The European lead in terms of ESG investing has widened substantially over the past two years, according to a new analysis by ShareAction that echoes similar findings from Morningstar.
Why it matters: The U.S. is home to the largest fund managers in the world — none more so than BlackRock, a company that turns out to have largely stopped voting for ESG resolutions over the past two years.
Last Friday, January 5,the day a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines airplane in mid-flight, was a day in which approximately 120 Americans died in motor vehicle crashes. Roughly 136 died from opioids. Perhaps 150 died as hospital inpatients due to preventable medical errors. About 230 died of COVID-19. And zero died in aircraft accidents.
Why it matters: Air travel is the one part of American daily life where the general public has zero tolerance for any kind of safety lapse.
Americans are furious about high inflation, according to the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll. Economists say that high inflation has mostly been vanquished. Both are correct.
Why it matters: If you look at the level of prices, they are way up since 2020. If you look at the rate at which prices are changing, it has returned to fairly normal levels. This intuition is crucial to understanding this confusing moment for inflation trends and public opinion around them.
Vanguard is doubling-down on its "no-crypto" stance in investing, saying it will not only sit out the rush into spot bitcoin ETFs, but also yank existing bitcoin futures products from its brokerage offerings.
Why it matters: The asset management giant is moving away from bitcoin, even as other Wall Street titans move in. Shops like BlackRock, Invesco and Fidelity recently launched their own branded bitcoin ETFs.
What they're saying: "In addition to spot Bitcoin ETFs not being available for purchase on the Vanguard platform, effective immediately, Vanguard will no longer accept the purchase of cryptocurrency products, including Bitcoin futures ETFs,"a spokesperson for Vanguard tells Axios.
"This change allows us to focus on offering a core set of products and services consistent with our commitment to serve the needs of long-term investors," they said.
Between the lines: Vanguard is going to Vanguard. The firm has hardly kept its jaundiced views on crypto a secret; its long-term investment philosophy hews more closely to old-school value investors than the nouveau-riche enthusiasts who've jumped into digital coins.
State of play: Vanguard's step away from bitcoin follows a social media kerfuffle on Thursday. Some folks claiming to be customers complained about the newly minted offerings not being available on the platform.
Context: What Vanguard is doing aligns with its brand identity, rooted in its late founder Jack Bogle's investing principles, which champions simple, low-cost investing over speculation.
Our thought bubble: Bitcoiners who take a closer look at Vanguard might have offer more respect: Bogle was the original contrarian.
When his index fund invention ridiculed as "un-American", he dug in, positing that buying the whole S&P 500 was better for returns in the long-run.
The bottom line: It's no real surprise that Vanguard is going in the opposite direction of some of its peers. That's how you stand out.
Seven decades after its inventors took 40 attempts to get the formula right — hence the name — WD-40 is having a moment, Nathan writes.
Driving the news: The company that makes it — named WD-40, what else — has enjoyed a 56% runup in its stock over the last year.
That included a big bump earlier this week after strong earnings.
Zoom in: WD-40 is greasing the skids with an international growth strategy, strong e-commerce sales and what CEO Steve Brass called "premiumized products."
The Detroit Lions are poised for their first home playoff game in 30 years this weekend — and a local movie theater chain was inviting fans to watch the game for free on the big screen.
But, but, but: The NFL threw a flag, prompting Emagine Entertainment to pull the screenings from six of its theaters, Crain's Detroit Business reports.
💭 Nathan's thought bubble: Now, thanks to the No Fun League, the Lions fans will just have to watch their team lose on their couches.
The first day of trading for bitcoin ETFs has been called both "terribly unsuccessful" and a "terribly huge success."
Why it matters: Judging the Day 1 impact of bitcoin's long awaited moment not only relies on a fuzzy picture, it depends on who you ask about the data.
Alaska Airlines announced Friday that it would cancel all flights on Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft through Sunday as it continues to deal with the fallout from an exit door that flew off one of its planes mid-flight last week.
Why it matters: The airline, which already canceled a slew of flights in the wake of the incident, said in a statement it needed more time to inspect its MAX jetliners and prepare them for a return to service.
Quaker Oats expanded its recent recall by adding dozens of additional granola and cereal products at risk for possible salmonella contamination.
Why it matters: The bacteria can "cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems," the company said in its revised recall notice.
Boeing has seen a deluge of bad news concerning its 737 Max jets that have sent company shares tumbling and dented the company's reputation.
The latest: The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it will increase its oversight on Boeing's production and manufacturing practices after one of its planes lost its exit door plug during a flight earlier this month.
Why it matters: Boeing, one of the largest aerospace manufacturers in the world, is again facing regulatory and legal repercussions over malfunctions with its jetliners, which previously caused a pair of fatal plane crashes that killed more than 300 people.
CVS is shutting down select pharmacies inside Target stores with closures starting in February, the retailer confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The drugstore industry has been hit by mounting challenges from worker shortages and surging competition from mail-order pharmacies, big-box stores like Walmart and online threats like Amazon.
Driving the news: Starting next month, borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education plan who took out less than $12,000 in loans and have been in repayment for 10 years will get their remaining student debt cancelled, the administration announced Friday.
Half of millennials and Gen Z say they're staying up late worrying about money. Women in particular don't feel like they're getting ahead financially. And nearly 60% of Hispanics say they're more stressed about their household budgets than they were before the pandemic.
Why it matters: The findings in the new Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll show several of President Biden'scrucial voting blocs are plagued by financial stress — despite data that point to an improving economy.
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