What we’re reading (2/2)
“Should ESG Investing Be Criminalized?” (Morningstar). “What is the outlook for ESG investing?”
“Invest In America, Live In Europe—A Mantra Some Just Can’t Shake” (Wall Street Journal). “Even Europeans are starting to wonder why they bother to invest in their own region. The economy is stuttering while the U.S. booms. It’s an also-ran in a world dividing into blocs led by the U.S. and China. And its biggest companies wouldn’t even make the top 10 in the S&P 500. The ‘Magnificent Seven’ big U.S. stocks are, as of two weeks ago, collectively worth more than all western European listed stocks together. What’s the point? There are three answers. European stocks aren’t the European economy. The European economy may not be as bad as it seems. And European stocks are cheap, so as bad as it is, much is already priced in. There’s one pushback: Since the end of 2021, the region’s stocks have actually been pretty good.”
“Why Is It So Hard To Find A Job Right Now Despite Low Unemployment?” (Business Insider). “Lynne Vargas calls it ghost hiring. Vargas, a special education instructor, has been mired for months in various stages of interviews for three teaching jobs. The processes have dragged on so long that sometimes she wonders whether the roles are real. With one position, she waited three months after an interview. Then she got fed up.”
“Mark Zuckerberg Made More Than $28 Billion This Morning After Meta Stock Makes Record Surge” (CNN Business). “On Friday, shares of Meta (META) jumped more than 20% on the news of a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share to be paid out on March 26 to shareholders of record as of February 22.”
“U.S. Strikes More Than 85 Targets In Iraq And Syria In Initial Barrage Of Retaliatory Attacks” (CNBC). “The United States launched attacks against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on Friday, its first retaliatory strikes for the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan last weekend, according to an official at the Department of Defense.”
