Firms’ net-zero plans are key to meeting climate goals

Significance To achieve the 2015 Paris agreement climate targets, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be net-zero by 2050. While the Paris agreement was a commitment by governments, businesses account for a substantial proportion of emissions. Firms have often had to plan without clear government guidance. Impacts The Network of Central Banks for Greening the Financial System has 83 members; the US Fed joining this month may give the scheme impetus. The United Kingdom, euro-area and Australia plan to stress test the impact of climate change on financial stability; others may follow. Banks will target net-zero emissions by 2050 from loans, deals and operations; Barclays, HSBC and JP Morgan have made plans since October. Better tools to measure the emissions indirectly produced or financed by firms will help executives adopt more targeted strategies.

Subject Review of central bankers' annual Jackson Hole retreat. Significance At their annual retreat in Jackson Hole, the tension between threats to financial stability and subdued inflation posed an acute dilemma for the world’s leading central bankers. Despite robust euro-area growth and steady US expansion, inflation remains below the 2% targets of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the ECB. The cyclical and structural forces suppressing inflation, including slack in Europe’s labour market and the impact of technology on pricing power, vie with lofty asset prices as the key determinants of the timing and pace of monetary stimulus withdrawal. Impacts The euro-dollar rate is at its highest since 2015, threatening growth and posing a dilemma as policy withdrawal speculation drives the euro. Escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula are fuelling market volatility, pushing down yields on 10-year German and US sovereign bonds. Outflows from highly speculative exchange traded funds have increased recently, and capital flows to emerging markets will remain volatile.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-214
Author(s):  
Kamil Makiel

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to analyze the impact of quantitative easing (QE) performed in the USA on relationship between assets mainly from mining and oil industries. Based on the empirical results, the method of diversified portfolio creation has been proposed. Design/methodology/approach – Nine DCC-GARCH-type models have been estimated for each group centered around a main asset: a company from the oil or mining industry, the appropriate currency pair for its market of origin, commodities which could be used for the diversification of risk involved in investing in a portfolio containing the company, and the largest company from the same industry listed on the US market. Each series of conditional correlations was analyzed with regard to the changes that occurred during the various stages of QE. Findings – The correlations are shown to be stabilizing in the successive stages of QE. The most significant changes in the distribution of correlations can be observed after the first stage of QE. The effects of QE are evident not only in the USA but also in other countries; however, the level of its influence varies between different markets and assets. It is possible to diversify the inflation, currency and market portfolio risk by appropriately chosen asset decomposition. Research limitations/implications – The DCC model is limited, so to provide more precise results, more sophisticated models can be estimated and compared. Practical implications – The paper investigate the fact of stabilization in financial markets relations. The findings may prove the validity of continuation of QE. A portfolio creation method has been proposed – it has been stated that including commodity in portfolio is more appropriate then only-bond–equity mix. Originality/value – The new approach of analyzing financial stability has been proposed – the control for stability of conditional correlation.


Significance Washington has re-joined the Paris agreement and announced new climate commitments, but still faces a credibility gap. It must demonstrate by November’s COP26 summit, how it can meet its new goals. Impacts Private sector companies will face increasing pressure to set net-zero targets. The use of natural gas as a transition fossil fuel will face greater scrutiny as pressure for drastic climate action increases. Fossil fuel subsidy reform is likely to return to G20 priorities after having been neglected during the US Trump administration.


