Each week, we break down the latest U.S. economic reports, including what the results mean for the overall health of the economy. Here, you will find how economists’ forecasts compare with actual results, key takeaways to consider, as well as a list of what’s on tap for the week ahead.
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How Did ESG Investing Become an Ideological Hot Button?
As fiduciaries, advisors are tasked with putting client interests ahead of their own. They have a duty to preserve good faith and trust. From an investment perspective, that includes considering all materially relevant information to mitigate risk and improve returns through prudent investment management. But from an ESG investing perspective? It’s where the rift between proponents and opponents of this investing strategy begins.
Inflation: Shocks Vs. Trends
This will be the second blog post that’s come out of my efforts to try to finish my talk for Commonwealth’s National conference. If you remember, in the previous post, the question was whether we were headed back to the 1970s, with all that implies (inflation, stagflation, high unemployment, disco), or back to the 1950s (which, for all its faults, did not have disco).
Inflation: It’s Not an Isolated Problem
I am working on my presentation for Commonwealth’s National conference in a couple of weeks (yes, I am late), but I have to admit I am having some trouble telling the story. Over the past several years, I have taken whatever the hot topic of the day was—whether it was globalization, low interest rates, or the pandemic—and tried to put it in a larger context. In other words, to take something fairly isolated as a problem and tie it to everything else as a means of understanding what was likely to happen over the next five years or so. Looking back, I did a pretty good job.
Economic Release Snapshot: Housing Sector Cools in September
Each week, we break down the latest U.S. economic reports, including what the results mean for the overall health of the economy. Here, you will find how economists’ forecasts compare with actual results, key takeaways to consider, as well as a list of what’s on tap for the week ahead.
Remote Work and Its Effect on the Traditional Office
In the face of a public health crisis, the decision to send remote-capable workers home from the office seemed an obvious one. But as vaccines became widely available and the rate of Covid-19 infection started to decline, harder questions arose. When and how do employees return to the office? To be sure, defining the post-pandemic “new normal” has been tricky. Although there is no one-size-fits-all solution, clear trends are emerging—which will have definite implications for the use of office property.