Nearly 200 CEOs in the US, including companies such as Apple, Bayer, BP, Deere, JPM and Abbott (all members of the “Business Roundtable”) released a new Purpose of a Corporation statement this week.
The new statement shifted from being focused exclusively on creating shareholder value to a much broader remit including all stakeholders such as employees, communities, suppliers and customers. The full statement can be found here.
The Business Roundtable is made up of America’s most influential corporate leaders and has periodically issued Principles of Corporate Governance since 1978, with each version since 1997 having historically endorsed the principle of shareholder primacy.
Analysis and Comments
One of the questions we get on ESG is whether this time it is different or whether companies are just paying lip-service to investor demands for more ESG focused strategy.
The above development is evidence that there is a structural shift within the corporate world. This is significant. America’s largest companies are effectively saying shareholders are nolonger a priority and that a much broader set of goals will be put in place treating other stakeholders on the same level. It’s no longer just about profit. Will be interesting to hear Trump’s thoughts….
Out of 189 members of the Business Roundtable, only Alcoa, Blackstone, GE, Kaiser Permanente, NextEra, Parker Hannifin and State Farm failed to sign up.
A top United Nations (UN) official said cryptocurrencies are making international efforts to combat terrorist financing, money laundering and cyber-crime “exceptionally difficult.”
Neil Walsh, chief of the Cybercrime and Anti-Money Laundering arm of the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime, said that the anonymizing and pseudo-anonymizing attributes of cryptocurrencies provide a “new layer of secrecy that favors the criminals,” when speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Linda Mottram.
Specifically, Walsh raised concerns about the role cryptocurrencies play in the clandestine child trafficking industry.
“In the past, when we looked at some of the really big high-threat areas like kids getting abused online, it had to be paid for and now, with the use of cryptocurrencies, it’s exceptionally difficult for investigators to track that and try and manage that risk down,” Walsh said.
Bitcoin’s five-day winning run, the longest in a month, has neutralized the short-term bearish view. A UTC close above the lower high of $10,956 created on Aug. 20 is needed for a bullish revival.
Volumes picked up on Tuesday, adding credence to Monday’s triangle breakout on the daily chart. So, a rise to $10,956 may be on the cards.
The probability of a move above $10,956 would weaken if the prices drop below key the crucial support at $10,286 on the hourly chart. Acceptance below that level could yield a deeper drop into four figures.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is charging full speed ahead with its digital currency plans, hoping to beat Facebook’s Libra to market.
A dedicated team from the central bank’s Digital Currency Research Lab is now developing the system in a closed-door environment, away from the PBoC’s downtown Beijing headquarters, a person close to the bank told CoinDesk.
The team has been working in this separate location since early summer so they could fully concentrate on the project, this person said.
The work has been expedited as Facebook unveiled in June its vision for Libra, a global cryptocurrency to facilitate payments, the source added.
Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has said Bitcoin (BTC) will continue to be adopted more widely, but it is still too early to consider it a currency.
Make Bitcoin more usable and accessible as a currency
On Sept. 4, the outspoken Bitcoin advocate told the Australian Financial Review that he is convinced the No.
1 cryptocurrency will continue to be adopted more widely. However, Dorsey added:
“It’s not functional as a currency. The peaks and troughs are like an investment asset and are equivalent to gold. What we need to do is make it more usable and accessible as a currency, but it’s not there yet.”
Rainforest Foundation US is a New York-based, non-profit NGO working in Central and South America, which is now hoping to support anti-deforestation efforts with crypto and blockchain tech.
Deforestation and fires in the Brazilian Amazon
On Sept. 4, the Rainforest Foundation reached out to the crypto and blockchain community to ask for their support to fight against deforestation and forest fires in Brazil. The post on the foundation’s website states:
“Since Bolsonaro took office in January, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is up 75% and forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon have doubled compared to the past year. As guardians of our rainforests, its animals and its people, we are working with The Giving Block to form a coalition of crypto sponsors, donors and media partners who will help stop this devastation.”
The Rainforest Foundation says that it is accepting cryptocurrency donations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and other cryptocurrencies.
The STEEM has still difficulties to progress, even during the UP of the BTC. We are slowly progressing towards the resistance line at 0.18$. If we don’t have an increase of volume and volatility, we have no chanc at all to break this resistance line and we have a high risk of rejection during the test of this line. Let’s see if we will start to see more volume on the STEEM because currently is really low and without any volatility.
During economic troubled times, Smart Money rotates into Utilities and REITs because they act like bonds, meaning the stock dividends are equivalent to coupon rates, the yield paid by a fixed-income security. However, let me expand on this a bit more. Utilities and REITs are usually drowning in debt, but during economic troubled times, interest rates go down, so debt obligations put less of a strain on cash flow and more cash flow means consistent payouts of dividends. However, let me expand no this a bit more. Investors are looking for a return on their capital.
As of June 2019, the dividend yield for the S&P 500 was 1.85%. This is below the historical average of 4.41% and close to the all-time low of 1.11% observed in August 2000.