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zimmer

Purpose – The US Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 introduced optional prescription drug coverage, beginning in 2006, widely known as Medicare Part D. This paper uses up-to-date nationally representative survey data to investigate the impact of Part D not only on drug spending and consumption, but also on the composition of drug consumption. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Specifically, the paper investigates whether Part D impacted the number of therapeutic classes for which drugs were prescribed, and also whether Part D lead to increased usage of drugs for specific medical conditions that typically receive drug-intensive therapies. Findings – In addition to confirming findings from previous studies, this paper shows that Part D increased the number of therapeutic classes to which seniors receive drugs by approximately four classes. Part D also lead to increased usage of drugs used to treat upper respiratory disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Originality/value – While mostly concurring with previous studies on the spending impacts of Part D, this paper is the first to shed light on other impacts of Part D, specifically with respect to its impact on therapeutic classes for which drugs are prescribed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 818-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Pickering ◽  
Jeffrey S. McGee ◽  
Tim Stephens ◽  
Sylvia I. Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen
Keyword(s):  
The Us ◽  

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeem Abas ◽  
Esmat Kalair ◽  
Saad Dilshad ◽  
Nasrullah Khan

PurposeThe authors present the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on community lifelines. The state machinery has several departments to secure essential lifelines during disasters and epidemics. Many countries have formed national disaster management authorities to deal with manmade and natural disasters. Typical lifelines include food, water, safety and security, continuity of services, medicines and healthcare equipment, gas, oil and electricity supplies, telecommunication services, transportation means and education system. Supply chain systems are often affected by disasters, which should have alternative sources and routes. Doctors, nurses and medics are front-line soldiers against diseases during pandemics.Design/methodology/approachThe COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how much we all are connected yet unprepared for natural disasters. Political leaders prioritize infrastructures, education but overlook the health sector. During the recent pandemic, developed countries faced more mortalities, fatalities and casualties than developing countries. This work surveys the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, energy, environment, industry, education and food supply lines.FindingsThe COVID-19 pandemic caused 7% reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during global lockdowns. In addition, COVID-19 has affected social fabric, behaviors, cultures and official routines. Around 2.84 bn doses have been administrated, with approximately 806 m people (10.3% of the world population) are fully vaccinated around the world to date. Most developed vaccines are being evaluated for new variants like alpha, beta, gamma, epsilons and delta first detected in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, USA and India. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors in society, yet this paper critically reviews the impact of COVID-19 on health and energy lifelines.Practical implicationsThis paper critically reviews the health and energy lifelines during pandemic COVID-19 and explains how these essential services were interrupted.Originality/valueThis paper critically reviews the health and energy lifelines during pandemic COVID-19 and explains how these essential services were interrupted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (50) ◽  
pp. 451-478
Author(s):  
Ahmed Bouteska ◽  
Boutheina Regaieg

Purpose The current study aims to investigate the impacts of two behavioral biases, namely, loss aversion and overconfidence on the performance of US companies. First, the impact of loss aversion on the economic performance of companies was assessed. Second, the impact of overconfidence on market performance was discussed. Design/methodology/approach This study used around 6,777 quarterly observations on the population of US-insured industrial and services companies over the 2006-2016 period. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression in two panel data models were used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study. Findings It was documented that the loss-aversion bias negatively affects the economic performance of companies and this is achieved for both sectors. In contrast, the findings suggest that overconfidence positively affects market performance of industrial firms but negatively affects market performance in service firms. Further robust evidence was found that overconfidence bias seems to be dominant, and hence, investors may tend to be more overconfident rather than more loss-averse. Originality/value This research can be extended by focusing on the following question: What is the impact of the contradictory (positive and negative) effects of an investor's loss aversion and overconfidence on the US company performance in case of realization of a stock market crisis or stock market crash?


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garrett Lane Cohee ◽  
Jeff Barrows ◽  
Rob Handfield

