Monthly Archives: July 2021

Nordea Global Climate and Environment Fund

This fund aims to achieve long-term capital growth through a diversified portfolio of equity or equity related investments in companies, which are expected to benefit either directly or indirectly from developments related to environmental challenges such as climate change. The fund shall invest globally and shall invest a minimum
of two thirds of its total assets in equities, other equity shares such as co-operative shares and participation certificates, dividend right certificates, warrants on equities and equity rights.

A £6,403.7m fund = £6.4 Billion

Top Ten holdings are:

LINDE 3.6% of the fund
REPUBLIC SERVICES 3.6% of the fund
AIR LIQUIDE 3.3% of the fund
ASML HOLDING 3.3% of the fund
WASTE MANAGEMENT 3.3% of the fund
SYNOPSYS 2.8% of the fund
INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES 2.6% of the fund
PARKER-HANNIFIN 2.5% of the fund
TRIMBLE 2.5% of the fund
INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES 2.4% of the fund

The assets in top holdings 29.9% of the fund

Conditions are ripe for repeat of 1970s stagflation and 2008 debt crisis:-Nouriel Roubini

The conditions are ripe for repeat of 1970s stagflation and 2008 debt crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/02/1970s-stagflation-2008-debt-crisis-global-economy

Warning signs are there for global economy, and central banks will be left in impossible position

In April, I warned that today’s extremely loose monetary and fiscal policies, when combined with a number of negative supply shocks, could result in 1970s-style stagflation (high inflation alongside a recession). In fact, the risk today is even bigger than it was then.

After all, debt ratios in advanced economies and most emerging markets were much lower in the 1970s, which is why stagflation has not been associated with debt crises historically. If anything, unexpected inflation in the 1970s wiped out the real value of nominal debts at fixed rates, thus reducing many advanced economies’ public-debt burdens.

Conversely, during the 2007-08 financial crisis, high debt ratios (private and public) caused a severe debt crisis – as housing bubbles burst – but the ensuing recession led to low inflation, if not outright deflation. Owing to the credit crunch, there was a macro shock to aggregate demand, whereas the risks today are on the supply side.

We are thus left with the worst of both the stagflationary 1970s and the 2007-10 period. Debt ratios are much higher than in the 1970s, and a mix of loose economic policies and negative supply shocks threatens to fuel inflation rather than deflation, setting the stage for the mother of stagflationary debt crises over the next few years.

The same loose policies that are feeding asset bubbles will continue to drive consumer price inflation
For now, loose monetary and fiscal policies will continue to fuel asset and credit bubbles, propelling a slow-motion train wreck. The warning signs are already apparent in today’s high price-to-earnings ratios, low equity risk premia, inflated housing and tech assets, and the irrational exuberance surrounding special purpose acquisition companies, the crypto sector, high-yield corporate debt, collateralised loan obligations, private equity, meme stocks, and runaway retail day trading. At some point, this boom will culminate in a Minsky moment (a sudden loss of confidence), and tighter monetary policies will trigger a bust and crash.

But in the meantime, the same loose policies that are feeding asset bubbles will continue to drive consumer price inflation, creating the conditions for stagflation whenever the next negative supply shocks arrive. Such shocks could follow from renewed protectionism; demographic ageing in advanced and emerging economies; immigration restrictions in advanced economies; the reshoring of manufacturing to high-cost regions; or the Balkanisation of global supply chains.

More broadly, the Sino-American decoupling threatens to fragment the global economy at a time when climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are pushing national governments toward deeper self-reliance. Add to this the impact on production of increasingly frequent cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, and the social and political backlash against inequality, and the recipe for macroeconomic disruption is complete.

Making matters worse, central banks have effectively lost their independence because they have been given little choice but to monetise massive fiscal deficits to forestall a debt crisis. With both public and private debts having soared, they are in a debt trap. As inflation rises over the next few years, central banks will face a dilemma. If they start phasing out unconventional policies and raising policy rates to fight inflation, they will risk triggering a massive debt crisis and severe recession; but if they maintain a loose monetary policy, they will risk double-digit inflation – and deep stagflation when the next negative supply shocks emerge.

