Blackrock U-turn?
In recent years, BlackRock has publicly incorporated environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations (known as ESG) into its decision-making, and by arguing that other companies should do the same, He also made a name for himself as an opponent of many conservatives.
So the investment giant's decision on Monday to appoint Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco, to its board of directors insists the move is consistent with its ESG commitments. Nevertheless, it feels like a major reversal.
Nasser heads the world's largest oil producing company. Aramco produced 13.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day last year. He will succeed Bader Al-Saad, Executive Director of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, on the BlackRock Board of Directors.
Will this appointment mark a shift towards climate change for BlackRock? The company's CEO, Larry Fink, has long said ESG principles are important business considerations. This approach has drawn criticism from conservative politicians who have attacked BlackRock's commitment to what they call “woke” policies, and multiple officials in red states have criticized BlackRock's He withdrew billions of dollars from his safe.
Last month, Fink said he had stopped using ESG, calling it a “weaponized” term, but added that the company continues to encourage companies to take steps to decarbonize. And in announcing Nasser's appointment, BlackRock highlighted his “understanding of the global energy industry and the drivers of the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
But Nasser has criticized decarbonization efforts. Although Saudi Arabia has announced several clean energy initiatives, including a $1.5 billion Energy Transition Fund, Nasser questions current efforts to achieve a low-carbon future.
“The current transition plan is frankly flawed,” he said last year. “It's not really working. What we need is an optimal and realistic transition plan.”
Nasser also strengthens BlackRock's relationship with Saudi Arabia It came amid growing controversy over the kingdom's human rights record. The PGA Tour's tentative deal with rival Saudi-backed tournament LIV Golf brings new scrutiny to the country, which funnels money to Western companies.
Mr Fink left the Saudi Future Investment Initiative Council in 2018 following the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but returned the following year and has defended doing business with the country ever since.
what's happening here
A heatwave is hitting the Northern Hemisphere. Record-high temperatures are expected in parts of Europe and the southern United States, impacting human health and economic activity. As China faces sweltering heat, US climate envoy John Kerry met with the country's prime minister and appealed for cooperation in the fight against climate change.
Microsoft and Activision are reportedly planning to extend their contract. Microsoft's $70 billion acquisition of the video game maker is unlikely to close as expected on Tuesday as both companies negotiate a settlement with British antitrust regulators, according to Bloomberg. The Competition and Markets Authority, which had previously moved to block the deal, has set an August 29 deadline for consultations.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on the SEC to investigate Tesla. The Massachusetts Democratic Party called on the agency to report potential “conflicts of interest, misappropriation of corporate assets,” citing reports that Elon Musk brought Tesla employees to Twitter after buying the social network. '', etc., was requested to be investigated. He suggested the move violated employment laws and may not have been properly disclosed to investors.
US companies have won some relief from global tax agreements. Under new rules negotiated by the Treasury Department, U.S. companies have until 2026 before other countries can begin imposing new taxes on companies deemed to pay too little in the United States. While the revised agreement provides more certainty for businesses, the Biden administration is still struggling to abide by the deal to avoid losing out on taxes.
Labor Day Hollywood Strike Milestones
As screenwriters and actors, including such luminaries as Jason Sudeikis and Kevin Bacon, walked the picket line on Monday, media moguls are beginning to sweat the reality of Hollywood's two-headed strike.
Studios insist they can survive the work disruption that has halted most U.S. film and television production. But there are growing concerns that their business could be hit hard if it lasts more than a month.
The countdown to Labor Day approaches. Three studio chairs told the Times that Hollywood could remain idle until early September without significantly hurting business in the long term. Television studios continue to put contingency plans in place for the fall, with CBS the latest on Monday to announce a lineup consisting of “Yellowstone” reruns, reality shows and game shows.
However, if the strike continues for a long time, projects scheduled for next year will likely be significantly delayed, and there is a risk that 2024 will become a content ghost town. And there's only so long a major TV company can survive with a lineup built around shows like “Survivor” and “The Golden Bachelor.”
The cost of the long strike is becoming clear. Media executives have suggested they could use the shutdown to cut costs, such as by canceling some big-ticket production contracts, but the benefits may be short-lived. Media mogul Barry Diller recently outlined the ramifications of extending the strike on “Face the Nation.”
“Going forward, viewing contracts will be terminated, movie and television companies will see less revenue, and as a result, they will run out of programming. And just when the strike is resolved and you want to get back on your feet, there won't be enough money. . So if it's not resolved soon, this is going to have a really devastating impact.”
MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson also said that American studios could suffer if platforms like Netflix rely on foreign content producers for new movies and shows. . “It's like when the United Auto Workers went on strike, all of a sudden there were more Japanese and German cars on the road,” he told the Times.
Diller has already proposed a solution. “As a good faith measure, both executives and the highest-paid actors should take a 25% pay cut to close the gap between the highest-paid and lowest-paid actors,” he said. ” On Monday, the group representing studios in labor negotiations announced that before the strike, union members had offered more than $1 billion in concessions on things like pay, benefits and limits on the use of artificial intelligence.
However, all sides acknowledge that the front has been strengthened, so it is unclear whether this is enough.
Ripple effects on cryptocurrency enforcement
Cryptocurrency fans are celebrating after a federal judge granted the digital currency industry a partial victory against the SEC last week.
The agency had criticized Ripple in 2020 for failing to register its XRP token as a security, but the judge ruled that XRP is not a security under all circumstances. It wasn't a complete victory, but Ripple and its allies are claiming it as a major accomplishment anyway.
The case was seen as a harbinger of the future of cryptocurrencies in the US In the midst of the SEC's aggressive enforcement actions against the industry. The agency's chairman, Gary Gensler, has repeatedly asserted that most digital tokens are securities, but crypto companies argue that this approach seeks to regulate the existence of digital tokens in exchange for clearer rules. They are protesting that there is.
Judgment handed down by the judge: When XRP was sold to institutional investors, the token was a security because investors relied on Ripple's claim that its value would rise. However, when it was traded on secondary exchanges, retail investors had no such expectations, so XRP was not considered a security in that context.
Industry executives hope the ruling will set a useful precedent. Coinbase, for example, is betting that this decision will have a positive impact on its fight with the SEC, which has accused it of selling unregistered securities.
But securities law experts are not pleased. “This decision is contrary to the intent of securities law.” Hilary Allen, a professor at American University's Washington School of Law, told Dealbook that retail traders should: more Probably more protected than more sophisticated institutional investors.
Tyler Gerash, a former SEC attorney who now heads the Health Markets Association, said the ruling created a “big loophole” for many companies beyond cryptocurrencies. “This decision is a real-life nightmare scenario for me,” he said.
12
— number of taylor swift album This is the most ever by a woman, surpassing Barbra Streisand's record of 11.
Goldman prepares to face opposition
The big event for Wall Street earnings comes on Wednesday, when Goldman Sachs releases its second-quarter results. Questions and frustration swirl over the company's slumping stock price, its troubled foray into consumer banking, including its buy now, pay later acquisition of GreenSky, and the future of CEO David Solomon. ing.
Here's what DealBook is looking at:
How much credibility can Goldman get in Green Sky? The bank said it was considering selling the company it acquired last year for $1.7 billion as part of a move away from massive consumer pressure from Salomon. However, the bid amount was far lower than expected.
What does the future hold for our partnership with Apple? The bank is reportedly in talks to transfer its operations to American Express, despite Goldman's public support for the partnership. “This is a very strong partnership and there are a lot of opportunities,” Solomon said in October.
Are further job cuts planned? The bank has cut staff this year, but there are reports that cost reductions are not yet complete. (The bank recently resumed its historic practice of letting go of underperformers.) There are concerns internally that Goldman will name far fewer bankers to the managing director class this year. One banker told DealBook: “I don't know if I'm going to get promoted or get fired.”
What about profits? Investors will focus on return on average equity. The goal is to reach 14-16% on this important profitability measure. Reports have suggested that the stock could be significantly undervalued (Goldman itself has broken with tradition and publicly downplayed expectations), suggesting that the bank is likely to become a Wall Street favorite like JPMorgan Chase & Co. This is further evidence that the company is lagging behind established companies.
Will Goldman say anything more about Tom Montag's appointment? The company announced last month that it had added former Bank of America and Goldman executives to its board of directors.
Mr. Montag has a reputation for strong risk management. But his appointment caused a stir inside and outside Goldman, given Mr. Solomon's efforts to move the bank away from its old man's club reputation.
Will Solomon talk about his future? He wants naysayers to know that Goldman's board is firmly behind him. But Wednesday posed a big test, with many Wall Street watchers expecting the bank to flop, a scenario that Goldman itself has been leaking in recent weeks to lower expectations.
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Information of sale
policy
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Donald Trump and his allies plan to strengthen the president's powers if he wins the 2024 election. (New York Times)
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US regulators will reportedly announce new banking rules next week that will overhaul capital rules. (Bloomberg)
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“The labor market Jerome Powell praised is back. Can he save it?” (New York Times)
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