Purpose Each year, the US defense industry outsources nearly $400 bn of domestic goods and services through competitive bids. These procurement activities are quite often complex and specialized in nature because of a highly regulated federal acquisition contracting environment. Ongoing calls to improve supplier management and drive innovation in the defense industry offers an opportunity to adopt Early Supplier Integration (ESI) initiatives that have proven successful in the private sector. This paper identifies critical ESI activities and acquisition practices that the defense industry should adopt to ensure enhanced effectiveness in new product development. Design/methodology/approach Leveraging a conceptual ESI model derived from the research, an in-depth case study of 12 product development projects from a major defense contractor was performed. In the context of project performance, critical ESI activities and moderating effects were assessed. Findings Three key ESI activities have the greatest impact on aggregate project performance: system design involvement, design adjustment opportunities and design for manufacturability/assembly/testability involvement. Use of formal supplier agreements also significantly impacts project performance during the development phase. In addition, project complexity and product team maturity were identified as environment moderators; higher complexity projects tended to negatively moderate the impact of ESI upon performance, and higher team maturity levels tended to positively moderate the impact of ESI upon performance. Originality/value The results provide a sound framework for empirical validation through future quantitative studies and defense industry analyses. In addition, insights and recommendations for interpretation and adaptation of federal acquisition regulations to allow increased utilization of ESI within the defense industry are substantiated.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhav Regmi ◽  
Allen M. Featherstone

PurposeThe number of US commercial banks has declined by about 50% over the last two decades. This change could lead to a potential decline in competition and a potential increase in market power in the agricultural banking market. The focus of this study is to examine whether the risk of failure and the performance of agricultural banks has been affected by bank consolidations.Design/methodology/approachThe impact of bank competition on performance and financial stability of agricultural banks is studied using a Lerner index as a measure of market power. A Z-score is constructed to measure bank stability. Similarly, the return on assets (net income to total assets ratio), return on equity (net income to the total equity ratio), agricultural loan ratio and agricultural loan volume are used as performance measures for agricultural banks. Two-way fixed effect regression models are estimated to measure the impact of competition on financial stability and performance.FindingsResults indicate that bank competition has a U-shaped effect on the probability of default and an inverted U-shaped effect on volume and proportion of agricultural lending. There also exists evidence of a positive but non-linear effect of bank market power on the profitability of agricultural banks.Originality/valueThere is limited literature on the impact of bank competition on financial stability and performance of US agricultural banks. Agricultural banks hold more than 40% of US farm debt. A decrease in the number of banks or the level of competition in agricultural banking may cause an adverse effect on relationship lending. The key findings imply that bank regulatory strategies should focus on enhancing (reducing) competition in more (less) concentrated banking markets to improve the financial health and performance of agricultural banks.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Glauco De Vita ◽  
Constantinos Alexiou ◽  
Emmanouil Trachanas ◽  
Yun Luo

PurposeDespite decades of research, the relationship between intellectual property rights (IPRs) and foreign direct investment (FDI) remains ambiguous. Using a recently developed patent enforcement index (along with a broader IPR index) and a large sectoral country-to-country FDI dataset, the authors revisit the FDI-IPR relationship by testing the impact of IPRs on UK and US outward FDI (OFDI) flows as well as earnings from outward FDI (EOFDI).Design/methodology/approachThe authors use disaggregated data for up to 9 distinct sectors of economic activity from both the US and UK for OFDI flows and EOFDI, for a panel of up to 42 developed and developing countries over sample periods from 1998 to 2015. The authors employ a panel fixed effects (FE) approach that allows exploiting the longitudinal properties of the data using Driscoll and Kraay's (1998) nonparametric covariance matrix estimator.FindingsThe authors do not find any consistent evidence in support of the hypothesis that countries' strength of IPR protection or enforcement affects inward FDI, or that sector of investment matters. The results prove robust to sensitivity checks that include an alternative broader measure of IPR strength, analyses across sub-samples disaggregated according to the strength of countries' IPRs as well as developing vs developed economies and an extended specification accounting for dynamic effects of the response of FDI to both previous investment levels and IPR (patent) protection.Originality/valueThe authors make use of the largest most granular sectoral country-to-country FDI dataset employed to date in the analysis of the FDI-IPR nexus with disaggregated data for OFDI and EOFDI across up to 9 distinct sectors of economic activity from both the US and UK The authors employ a more sophisticated measure of IPR strength, the patent index proposed by Papageorgiadis et al. (2014), which places emphasis on the effectiveness of enforcement practices as perceived by managers, together with the overall administrative effectiveness and efficiency of the national patent system.


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