This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

For much of the past two years, U.S. economic growth has rested on an uncomfortable truth: it has been carried disproportionately by high-income households . While inflation, housing costs, and credit tightening constrained most consumers, those earning over $100,000 continued to spend—and in doing so, propped up GDP growth. That support is now wavering. According to the January 2026 Macro Update from Morning Consult, consumer confidence among high-income earners has fallen sharply and unusually fast, prompting a downgrade of sentiment risk for this group from Medium to High . Over just 16 days, the Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) for households earning more than $100,000 declined by 17.4 points , a 12.3% drop in only 30 days —one of the steepest declines in the series’ history. For impact investors, this is not a curiosity. It is a leading indicator . The Consumer-Led Growth Model Is Showing Its Limits Morning Consult’s data make clear why this shift matters. In 2025, nearly all ...

On January 22, 2026 , the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its updated estimate of U.S. economic growth for the third quarter of 2025 — adjusting the earlier preliminary number upward from 4.3% to 4.4% . ( Bureau of Economic Analysis ) This revision confirms the economy expanded at its fastest pace in two years , fueled by continued strength in consumer spending, exports, government outlays, and investment .  However, when we step beyond headlines and into the underlying data environment, a more nuanced and cautionary picture emerges — one that affirms much of the skepticism in our earlier analysis . 📈 What BEA’s Updated Estimate Says According to BEA: Real GDP grew 4.4% annually in Q3 2025 (July–September).  This is up from the initial 4.3% estimate and above economists’ expectations.  The increase was driven by consumer spending, business investment, exports, and government spending — while imports declined, which mechanically boosts GDP. Industry data show bro...

On January 21, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States convened in Washington, D.C., for oral arguments in the high-stakes case of Trump v. Cook (No. 25A312). The proceedings, which began at 10:03 a.m. before Chief Justice Roberts and the Associate Justices, center on President Donald J. Trump's emergency application to stay a preliminary injunction that reinstated Lisa D. Cook to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The central legal battle involves whether the President has the authority to remove a Federal Reserve governor for "cause" based on alleged misconduct that occurred before her tenure, specifically, claims of "deceit or gross negligence" regarding conflicting mortgage applications submitted in 2021. Solicitor General D. John Sauer represented the Applicants (the President), while Paul D. Clement argued on behalf of Respondent Lisa Cook. Amza Togore at the Supreme Cour t The core of the dispute rests on the definition of "ca...

Le Nhu Ngoc Tran (Whittier College), Amza Togore (Trinity College) and Riley McGlynn (Siena College) at the US Supreme Court   On January 21st, 2026, I and my fellow interns at Creative Investment Research attended Oral Arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States concerning Trump v. Cook. The purpose of the oral arguments was to determine whether Donald Trump's attempts to fire Lisa Cook from her position as Governor of the Federal Reserve were lawful. The defense for this firing rested on allegations of mortgage fraud.  My perspective on how the Court operates, and specifically how they operated during this case is that it overall is smooth and straight to the point, getting deep into the case. The Justices asked thorough and relevant questions during the proceeding, while making sure the lawyers appearing before them  remained on topic, clear and concise. To give an example, early on during the argument by D. John Sauer the solicitor general and the man defe...

Watching American politics from the outside, it’s easy to hear people asking: how did this happen? How does a billionaire brand himself as anti-elite, win major support among impoverished Hispanic voters he openly targets, and keep pulling poor white working-class Americans into a coalition that always acts against their economic interests? One explanation—outlined in this video —is that voting behavior is frequently driven less by policy and more by emotional and social logic: protection, fear, disgust, hierarchy, and status threat . That framework is useful. But it becomes truly persuasive only when we anchor it in the long-run economic shifts that made these emotions politically usable. This analysis connects that “protector politics” thesis to hard economic data — income stagnation, manufacturing job loss, union decline , and the Black–White median income gap —to show why identity and status narratives keep winning against technocratic policy talk. 1) The Great Pretender/Prote...

📅 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – A “Day On” for Justice and Shared Prosperity Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , a visionary leader whose work reshaped America’s civil rights movement and challenged us to confront injustice wherever it lives — in society, in policy, and in the economy. While many remember Dr. King for his powerful words on civil rights and nonviolence, he also had a deep concern for how our economic systems treat people — especially those who have been marginalized. Dr. King was not opposed to markets themselves, but he was deeply committed to how wealth is created and used . He urged us to think not just about profit , but also about purpose, dignity, and community well-being .  https://www.impactinvesting.online/2016/01/martin-luther-kings-philosophy-on.html 💡 What Dr. King’s Economic Philosophy Means Today Dr. King believed that: Economic justice is inseparable from racial justice. Markets should serve people , not the othe...

To the editor: The reported  criminal investigation  involving Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell should alarm anyone who cares about financial stability, bank supervision and the rule-based operation of U.S. markets. This is not about a building renovation. It is about power. When political actors are dissatisfied with monetary policy — interest rates, inflation or the impact of tariffs — they increasingly seek leverage outside the policy process. Investigations, early leaks of confidential economic data, and public insinuations concerning legitimate private financial arrangements become tools of pressure. That is not accountability; it is intimidation. Just as  the fatal shooting  of Renée Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis sparked questions about the appropriate use of force, the criminal inquiry into Powell over his congressional testimony about a building renovation — a question of public record and policy disclosur...

📊 Key Labor Market Facts — December 2025 According to the BLS December 2025 employment situation : The national unemployment rate was 4.4% in December 2025. ( Bureau of Labor Statistics ) Black or African American unemployment was significantly higher , at about 7.5% (seasonally adjusted), nearly double the rate for Whites.  Hispanic/Latino unemployment also remained elevated , though far below Black unemployment (about 4.9%).  Between January and September, the number of unemployed Black women surged from 598,000 to 830,000—an increase of 232,000. While unemployment for Black women dipped slightly in November, it rose again in December to 820,000, leaving Black women unemployment 222,000 higher than at the start of the year. These disparities reflect long-standing structural inequalities in the labor market, where Black workers routinely face higher unemployment rates and longer jobless spells than other groups.  📉 Direct Impacts on Black & Minority-Owned Busines...

Black Enterprise ’s recent article, “Pivotal Moves to Help Black Women Rebound Stronger From Massive Job Cuts,” offers a timely and necessary look at the accelerating employment crisis facing Black women—and, importantly, what can be done about it. The article grounds its analysis in hard data, noting the sharp rise in unemployment among Black women in 2025 and the concentration of job losses in sectors where Black women are disproportionately represented. It moves beyond surface-level advice by emphasizing financial triage, skills realignment, entrepreneurship, and long-term resilience as core strategies for recovery. Creative Investment Research was cited in the piece for our analysis showing that this surge in unemployment is not the result of labor-force exits , but of actual job losses and weak hiring , particularly in education, professional services, healthcare, and public-sector roles. That distinction matters—because it points directly to policy failures and sector-specific ...