But even in the second scenario, policymakers would not be able to prevent a debt crisis. While nominal government fixed-rate debt in advanced economies can be partly wiped out by unexpected inflation (as happened in the 1970s), emerging-market debts denominated in foreign currency would not be. Many of these governments would need to default and restructure their debts.

At the same time, private debts in advanced economies would become unsustainable (as they did after the global financial crisis), and their spreads relative to safer government bonds would spike, triggering a chain reaction of defaults. Highly leveraged corporations and their reckless shadow-bank creditors would be the first to fall, soon followed by indebted households and the banks that financed them.

To be sure, real long-term borrowing costs may initially fall if inflation rises unexpectedly and central banks are still behind the curve. But, over time, these costs will be pushed up by three factors. First, higher public and private debts will widen sovereign and private interest-rate spreads. Second, rising inflation and deepening uncertainty will drive up inflation risk premia. And, third, a rising misery index – the sum of the inflation and unemployment rate – eventually will demand a “Volcker moment.”

When former Fed chair Paul Volcker increased rates to tackle inflation in 1980-82, the result was a severe double-dip recession in the US and a debt crisis and lost decade for Latin America. But now that global debt ratios are almost three times higher than in the early 1970s, any anti-inflationary policy would lead to a depression rather than a severe recession.

Under these conditions, central banks will be damned if they do and damned if they don’t, and many governments will be semi-insolvent and thus unable to bail out banks, corporations and households. The doom loop of sovereigns and banks in the eurozone after the global financial crisis will be repeated worldwide, sucking in households, corporations and shadow banks as well.

As matters stand, this slow-motion train wreck looks unavoidable. The Fed’s recent pivot from an ultra-dovish to a mostly dovish stance changes nothing. The Fed has been in a debt trap at least since December 2018, when a stock- and credit-market crash forced it to reverse its policy tightening a full year before Covid-19 struck. With inflation rising and stagflationary shocks looming, it is now even more ensnared.

So, too, are the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England. The stagflation of the 1970s will soon meet the debt crises of the post-2008 period. The question is not if but when.

Nouriel Roubini was professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He has worked for the IMF, the US Federal Reserve and the World Bank.

HM Government Borrowings: June 2021

Another month, guess what, take a lucky guess, it is the same old story, HM Government, spends more money than it receives via taxes and duties.
Now we are in a Covid 19 world. UK’s HM Government needs to fund many new demands. [www.dmo.gov.uk]

https://www.dmo.gov.uk/dmo_static_reports/Gilt%20Operations.pdf

Another deficit month, thus to bridge the gap, needs to borrow on the bond market In June 2021, the HM Government had to borrow money to meet the difference between tax revenues and public sector expenditure. The term for this is The PSNCR: The Public Sector Net Cash Requirement. There were “only” 9 auctions of Gilts (UK Government Bonds) by the UK Debt Management Office to raise cash for HM Treasury:-

23-Jun-2021 0 1/8% Index-linked Treasury Gilt 2065 3 months £500.0000 Million
16-Jun-2021 0 5/8% Treasury Gilt 2035 £3,118.7500 Million
15-Jun-2021 0 1/8% Treasury Gilt 2028 £3,055.2810 Million
15-Jun-2021 1¼% Treasury Gilt 2051 £2,000.0000 Million
09-Jun-2021 0 1/8% Index-linked Treasury Gilt 2031 3 months £1,172.4380 Million
08-Jun-2021 0 3/8% Treasury Gilt 2026 £3,742.4970 Million
08-Jun-2021 1 5/8% Treasury Gilt 2071 £1,562.5000 Million
02-Jun-2021 0¼% Treasury Gilt 2031 £3,437.4990 Million
02-Jun-2021 0 7/8% Treasury Gilt 2046 £2,500.0000 Million

Thus:-

£500.0000 Million + £3,118.7500 Million + £3,055.2810 Million + £2,000.0000 Million + £1,172.4380 Million + £3,742.4970 Million + £1,562.5000 Million + £3,437.4990 Million + £2,500.0000 Million= £21,088.965 Million

£21,088.965 Million = £21.088965 Billion

On another way of looking at it, is in the 30 days in Jun 2021, HM Government borrowed:- £702.9655 Million each day for the 30 days.

