Climate risk is investing opportunity

29 Nov 2018

Experts reckon unrestrained global warming will lop 10 pct off U.S. GDP by 2100. California’s wildfires prove it’s already having disastrous effects. But investors and companies alike can be part of the solution. Plus, Carlos Ghosn’s arrest leaves three carmakers in disarray.

Climate fight can be America’s new New Deal

26 Nov 2018

The Trump administration snuck out a report on the impact of global warming, and downplayed its devastating findings. It’s a missed opportunity to boost U.S. innovation, economic output and jobs. And unlike the big works projects of the 1930s, private capital can play a big role.

Michelangelo deal is work of abstract art

23 Nov 2018

Chinese waste hauler Yulong Eco-Materials has decided to become an owner of paintings and gems instead. It’s paying $75 mln for the Italian master’s “Crucifixion” after it bought a $50 mln sapphire. Bringing art investing to public markets is a risky form of creative destruction.

Beyond Meat IPO could go from rare to charred

19 Nov 2018

Investors who take a bite of the plant-based meat maker could get a taste of rapid growth, top-notch leaders and a way to address the looming food crisis. But the company is restricting some shareholder rights and faces competition from traditional and fellow upstart firms alike.

China’s impact investing is an expat project

15 Nov 2018

Global institutions want to extend ESG criteria to the PRC. But domestic share owners simply expect returns. Meanwhile, reliable information is scarce, investors and companies talk past each other, and there are other governance priorities. For now it’s looking like a luxury.

PG&E woes show climate is clear and present danger

14 Nov 2018

The California utility may be to blame for the wildfire that’s claimed 48 lives. Its value has halved and it may run out of cash. The planet’s warming is already worsening fires, floods, and water scarcity. Yet most investors and companies still treat it as a longer-term risk.

Wall Street can be effective forest-fire fighter

13 Nov 2018

The Camp Fire is California’s most deadly and destructive ever. Such conflagrations, worsened by climate change, cost the Golden State some 6.5 pct of GDP last year. A new financing tool can make forests more resilient – and protect everything from water to air to livelihoods.

Climate suit should light fire under Exxon owners

24 Oct 2018

New York is suing the $338 bln oil giant, claiming it misled investors about carbon’s environmental risks. Shareholders weren’t dupes, though. Their proxy revolt last year forced the outfit to start addressing the issue. Legal heat should prod them to demand more than baby steps.

Guest view: Climate activism nears final frontier

17 Oct 2018

Google, Planet, MethaneScan and space agencies are starting to track pollutants from orbit, giving big emitters like Coal India and PetroChina more reason to come clean. That, writes Thomson Reuters sustainability guru Tim Nixon, gives a needed boost to tackling global warming.

Volvo fumes are second hazard for truck investors

16 Oct 2018

The $31 bln Swedish group’s warning on engine emissions could scarcely have come at a worse time. Investors are already fretting that demand for commercial vehicles has peaked for the current cycle. When two truck-dashboard lights are flashing, the safest thing to do is bail.