This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

After three months of accelerating inflation, the June 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI) finally delivered encouraging news. Consumer prices fell 0.4 percent during the month—the largest monthly decline since April 2020—reducing the annual inflation rate from 4.2 percent in May to 3.5 percent in June . For Black and minority-owned businesses, however, the June report should not be interpreted as an all-clear signal. The decline in headline inflation was driven almost entirely by falling energy prices rather than a broad-based easing of price pressures. While lower gasoline prices provide immediate relief for transportation-dependent businesses, many of the structural costs confronting minority-owned firms—including food, housing, labor, and services—remain elevated. Energy Prices Reverse Course The most significant development in June was the sharp decline in energy prices. The energy index fell 5.7 percent during the month, its largest one-month decline since April 2020. Gasoline pric...

  When health care enters the political conversation, the debate often extends beyond the scope of hospitals, insurance plans, and public health. It becomes a conversation about the economy, public trust in systems, and the decisions voters make at the ballot box. That intersection of health care, economics, and policy was the focus of Axios Live: Health Care’s Emerging Battlefield event on June 24, where researchers, policymakers, and advocates joined in discussion about the future of health care access and affordability, and how the public views these issues. Continuing my focus on public health policy this summer, I attended the event hosted by Axios and sponsored by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund . The event featured KFF’s Ashley Kirzinger , Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), and Planned Parenthood Action Fund President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson.  I experienced the greatest insight from Axios’ first guest, KFF’s Director of Survey Meth...

The June 2026 Employment Situation Report presents a familiar challenge for policymakers and investors: a lower unemployment rate that masks a weakening labor market. While the official unemployment rate declined to 4.2% , the underlying data point to slowing employment growth, declining labor force participation, and persistent racial disparities that continue to place Black workers and minority-owned businesses at elevated risk. Our analysis of the May report argued that headline numbers were overstating labor-market strength. The June data reinforce that conclusion. A Lower Unemployment Rate for the Wrong Reason On its face, the June report appears encouraging. Unemployment declined from May, suggesting continued resilience. A closer examination tells a different story. Payroll employment slowed significantly. Previous months were revised downward. Most importantly, labor force participation declined, meaning part of the reduction in unemployment occurred because workers stopped...

Creative Investment Research is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as a Supporting Organization for the 5th Annual General Counsel Summit US , presented by Economist Events. The summit will bring together more than 500 general counsel, chief legal officers, senior legal executives, and leading law firms in New York on September 15, 2026, to discuss the rapidly changing legal and regulatory environment. While many organizations simply attend conferences, being recognized as a Supporting Organization reflects a deeper level of engagement with the legal, regulatory, and corporate governance community. Creative Investment Research joins a select group of organizations associated with the event, alongside leading legal technology companies, major law firms, and professional organizations. Economics and Law Are Becoming Increasingly Interconnected Today's legal challenges rarely exist in isolation. Antitrust investigations, securities enforcement, banking regulation, ar...

The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Cook is more than a procedural ruling about one Federal Reserve governor. It is a warning about the fragility of central bank integrity and a reminder that the Federal Reserve Act means what it says. The Court denied the government’s request to let President Trump remove Governor Lisa Cook while litigation continues. In so doing, it rejected the claim that the president’s determination of “cause” is operationally unreviewable, that any alleged concern about a central bank governor’s conduct is enough, and that courts cannot preserve a governor’s status. That matters for every bank, investor, borrower and regulator in the country. The Federal Reserve is the central institution responsible for monetary policy, bank supervision and the stability of the U.S. financial system. Its independence is not a courtesy extended by presidents. It is essential for market confidence. The Court understood this. It emphasized that Federal Reserve governors serve...

  The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation sent a clear message in May: inflation remains stubbornly high. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index increased 0.4 percent in May and 4.1 percent over the past year , the highest annual inflation rate in roughly three years. Core PCE—which excludes the volatile food and energy categories—rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier. While the three-month annualized pace of core inflation has moderated from 4.4 percent in February to 3.5 percent in May , inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. Consumer spending and personal income both increased 0.7 percent , demonstrating that demand remains resilient despite higher prices. For Black- and minority-owned businesses (MBEs), these data present both immediate challenges and longer-term strategic implications. Inflation Is Not Neutral Inflation does not affect every business equally. Minority-owned firms are disproportionately concentra...