We are fortunate, while the global banking and financial markets still has the confidence in HM Government to buy the Gilts (Lend money to the UK), the budget deficit keeps rising. What is also alarming, is the dates these bond mature from 2028 through to 2071. All long term borrowings, we are mortgaging our futures, but at least “We Are In It Together….”

Climate Change: It is here.

New verified temperature record for Antarctic continent – British Antarctic Survey (bas.ac.uk)

We see the terrible consequences of changing weather:-

China floods: 12 dead in Zhengzhou train and thousands evacuated in Henan – BBC News

Europe floods: Victims face massive clean-up as waters recede – BBC News

However, to read this, is very concering:-

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has today (1 July 2021) recognised a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent of 18.3° Celsius on 6 February 2020 at the Esperanza station (Argentina). It also rejected an even higher temperature, of 20.75°C, which was reported on 9 February 2020 at an automated permafrost monitoring station (Brazil) on Seymour Island.

The previous record for the Antarctic region (continental, including mainland and surrounding islands] was 17.5°C (63.5°F) recorded on 24 March 2015 at Esperanza Research Station. The record for the Antarctic region (all ice/land south of 60 degrees latitude) is 19.8C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.

BT invests in unique Silicon Valley technology to measure and fight cyber risk

BT invests in unique Silicon Valley technology to measure and fight cyber risk

With the number and impact of cyber attacks continuing to increase rapidly, BT has today announced a multi-million pound investment in Safe Security, an industry-leading cyber risk management firm. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, their SAFE (‘Security Assessment Framework for Enterprises’) platform allows organisations to take a health check of their existing defences and understand their likelihood of suffering a major cyber attack

The investment will allow BT to combine the SAFE platform with its world-leading managed security services to provide customers with a real time view of how safe they are against an incredibly fast-moving cyber threat landscape. SAFE is unique in calculating a financial cost to customers’ risks and giving actionable insight on the steps that can be taken to address them. The platform ultimately enables organisations to surgically target gaps in their defences, and already protects multiple Fortune 500 companies and governments around the world.

Philip Jansen, Chief Executive of BT, said: “Cyber security is now at the top of the agenda for businesses and governments, who need to be able to trust that they’re protected against increasing levels of attack. Adding SAFE to BT’s proactive, predictive security services will give customers an enhanced view of their threat level, and rapidly pinpoint specific actions needed to strengthen their defences. Already one of the world’s leading providers in a highly fragmented security market, this investment is a clear sign of BT’s ambition to grow further.”

Saket Modi, Co-founder and CEO of Safe Security, said: “We’re delighted to be working with a proven global security leader in BT. Their investment and strategic partnership with Safe Security will further accelerate our vision of making SAFE scores the industry standard for measuring and mitigating cyber risks. By aligning BT’s global reach and capabilities with SAFE’s ability to provide real-time visibility on cyber risk posture, we are going to fundamentally change how cyber security is measured and managed across the globe.”

As part of this investment, BT will be granted exclusive rights to use and sell SAFE to businesses and public sector bodies in the UK, and will incorporate the platform within its wider global portfolio. In recognition of its experience in providing security solutions to organisations across the world, BT will be designated as the recommended global partner for improving a customer’s SAFE score. BT will also work collaboratively with Safe Security to develop future products.

