6 min readEntering the Presidential election, the greatest concern among voters was the economy[1] in the wake of decades-high inflation experienced under the Biden administration. By some metrics the economy was healthy at the end of President Biden’s tenure, with relatively low unemployment, equities at all-time highs, and the rate of inflation near the Fed’s 2% target….
15 min readAbstract BBB-rated debt continues to offer new possibilities for cash investors. Although it involves taking on incremental credit risk, allowing purchase of these securities can help alleviate supply shortages while also offering additional return opportunities. Should investors look into adding BBB names to their portfolios, we recommend that they follow these principles. Guiding Principles: Introduction…
7 min readFollowing pandemic-era supply chain disruptions, bottlenecks have become a top-of-mind subject for investors. At the center of the Fed’s tightening cycle was the soft landing—the idea that tighter financial conditions would help bring supply-and-demand into better balance, ease bottlenecks, and bring inflation toward 2% without significantly impacting growth. When last December’s Summary of Economic Projections…
5 min readIntroduction Earlier this year, European oil majors BP and Shell announced that they would roll back their energy transition plans and keep oil and gas as relatively large parts of their portfolio. In October 2023, their American counterparts Exxon Mobil and Chevron doubled down on a collective $115 billion bet on fossil fuels. Exxon Mobil…
7 min readRevisiting Big Tech’s Legal and Regulatory Challenges Through an era of unprecedented volatility, driven by a pandemic, war, and bank failures, Big Tech legislation has remained a constant. Almost two years ago, we published our blog Antitrust Anxiety: The Long Road to Big Tech Reform that explored lawsuits against Big Tech, pending legislation, and some…
4 min readHow auto manufacturers are developing strategies for improved ESG ratings Over the past several years, auto manufacturers have been increasingly focused on reducing carbon emissions via improving vehicle fuel efficiency and transitioning their product lines to fully electric vehicles. This increasing focus isn’t unfounded: according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the transportation sector accounted…
6 min readIt’s no secret that tech giants enjoy healthy profits, but less well known is just how much cash these cash cows have. At the end of 2021, Big Tech (Apple, Alphabet Inc., Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta) held a combined $476.7 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. To put that into perspective, this is…
6 min readCo-authored by: Alexander Goldman In June of 2019 the House Committee on the Judiciary launched an investigation into whether Silicon Valley had fallen under the grip of a few large gatekeepers that have come to control key areas of e-commerce. A sixteen-month examination of key players’ market dominance, primarily focusing on Apple’s, Google’s, Amazon’s, and…
6 min readWhile most major integrated oil and gas companies have expressed alignment with the Paris Agreement, efforts made by U.S. players to address climate change with a transition to more renewable energy sources have fallen short in comparison to their European counterparts. As some drag their feet on sustainability efforts, governments, world organizations and financial institutions…
5 min readWhile most major integrated oil and gas companies have expressed alignment with the Paris Agreement, efforts made by U.S. players have fallen short in comparison to their European counterparts. Despite some players still dragging their feet in their sustainability efforts, governments, world organizations and financial institutions continue to pressure companies to align with climate-focused goals….