So if investor can get a decent return on their capital from the equity markets, can’t get a decent return on their capital from bonds because interest rates continue to decline, the next best option is dividends. The barriers of entry are tough in the Utilities and the REITs sector, so with little competition and residual income, dividends are payout out consistently.
Since I wrote that post two months ago, XLU, the SPDR Utilities Sector ETF an the XLRE, the SPDR Real Estate Sector ETF are both up 8%, while the SPY, the S&P 500 ETF is down 2%.
My favorite REIT right now is Innovative Industrial Properties
but I’m waiting for price to get to the $64 level before I buy.
A REIT worth keeping an eye on is the ETF, the Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate (SCTR) which offers investors exposure to U.S. companies that generate the majority of their revenue from real estate operations in the data and infrastructure sector. Demand for data storage real estate is being driven by cloud, cybersecurity and 5G communication services. So you know this REIT has a bright future.
The chart suggests to buy on a pull back at the weekly demand at $29.
This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn’t financial advise. Do your own research before making investment decisions.
Scammers and Blockchain rewards-squeezers exiting…
Blockchain Alt…
Is there anything more?
Yes it is!!!
If you are a STEEM “Passive” investor and you are setting your STEEM account in order to follow any “CURATION TRAIL” configured at STEEMAUTO, there is a high likelihood that also your rewards will be affected by the new rules that @mahdiyari has disclosed at the STEEMAUTO discord channel just a few minutes ago.
This has been posted very recently and I have no idea what would be the final impact on many of us but be ready for another big change either if you follow a curation trail or you are a beneficiary of the votes of that curation trail.
Stakeholders are realigning the way we use the STEEM Blockchain, everybody is reacting and trying to adapt to the changes we have but…they are coming fast, very fast…
I hope this has been helpful. I’d be happy to answer any questions in the comment section below. Until next time, wishing you safe and profitable trading.
Workin
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I truly believe that one day this is going to happen. Passive investing now accounts for more than HALF of the US stock market and is growing. The movement has officially been made and investors do not use brokers anymore as they run to passive ETFs and index funds. This has been created just over THE PAST 10 YEARS.
At the beginning of the bull run active investments held nearly a 3 to 1 advantage over passive fund assets. That has shrank to…almost ZERO ADVANTAGE present day.
Courtesy of CNBC and Morningster
This type of investing has been killing it over the past decade and continues to gain traction. I believe that at some point this will be a HUGE PROBLEM. Once the next major downturn in the stock market starts, and these PASSIVE inflows slow, then stop, and become outflows, you are going to have a market that may undergo a faster elevator down that has ever been seen.
Over the past 10 years, the passive inflows has helped push the market higher and higher, over and over again. Well when the tide turns…the passive inflows will not push the market down over and over again, they will all run for the exit at once.
Real Estate has been relentless. During a time where NOTHING seems to be going anywhere in the US sectors and the global growth is SLOWING, Real Estate continues to push forward. I am looking at Real Estate at least testing the 94 area from the 2008 highs before pulling back. More Upside to Come.
Speaking of, I am selling my house now if you are in the market
Global growth has been slowing for a while now. Many countries are making lower highs across the board and look awful with even worse incoming data. Yields are crashing. And the only thing left are US Equities. How long can they keep the world a float?
The Vix is sitting at 19 and has built a sideways base. This matches the bear flag of all the indices off the most recent highs. If the bulls have a chance, then they SMASH the Vix like they have the past 4 years to under 16. If the Vix spike, the equity bulls will be few and far between and a liquidity issue will be on our hands for the first time in a few years I am afraid.
Vix over 25 and you will start seeing air pockets. Let’s hope the bulls can hold the line.
BITVAVO’s withdrawal received at my wallet, 300 STEEM for 45 Euros!!!! Not bad at all, and the best of all with super tiny fee 12 cents!!!
Now I have fully certified my audit on BITVAVO exchange, they are reliable, fast and secure besides having unsurpassed fees. Next step will be to test them the other way around, so withdrawing CASH from them but it will be another story and not for the near future…first we all want to see STEEM at its best!!!
But this has not been the end of my #SPUD journey today.
Then, I have reviewed my earnings at Steem-Engine wallet, obtaining 40 STEEM more…
Converting some SBD to STEEM as well…
and finally powering up the whole STEEM liquid of my wallet today.
In total, a little more than 364 STEEM powered up which is a sudden increase of 5.2% of my STEEM POWER!!!
This is the power of compounding, trade, invest in some nice tribes tokens, work, engage and get rewards…
and, What better time to do it if it isn’t now at #newsteem?
It is very right saying illiteracy is one of the major problems why the adoption and use of mobile phones technology for the business world mainly in Africa has been suffering a great setback compared to other developed countries. Come to think of it, Don’t it seem like the use of mobile phones technology in the business world in Africa will be a formidable force to reckon with in Africa in the nearest future?
Ask me why! The reason being that you would notice these new generation of African youths are already making use of mobile phones technology to build businesses. They use it for advertisement purposes mainly. Quite a lot of them act as influencers who influences customers to patronize a business. Left to me, I think I see a bright future here. In conclusion, our governments can also be of help by making the price of phone cheaper. Thanks for sharing.
