Finance Media Monitor | 10.17.23

SPOTLIGHT

“We live in a deranged age,” says tech investor Marc Andreessen in his new Techno-Optimist Manifesto. And no, he’s not talking about his $350 million investment in disgraced former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann’s crypto-real estate venture or how a tougher fundraising environment has forced him to go cap in hand to Saudi Arabia. Instead, he’s decided that:

“Our present society has been subjected to a mass demoralization campaign for six decades – against technology and against life – under varying names like “existential risk”, “sustainability”, “ESG”, “Sustainable Development Goals”, “social responsibility”, “stakeholder capitalism”, “Precautionary Principle”, “trust and safety”, “tech ethics”, “risk management”, “de-growth”, “the limits of growth”.” 

While this may sound like the ramblings of someone who spends too much time on the site formerly known as Twitter, big venture capitalists like Andreessen have influence. Now is a good time to see what less deranged VCs are up to. 

NEWS

OPINION

OPPOSITION

SOCIAL 

  • Judith Arnal shared a report: Interesting report by @EBA_News on how the banking prudential framework captures ESG risks. Proposals for action in the short and medium-long run are flagged, with the latter referring to revisions of the Pillar 1 framework. 
  • Vivek Ramaswamy shared a video: BlackRock, State Street, & Vanguard represent arguably the most powerful cartel in human history: they’re the largest shareholders of nearly every major public company (even of each other) & they use *your* own money to foist ESG agendas onto corporate boards – voting for “racial equity audits” & “Scope 3 emissions caps” that don’t advance your best financial interests. This raises serious fiduciary, antitrust, and conflict-of-interest concerns. As President I will cut off the real hand that guides the ESG movement – not the invisible hand of the free market, but the invisible fist of government itself.

DATES

  • October 17: Orbitas The High Cost of Ignoring Scope 3 Deforestation Emissions Webinar. Register here. 
  • October 26: Ceres Charting Progress Webinar: Regulator Actions on Climate Financial Risks. Register here. 
  • October 31: Ceres A Guide for Businesses: California’s New Climate Disclosure Legislation Webinar. Register here.