This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points on September 16, increasing the federal funds target range from 3.50%–3.75% to 3.75%–4.00% . The vote was unanimous.  For Black and minority-owned businesses the consequences deserve closer examination. Following the Fed announcement, major U.S. banks increased their prime lending rate from 6.75% to 7.00% . Prime is particularly important to small businesses because many commercial lines of credit, working-capital facilities and SBA loans are either directly or indirectly tied to it. The result is straightforward: the cost of business capital just went up. Estimated Black/Minority Business Borrowing Costs Before and After the Hike The table below illustrates the immediate effect on small-business borrowing. These are not race-specific quoted rates—but lenders are known to have a separate unpublished “Black business rate.” The table below illustrates rates using common prime-linked financing products. For a minority-owned ...

Reflections from Georgetown's “Magnifica Humanitas” Panel, by Julia Johanna von Rüden.  On September 9, I attended "AI, Catholic Social Teaching, and Pope Leo's Invitation to Dialogue with the World" at Georgetown University, a conversation that impacted my own ethical perspective on AI more than I had expected . The event, convened by Georgetown's new president, Eduardo Peñalver, was moderated by Kim Daniels, director of the university's Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. The panel brought together Archbishop Gabriele Caccia (Apostolic Nuncio to the United States), Vilas Dhar (Patrick J. McGovern Foundation), Molly Kinder (Breakwater Initiative), Anna Rowlands (Durham University), and Jasmine Sun (The Atlantic).  The anchor for the discussion was Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity"), which calls on institutions, especially universities, to help ensure that AI serves the common good ra...

The August 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides another reason to be cautious about declaring victory over inflation. The CPI increased 0.4 percent in August , four times July's 0.1 percent increase. Annual inflation remained at 3.4 percent , while core CPI increased 0.3 percent for the month. The relatively stable annual headline masks a critical development: inflation accelerated during August. Energy Is Again the Warning Sign Energy prices increased 2.1 percent in August, while gasoline jumped 3.9 percent . Gasoline alone accounted for more than one-third of the monthly CPI increase. Gasoline prices are now 27.4 percent higher than a year ago , according to US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This matters for transportation, logistics, construction, food distribution, delivery and other businesses with significant fuel exposure. For these firms, a 3.4 percent national inflation rate bears little resemblance to their actual increase in operating costs. M...

The August 2026 Producer Price Index sent a warning to Black and minority-owned businesses: business inflation is accelerating again. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that producer prices increased 0.4 percent in August and 5.4 percent over the past year . Final-demand goods prices jumped 1.1 percent , while energy prices increased 4.2 percent . One number is particularly concerning: diesel fuel prices surged 24.1 percent in August. Transportation and warehousing prices increased 2.3 percent, while truck freight transportation rose 2.0 percent. These increases directly affect minority-owned trucking, construction, delivery, distribution and logistics firms. The Inflation Pipeline Remains Hot Another warning: prices for processed goods for intermediate demand increased 1.8 percent in August and 11.5 percent over the past year . These are costs moving through the production pipeline. This implies that businesses will continue facing higher supplier prices even if some headl...

The August 2026 Employment Situation report looks stronger than recent months, but we believe the headline payroll number should be treated cautiously. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 jobs in August , while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent . That is a significant improvement over the recent trend, but we are not convinced the number fully reflects underlying labor-market conditions. One reason is concentration. About 101,000 of the 162,000 reported jobs—roughly 62 percent—came from just two categories: food services and drinking places and local government education . BLS also noted that the education increase largely offset a decline in the prior month, suggesting that timing and seasonal adjustment may be influencing the headline figure. Much of the rest of the economy showed limited hiring. Employment changed little in wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, profess...

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s August 28, 2026 Jackson Hole speech deserves careful attention because it provides the clearest indication yet of how he intends to define Federal Reserve credibility. Warsh declared that the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent inflation target is “firm” and “fixed,” said current inflation remains too high and concluded that the Fed’s “predominant focus right now should be on prices.” He also made clear that he regards short-term interest rates as the Fed’s predominant monetary-policy tool and unconventional interventions as appropriate principally for genuine crises. Warsh and Rate Hikes: CIR On Point On July 29, Creative Investment Research (CIR) issued a warning titled “Federal Reserve May Consider Rate Hike to Establish Chairman Warsh’s Inflation-fighting Credibility.” We argued that Warsh faced an unusual institutional problem: as a newly installed chairman operating amid intense political pressure for lower rates, he might feel compelled to establi...