02 Jun COVID-19 ACCELERATES ESG; QBE PREDICTS POST-VIRUS “GREEN BOOM”; THE END OF CORPORATE FLYING?
Posted at 03:26h
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Welcome to today’s business and media intelligence, with insights collected over the past 24 hours.
COVID-19 ACCELERATES ESG
- A new report by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) tips ESG investments to reach $100 billion within the next five years. It seems investors want to put more money into sectors such as clean energy, housing, health and wellbeing, education and conservation. RIAA CEO Simon O’Connor said: “As evidence mounts that companies with better records on social issues, environmental sustainability and good governance are more resilient to COVID market turbulence, this study shows a market delivering strong financial returns, while also positively impacting the lives of tens of thousands of people.” Read more in The Australian. (Subscriber access)
CONTINUTING THE GREEN THEME: QBE PREDICTS POST-VIRUS “GREEN BOOM”
- General insurer QBE has completed its divestment of thermal coal and expects to gradually reduce its investments in other fossil fuels, as it prepares for what it believes will be a surge in demand for environmental and social impact finance post COVID 19. Read more in The AFR here. (Subscriber access)
RAISING CAPITAL? IT’S ALL GO, GO, GO
- Investors have so far seen a $6.4 billion windfall from the rush of capital raisings as corporate Australia scrambles to protect its balance sheet. Listed companies have so far tapped institutional and retail investors for $23 billion since the start of February. Monday was the biggest day for raisings in the last three months, as shopping mall operator Vicinity Centres sought up to $1.4 billion, while privately owned lender Latitude Financial revealed it had tapped the market for the same amount. Read more on all the capital raisings that have taken place in The Australian. (Subscriber access)
THE END OF CORPORATE FLYING?
- Pat Gelsinger, chief executive of VMWare, said the technology giant must never go back to normal. In an interview with The AFR, he discusses the permanent changes COVID-19 has brought about for his company, including having 50 per cent of its employees working from home, redesigning campuses with a new way of working in mind, and removing unnecessary travel. Read the full interview here. (Subscriber access)
MEDIA NEWS: AAP BIDDER SUBMITS PROPOSAL
- A consortium led by former News Corp Australia and Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh has formally submitted its bid for AAP, the national newswire. The consortium, which includes Samuel Terry Asset Management boss Fred Woollard and Australian Impact Investments boss Kylie Charlton, is hoping to strike a deal before AAP closes its doors on June 26. Read more in The Australian. (Subscriber access)
CYCLYING’S BIG MOMENT
- Bike shops around the world have been experiencing their highest turnover ever, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The Economist describes it as cycling’s big moment, which could have profound long-term implications for transport policy as Western governments move to make such temporary measures permanent. Read The Economists thoughts here. (Subscriber access)
CAREFUL OF THOSE UGG BOOTS
- There are many pleasures to working from home, especially swapping those uncomfortable shoes for sneakers and ugg boots. For instance, online retailer The Iconic is experiencing a 1,500 per cent increase in slipper sales. However, this has led podiatrists to see a surge of patients with so-called “ugg boot foot”. Clinical podiatrist Jessica Johnston has seen many patients return with past foot pain or presenting with new pain from wearing shoes with little or no support for long periods. Read The SMH article here.
Our daily briefing is not meant to be a summary of media coverage but rather, insights that may be helpful in understanding how organisations are communicating with stakeholders in a time of crisis – and what comes next. Sign up via email.