About BT
BT Group is the UK’s leading telecommunications and network provider and a leading provider of global communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities in the UK include the provision of fixed voice, mobile, broadband and TV (including Sport) and a range of products and services over converged fixed and mobile networks to consumer, business and public sector customers. For its global customers, BT provides managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services to support their operations all over the world. BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Openreach, which provides access network services to over 650 communications provider customers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.

For the year ended 31 March 2021, BT Group’s reported revenue was £21,331m with reported profit before taxation of £1,804m.

British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/about

About Safe Security
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Safe Security is a pioneer and leader in the “Cyber security and Digital Business Risk Quantification” (CRQ) space. It helps organizations measure and mitigate enterprise-wide cyber risk in real-time using its ML Enabled API-First SAFE Platform by aggregating automated signals across people, process, and technology, both for first & third party to dynamically predict the breach likelihood (SAFE Score) & dollar risk of an organization.

The SAFE scoring model is built as joint research at MIT that incorporates cyber security sensors data, external threat intelligence, and business context and places it together in a Bayesian Network of a Supervised Machine Learning scoring engine to give out scores and dollar value risk that the organization faces. The scores are calculated both at a macro and micro level and can also be measured for particular Lines of Business / Crown Jewels / Departments.

The SAFE Scores will enable the organization to have a “common language” across teams, from the board all the way down to an analyst to be aligned with a consistent risk metric along with justifying investments in cyber security and purchase of cyber insurance for the organization.

For more information, visit https://www.safe.security/

BT Contact:
media@bt.com

Mining in the Pacific Ocean.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/23/minings-new-frontier-pacific-nations-caught-in-the-rush-for-deep-sea-riches

Mining in the Pacific Ocean.

Miners are pushing hard to extract metals from the ocean floor, but there is mounting concern about what it might do to the marine environment. Travel thousands of metres below the surface of the ocean, and you reach the seabed. Pitch black and quiet, it is largely unexplored, untouched, unknown.

What is known is extraordinary. The landscape at the bottom of the sea is as varied as the earth surface: 4,000m (13,000ft) down, abyssal plains stretch for miles like deserts; there are trenches large enough to swallow the Earth’s largest mountains; venting chimneys rise in towers like underwater cities; seamounts climb thousands of metres. Hot thermal vents – believed by some to be the places where all life on Earth started – gush highly acidic water at temperatures of up to 400C, drawing in an array of creatures.

So little is known about what happens this far under the sea that in the 25 years following the discovery of the hydrothermal vents, an average of two new vent species are discovered every month. They include the yeti crab, a ghostly white crustacean with silky-blonde bristles on its claws that give it a resemblance to the Abominable snowman. Others discovered in the last 20 years include the beaked whale and the Greenland shark, which dives to around 1,200m and has a lifespan of close to 400 years, making it one of the world’s longest-living organisms.

“Every time you go down into the deep, you see something incredible and often new,” says Diva Amon, a deep sea biologist and fellow at the Natural History Museum in London who has undertaken 15 deep sea expeditions.“There’s a bone-eating worm called Osedax, which lives on the bones of dead whales in the deep … Another special one was … an anemone whose tentacles were 8ft long.”

Anna Metaxas, professor of oceanography at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, recalls the first time she travelled to the deep sea, in waters near the Bahamas. “The most spectacular part of that dive was the bioluminescence. Because it gets dark at 1,000m they all light up, they all flash. I was in a submersible that had a plexiglass sphere, it was like flying through space.”

Mining’s new frontier


Ninety percent of the ocean – and 50% of the Earth’s surface – is considered the deep sea (areas deeper than 200m). Only 0.0001% of the deep seafloor has been investigated. Doing so is perilous, technically challenging and expensive. But despite these obstacles, companies have set their sights on the seabed as the new frontier for mining.

Since 1982, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which is charged with regulating human activities on the deep sea floor, has issued 30 contracts for mineral exploration, taking in an area of more than 1.4m sq km. Most of these sites are in the Pacific Ocean, in the Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone (CCZ)

In particular, companies have their eyes on polymetallic nodules – bundles of ore that resemble potatoes, which litter the surface of the deep sea and are rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt and rare earth metals. The nodules are up to 10cm in diameter and are thought to form at the staggeringly slow rate of just a few centimetres every one million years.

