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 readThe COVID-19 pandemic produced the first major test for the U.S. banking system since the 2008 global financial crisis. At the start of the pandemic, questions were posed about how bank balance sheets would hold up amidst a period of social isolation, lockdowns, elevated job losses and a severe contraction in output. Would the banks’…
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….
4 min readFixed income investors have been slower to adopt sustainable investing practices than their equity counterparts, as only in recent years has responsible fixed income investing become a hot topic. (Sustainable investing was one of our three themes to watch for in our article “2020 Vision – Watch the Fed, Repos and ESG Investing.”) Different timetables…
3 min readThe auto industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors since the pandemic began. In April, US auto sales hit a low of 8.6 million vehicles, down from 16.8 million at the end of February. Moody’s expects vehicles sales to fall at least 20% in 2020 and will take several years to return to…
6 min readBecause credit card asset-backed securities (ABS) are tied directly to the strength or weakness of consumer finances, economic downturns can be perilous to their health. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the high unemployment and low consumer spending in the current economic downturn are putting ABS under scrutiny. So far, however, this class of securities has…
5 min readThe coronavirus pandemic has forced firms across industry groups to shore up liquidity in order to weather depressed revenue streams. These conditions, coupled with accommodative economic policies, led to a spur of borrowing during the first half of 2020. Due to this current climate, many companies are having trouble finding solid financial footing, leading to…
6 min readThe global tech supply chain is about to be turned upside down. Tensions between the U.S. and China, heightened in a two-year-long trade war, were already instigating conversations regarding relocating and reconstructing the supply chain. Now that the coronavirus has further exposed the limited geographic diversity and concentration levels in the supply chain, it is…
5 min readFunding markets are back from the dead. A little over two months ago, liquidity in short-term markets all but dissipated amidst a broader market panic in reaction to COVID-19. But fast action by the Fed prevented what might have turned into a full-blown liquidity freeze reminiscent of the one that helped precipitate the 2008 financial…