In the World

spain greenfield

Green Bonds Market To Top The $1Tr Mark In 2021

Many governments have committed to a net-zero carbon pledge, and many more should follow. In total, 26 countries now, or are about to, have a net-zero carbon pledge set in law and many others are currently discussing potential targets. However, only 11 governments have already launched sovereign green bonds. AXA IM expect this figure to grow as an increasing number of countries are due to put their words and commitment into action and investments, which are likely to be financed through green bonds. After Germany, Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands launching theirs over 2020, Italy, Spain and the UK have already pledged to issue a green bond next year and certainly many others are likely to follow.


oil spain1

Will Oil Companies Become Utilities?

Alphavalue | Against growing environmental constraints, as well as an uncertain perspective on hydrocarbons, oil companies are modifying their strategy. The electrification of the energy mix appears as an opportunity for the mutation to integrated energy companies. The big oil companies want to be a part of the growing market of renewable energies, but they will compete against the powerful utilities.


debt pile up

Global Debt Burden Could Exceed $277 Bn By 2020; Many Emerging Economies To Face Another Lost Decade

Intermoney | In the first nine months of the year, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents a sort of international banking association, global debt has increased by $15 trillion and is likely to exceed $277 trillion by 2020. Thus, at the end of this year, the world debt would amount to 365% of GDP, compared to 320% at the end of 2019, along with the high figures in developed countries that are only possible due to the role of last resort lender of their central banks.


china blues 1

Tailwinds For China May Get Stronger Still

Chinese equities are responding positively to the macro tailwinds. The S&P China 500 Index – a diversified index which includes both onshore and offshore listings – is up nearly 31% year-to-date. This compares to the S&P 500 Index which is up around 13% over the same period. These are encouraging signs for those interested in Chinese equities – strategic and tactical investors alike.


Asi 21st century

The Four “M”s: Why The 21st Century Belongs To Asia

Viswanathan Parameswar (Schroders) | For a look into the future of the global economy, and where the power is shifting, consider technology developments in both China and India. In a mere decade, China’s e-commerce market has grown from less than 1% of global sales, into the world’s largest market in 2016, representing more than 40% of transactions by value. Meanwhile, India’s adoption of mobile technologies is surging at an astonishing rate as Reliance Jio – which became India’s dominant tech firm virtually overnight – brings fast connections to India’s 1.3 billion people.


HumanWork

“Human Work” Is The Key To Ending Income Inequality

Jamie Merisotis | Changing the trajectory of inequality to build a more just and open society isn’t an insurmountable challenge. Indeed, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that massive change can come very quickly. Now is the time to work toward such change. We can do that by applying the three interrelated aspects of human work — learning, earning and service to others — toward reducing economic and social inequality. Indeed, our only way to eliminate these inequities is to ensure that everyone has the capacity and opportunity to do human work.


Black Friday2020

Five Ways Black Friday Shopping Will Be Different In 2020

In 2020, people in the UK will spend an estimated £6 Bn on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, compared to around £5.6 Bn in 2019. However, with restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic there are many ways that 2020 will look very different to both retailers and consumers. Retailers are trying to manage the shift from shopping in-store to online that has increased during the pandemic. By flattening the curve of the peak of online orders on Black Friday and at the beginning of December for Christmas, retailers are trying to encourage consumers start buying earlier and throughout this period.


corona vaccine 1

Pharmaceutical Sector: Covid-19 Vaccine Breakthroughs Promise Politically Sensitive Windfall Profits

The surprising speed with which two small biotech firms have developed vaccines for Covid-19 puts pressure on regulators to make sure they are safe and on large pharmaceutical companies to produce them at scale and “acceptable” profit margins. “Who would want to be in the shoes of the Federal Drug Administration or the European Medicines Authority today given that the health and economic wellbeing of the planet is riding on whether it is safe to approve the BioNTech and Moderna vaccines,” says Olaf Tölke, head of corporates ratings at Scope.


RCEP summit

China | What is the implication of RCEP to Chinese and regional economy?

Jinyue Dong, BBVA Research ! On November 15th, Asia Pacific nations including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand plus 10 countries of ASEAN signed the world’s largest regional free-trade agreement which is the so-called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, with the member countries encompassing 2.2 billion people that is nearly a third of the world’s population and USD 26.2 trillion GDP as around 1/3 of the world GDP as well as 1/3 of world’s total trade volume. Top officials from 15 nations inked the RCEP nearly a decade in the making on the final day of the 37th ASEAN Summit hosted virtually by Vietnam this year. The completion of negotiations is a strong message affirming China, Eastern Asia and ASEAN’s role in supporting the multilateral trade system. In addition, the agreement will contribute to developing supply chains that have been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the China-US decoupling, as well as supporting the regional and world economic recovery. Obviously, the signing of RCEP which has experienced eight years of negotiations among member countries has essential implications on Chinese and regional economy…


bank generico

Putting “Too Big to Fail” to Rest: Evidence from Market Behavior in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Francisco Covas y Gonzalo Fernandez (Instituto Español de Analistas Financieros) | An important objective of the banking regulations introduced after the global financial crisis was to eliminate the perception that some firms were too big to fail (TBTF). The perception of being TBTF compromises public welfare for two main reasons: first, investors that perceive a firm to be TBTF do not charge appropriately for risk, creating an incentive for the firm to become riskier to take advantage of the subsidy. Second, firms not currently perceived as TBTF have an incentive to become larger and more systemic so that they become TBTF and get the funding subsidy. The dynamics fostered by both reasons also increase the likelihood that the government will, in fact, have to bail out a firm, making the perception of TBTF potentially self-fulfilling.