This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

The 2019 Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED) interviewed over 12,000 individuals via an online survey launched in October 2019. To understand recent financial conditions and to see how circumstances for families have changed, the Federal Reserve Board also conducted a survey in April 2020 on the financial repercussions from COVID-19. The initial response from the 2019 survey showed that overall economic well-being had improved substantially relative to the overall economic well-being in 2013, the last time a similar survey was conducted. But differences in financial well- being still remained and widened slightly, across education levels and across racial and ethnic groups. Changes in monthly family income were a main source of financial strain. Financial support from family members or friends is one income source used to cover expenses. Most people worked as much as they wanted to, but many adults wanted more full time work. Few adults performed gig activities

The Intersection of ESG and COVID-19. C all hosted by Goldman Sachs to discuss the impact of the global pandemic and economic recession on ESG, with a focus on both the investor and corporate perspectives. ESG Investing is the consideration of Environmental, Social, and Governance factors  in  investment decision making.  As emphasized in the presentation, while some consider the ESG qualification to be simply a box to check, it is becoming a very important marker of strong investments. This presentation discussed the growing importance of ESG factors and the relevance of COVID-19 on future investing. Martin Whittaker of Just Capital discussed how the pandemic is emphasizing the importance of risk factors and relationships for corporations. As a nonprofit which surveys thousands of Americans in building their company rankings, they have found that the way corporations treat their workers and care for their safety has become critical. Given the health risks associated with

Black People and COVID-19 | Key Impacts A new national survey of African American small businesses was conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Creative Investment Research. The survey asked questions about the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance (EIDL) Programs. The survey was intended to get a true pulse of how effective the lending programs have been. Sixty four percent (64%) of survey participants that said they applied for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), only 19% got funding. Even those receiving funding, however, got far less than what they asked for or expected. As survey respondents were predominantly Black businesses, this gives us some insight as to why unemployment is high and growing among Black Americans. What can Black people do immediately? Apply for the stimulus check of $1,200 - 100% probability rate of receiving; Apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) - much lower probability rate of receiving PPP, on

Come advocate for change! SPECIAL GUESTS: CONGRESSMAN HANK JOHNSON (D-GA) DR. CHARLES STEELE, JR., PRESIDENT AND CEO, SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE WILLIAM MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM, FOUNDER - CREATIVE INVESTMENT RESEARCH Wednesday May 13, 2020 6:00 pm ET. Zoom Webinar.  https://www.creativeinvestmentresearch.org/covid

AT almost that three times the level reported in December, 2019, Friday's Black unemployment rate number is surprising and unfortunate, no matter what partisan policymakers and economists say. Remember, our expectation (and hope) was that fiscal and monetary policy actions would limit the initial damage. The Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs certainly helped keep May's unemployment rate below 20%, but the numbers show that more focused fiscal and monetary policy actions, coordinated on a global level, are needed. In our comment on the Economic and Social Costs of "Reopening" America, we estimated that U.S. small businesses would need $6 trillion on an annual basis to ensure their survival through the coronavirus crisis. This was confirmed by the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. (See: https://twisri.blogspot.com/2020/04/economic-and-social-costs-of-reopening.html ). Unfortunately the unemployment numbers sho