A battery in a rock,” is how DeepGreen, one of the big players in the nascent industry describes the polymetallic nodules. It touts deep-sea mining as a less environmentally and socially damaging alternative to terrestrial mining, and says it is crucial for affecting a transition to a greener economy, with the nodules containing the minerals needed for the batteries used in electric vehicles.

“Society has an urgent, growing need for battery metals to enable a full transition to clean energy and electric vehicles. We believe that polymetallic nodules are the cleanest source of these metals, with by far the lightest planetary touch,” says the company on its website.

Its proposal is to dispatch ships to the CCZ and suck up the nodules through long pipes that stretch to the seabed. The nodules would be processed on the ship, with excess sediment pumped back into the sea.

So far, licenses in international waters have only been issued for exploration and not mining, but the ISA is working on a regulatory framework for mining of the deep sea, with DeepGreen saying it will be ready to begin the work by 2024.

Our largest ecosystem

There are concerns about the environmental impact deep sea mining could have on marine ecosystems, particularly given how little is known about them and the very slow pace of reproduction and growth at those depths.

Osedax mucofloris, which feeds on the bones of dead whales.
Osedax mucofloris, which feeds on the bones of dead whales. Photograph: The Natural History Museum/Alamy
An experiment in 1978, which involved the extraction of nodules from the seabed in the CCZ, pointed to how long-lasting the damage can be. The area was revisited in 2004, and researchers found the tracks made by mining vehicles 26 years earlier were still clearly visible on the seabed. There was also a reduced diversity of organisms in the disturbed area.

“You are talking about the destruction of the habitat on the seafloor. Any area you are mining will be destroyed,” says Duncan Currie, an international lawyer who has worked in oceans law for 30 years. He represents the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition which is calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining.

Amon was part of a project that conducted baseline surveys in the area of the CCZ that the UK has a licence to explore for potential mining.

“As part of the work we were doing out there, we found that of the megafauna, the larger animals, more than half of them were completely new to science, and more than half of them relied on the nodules as a surface to attach to. Things like corals, sponges, anemones – they actually need the nodules. So potentially mining in that area could have quite a drastic impact.”

“It’s also our largest ecosystem so it provides about 96% of all habitable space on earth,” says Amon. “I think most people still assume that that space is just sort of empty or there’s not a lot happening. But actually, it couldn’t be further from the truth, the deep ocean is a vast reservoir of biodiversity.”

“The deep sea has a PR problem,” says Amon. “It’s not something that people think about. There are some cute things, but there aren’t adorable pandas, but that doesn’t mean that those species aren’t important.”

Other environmental concerns range from worries that noise pollution will interfere with deep sea species’ ability to communicate and detect food falls, increased temperature from drilling and vehicle operation, materials being discarded and heavy vehicles crushing seabed organisms and compacting the seabed.

Most concerning, Currie says, is the potential impact of sediment plumes. After the minerals are processed on ships, the proposal is to return the non-useful sediment into the ocean via long pipes, or risers, depositing them at a depth of 1,500m.

“The return sediment plume will be almost 24/7 – a continuous plume pumped into the ocean. No one has any idea what it will do: will it go up, go down? Will it interfere with the breeding of squid? We know fish migrate up and down, will it affect that? It’s incredibly important and we know almost nothing about it,” he says.

DeepGreen disputes this saying its modelling and experiments show that the spread of the plumes is far smaller and the amount of sediment injected into the mid-water column is far less than is often cited by campaigners.

“The anti-DSM [deep-sea mining] community consistently catastrophises and misrepresents the impact assessments that don’t support their narrative,” said a spokesperson for DeepGreen, who added “we welcome and share many of the environmental concerns about the impact of nodule collection on the marine environment”.

