This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

The emergence of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency creates potential threats, but also opportunities for the world’s central banks. We noticed a pivot toward greater discussion of blockchain at the IMF and World Bank meetings we attended in early October as central bankers, financial institutions and policymakers took note of these developments. Cryptocurrencies do not require an intermediary to verify and oversee transactions, allowing transactions to bypass the current monetary system overseen by central banks using fiat currencies. In their official capacities as international organizations seeking coordinated and stable monetary policy, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank recognize the potential of blockchain technology and both have taken significant steps in this fintech space. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, suggested the creation of a digital currency based on the special drawing rights, a basket of international reserve currenci

IMF Annual Meetings Small Is Beautiful – Regulatory Approaches for Non-Systemic Banks October 14, 2017 Question about Black banks at a session on: How can a more proportionate approach to regulation of small banks be applied to align more closely with their size and business models? Questioner: William Michael Cunningham Creative Investment Research Speakers: David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF Michael Gibson, Director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, Federal Reserve Board

According to an official assessment obtained by Foreign Policy Magazine, the US government has declared “black identity extremists” like the "Black Lives Matter" movement a violent threat to the country. This assessment was made by the FBI’s counter-terrorism division. The finding, which carries with it the authority of a major counterterrorism arm of the United States, authorizes agencies of the Federal Government to use extraordinary means to protect the country from this erroneously declared threat. This might include spying on, rounding up, or forcibly detaining BLM activists and their supporters. History has shown what this means. COINTELPRO, "a series of covert, and often illegal, projects, starting in 1956 and conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting American political organizations." FBI records show that COINTELPRO resources targeted groups and individuals

Texas Economic Forecast 2017:  https://youtu.be/9wW5I1AcSPE