What we’re reading (9/15)
“What’s Your Raise Really Worth? Inflation Has Something to Say About It.” (Wall Street Journal). “This should be the best of times for low-wage workers, as pandemic-induced labor shortages force employers to sharply raise pay. Yet for many, it doesn’t feel that way, because those same disruptions have pushed inflation to near its highest rate in over a decade.”
“What to Expect From Gary Gensler’s Testimony” (DealBook). “The S.E.C. chair Gary Gensler will testify before the Senate Banking Committee today, after five months on the job. Since his confirmation, his public statements have generated much debate, many headlines and more than a few market movements. This morning, based on his prepared remarks, he’ll make the case for additional resources to achieve a more expansive agenda than many of his predecessors at the commission.”
“America Is Substantially Reducing Poverty Among Children” (The Economist). “It seemed like a blustery overpromise when President Joe Biden pledged in July to oversee, “the largest ever one-year decrease in child poverty in the history of the United States”. By the end of the year, however, he will probably turn out to have been correct. Recent modelling by scholars at Columbia University estimates that in July child poverty was 41% lower than normal.”
“Hedge Fund Activist Jeff Ubben Asks SEC To Mandate Carbon Pricing Disclosures” (Institutional Investor). “Jeff Ubben, the activist hedge fund manager who founded Inclusive Capital Partners a little more than a year ago, is calling for the Securities and Exchange Commission to make companies include a price for carbon as part of their climate-related ESG disclosures. Ubben, who is also a board member of ExxonMobil, made his comments in a September 8 letter to the SEC. It was one of thousands sent since SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee earlier this year asked for public comments regarding upgrades to the SEC’s climate change disclosures.”
“Does The Market Care About Ethical Investment? It Depends” (The Hill). “Corporate ESG actions can be voluntary or involuntary, and this distinction is important in understanding the true impact of ESG on company value. But new government mandates to pursue ESG goals are likely to prove costly to American shareholders and workers.”
