This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

According to one site on the internet (must be logged into Facebook to follow this link): "Together we can ensure that these banking institutions will ALWAYS remember the 5th of November!! If the 99% removes our funds from the major banking institutions to non-profit credit unions on or by this date, we will send a clear message to the 1% that conscious consumers won't support companies with unethical business practices. • Research your local credit union options • Open an account with the one that best suits your needs • Cancel all automatic withdrawals & deposits • Transfer your funds to the new account • Follow your bank's procedures to close your account before 11/05 FIND A CREDIT UNION USA: http://www.findacreditunio n.com/ CANADA: http://locator.cucentral.c om/ UK: http://www.findyourcreditu nion.co.uk/ " We think this is an interesting idea. If there is a free market for the provision of financial services, then this should be a welcomed initiative. If...

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhrwmJcsfT0&feature=player_embedded

They are: Upset that 20% of the country's wealth has been destroyed and not a single person has been convicted, much less indicted. Upset that Wall Street has iron control over the country’s economic policies and that both parties are wholly owned subsidiaries. Upset that 24 million people cannot find a full time job, that 50 million cannot afford to see a doctor when they are sick, that 47 million need the government’s help to feed themselves. They are upset that 15 million families owe more on their home than it is worth. (Alan Grayson, Former Member of Congress.)

BY MATTHIAS RIEKE. OCTOBER 10, 2011 The Wall Street Journal. By focusing on select customers, East West Bancorp is showing it can grow at a time when many banks are struggling to find a firm footing. East West, based in Pasadena, Calif., pays close attention to Asia. It seeks Chinese-American clients and attracts U.S. companies that do business in China. It also finances Chinese companies' expansion in the U.S. through trade finance and commercial loans. East West has "been smart enough to link to demographics in their ancestral homeland," said William Michael Cunningham, the owner of Creative Investment Research Inc., an advisory firm in Washington with a focus on minority ... See full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204450804576620881021962152.html

From the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/commentary-new-rule-could-help-ease-black-unemployment/2011/09/07/gIQA8XoqKK_story.html President Obama unveiled some ambitious ideas last week to create jobs, a plan that may have little chance of becoming reality any time soon given the $447 billion price tag and the current animus between the president and Congress. But about four weeks ago, Obama signed a little-publicized executive order that may go far in addressing a crisis exacerbated by the economic downturn: the rising unemployment rate and the diminishing wealth of African Americans. On Aug. 18, the White House issued an executive order “to promote the federal workplace as a model of equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion.” This follows on the heels of Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which created offices to monitor and encourage efforts by federal financial agencies such as the Treasury Department ...

We created the chart at left showing black versus white unemployment in August, 2011. Black unemployment was reported at 16.7%, higher than the 16.2% rate reported in August 2010. Black unemployment was 15.5% in July, 2011. White unemployment fell to 8% in August from 8.1% in July, 2011. Further, white unemployment was 8.7% in August, 2010. I think this puts the recession into clear perspective. While some (the Tea Party in particular) have done a lot of whining, they are in no way, shape or form bearing the brunt of this recession.

The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release August 18, 2011 Executive Order--Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce EXECUTIVE ORDER ESTABLISHING A COORDINATED GOVERNMENT-WIDE INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote the Federal workplace as a model of equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. Our Nation derives strength from the diversity of its population and from its commitment to equal opportunity for all. We are at our best when we draw on the talents of all parts of our society, and our greatest accomplishments are achieved when diverse perspectives are brought to bear to overcome our greatest challenges. A commitment to equal opportunity, diversity, and ...