Robert Eccles and Svetlana Klimenko, The Investor Revolution
(Harvard Business Review, May-June 2019)
The two researchers make the claim that investors are getting serious about investing in “sustainability”, and that the perception among business leaders that ESG just hasn’t gone mainstream in the investment community is outdated. If they are right, this means that corporate leaders will soon be systematically held accountable by shareholders for ESG performance. They enumerate six factors that will act as tailwinds for this coming sea change concerning ESG strategies (reads in 10-15 min).
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Laurence Darmiento, Reform capitalism or face revolution, billionaires are told at Milken Conference
(Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2019)
This is an issue that we address repeatedly in the Monthly Barometer. It featured highly at this year’s Milken Global Conference, suggesting that change will come. Summed up by Alan Schwartz (the managing partner of Guggenheim) who warned about class warfare and said: “It’s not whether we should be capitalist or socialist. It’s how do we make sure that capitalism is working the way it has in the past” (reads in 6-7 min).
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Bill McKibben, Notes from a Remarkable Political Moment for Climate Change
(The New Yorker, May 1, 2019)
In this article arguing that climate concern is suddenly and explosively rising to the top of the political agenda, the scholar and founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org explains why the current “third climate moment” is rooted in broad movements (not élite opinion) and therefore feels different. Will this new kind of public pressure get results in time? Let’s hope so! (Reads in 6-7 min).
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Rosie Spinks, The Age of the Influencer Has Peaked. It’s Time for the Slacker to Rise Again
(Quartz, April 27, 2019)
Maybe this is a false signal and complete r****sh; but if true worth considering because the consequences in terms of consumption in general and retail, in particular, could be substantial. The author sees signs that our influencer economy (individualist culture of achievement and brand obsessed with consumption and corporate interests) will soon come to an end and that the slacker will rise again. Pushed to the limit, this suggests that the younger generations will regard socialism as a realistic alternative to individualistic capitalism (reads in 9-10 min).
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Gretchen Reynolds, How Exercise Affects Our Memory
(The New York Times, May 1, 2019)
An exciting new scientific study on the connections between exercise, memory, and aging adds to growing evidence that exercise can have rapid effects on brain function and also that these effects could accumulate and lead to long-term improvements in how our brains operate and we remember. Even a single workout may make our brain’s memory centers, like our muscles, fitter (reads in 4-5 min).
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