“Our goal is to make sure that our activity does not cause any large-scale disruptions to ecosystem services and that we minimize the risk of biodiversity loss. That’s why we have partnered with the world’s leading academic and research institutions to baseline and better understand the entire water column, from seabed to surface.”

Concerns in the Pacific

Caught up at the centre of this huge push for a new extractive industry are Pacific island nations. Nations must sponsor companies that want to explore for minerals and among the countries that have issued licences are the tiny Pacific Island countries of Tonga, Cook Islands, Nauru and Kiribati.

DeepGreen holds rights to the exploration contracts sponsored by the Pacific countries of Nauru, Tonga and Kiribati and is one of the operators making the most noise about starting commercial mining in the near future. DeepGreen, a Canadian firm with an Australian chief executive, is in the process of being acquired by the Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp. Once merged the company will be known as The Metals Company.

The relationship between DeepGreen and Nauru is of particular concern to observers of deep-sea mining. Observers have warned about an imbalance of power between the company and the tiny nation, which has a population of around 12,000.

Currie recalls an incident at the 2019 International Seabed Authority meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, when Gerard Barron, the Australian chief executive of DeepGreen (and now boss of The Metals Company) spoke for Nauru. “[There was] surprise, some shock among some of the seasoned NGO delegates. It’s just not done,” he said.

“Everybody was taken aback,” says Metaxas of the incident. “That doesn’t happen that a contractor takes the chair of a member state.”

A spokesperson for DeepGreen said that “Mr Barron was attending the ISA meeting as a member of the Nauruan delegation and Nauru chose to offer him the opportunity to address the Council…. There is nothing uncommon about this practice.” It said that on the same day, Belgium allowed the chairman of a company that holds two exploration contracts the opportunity to address the council.

“The Pacific nations I think are particularly vulnerable,” says Metaxas. “They have vulnerable economies, this is an opportunity for an economic boom in a country if it’s done right, if it’s successful. I’m sure it’s quite tempting, but I sure hope that there’s also some advice about how much to risk and how to manage it all.”

There are still questions to be resolved about whether the company or sponsoring state would be liable in the event of environmental damage or other harm.

DeepGreen says that its subsidiary NORI has indemnified Nauru for liability under both the sponsorship agreement and its Nauru’s International Seabed Minerals Act.

However, according to an advisory opinion issued by the International Tribunal for the Law in 2011, states can still be liable if there is a “causal link between the failure of that state to meet its responsibilities and the damage caused by the sponsored contractor.”

Some have voiced concerns about the capacity of small developing nations to monitor the work done by their partner companies, which could lead to liability.

“If Nauru is the sponsoring state, they have obligations under the law of the sea convention to exercise due diligence, they have to make sure that their contractors operate appropriately and if they don’t do that work properly, international law says they are liable,” says Currie.

But Ralph Regenvanu, the opposition leader of Vanuatu, says “there’s absolutely no capacity” of states like Nauru to do this monitoring. “We’d be interested to know what are the measures they’re taking, what are the safeguards they’re taking.”

In 2014, when he was minister for lands and natural resources, Regenvanu led a months-long consultation on the subject of deep sea mining in Vanuatu. “People thought basically it was too early to do anything, we shouldn’t do anything. There were calls even then for a moratorium,” he said.

Vanuatu’s government, along with the prime ministers of Fiji and Papua New Guinea, have called for a regional moratorium on deep-sea mining while more can be learnt about potential environmental harms and how to protect against them. “Pacific peoples are indigenous peoples. All countries of the Pacific have some of the highest rates of indigenous people as part of population in the whole world. Pacific peoples’ views towards our Earth, our resources, are very special ones,” says Regenvanu.

What next?
Before mining can commence, the ISA needs to release a code for the exploitation of the deep sea. This was due to be released and adopted in July 2020, but was delayed due to Covid. The ISA announced this week that it aimed to resume face-to-face meetings this year.


“It is not implausible to expect that the ISA will be in position to finalise the code by 2023,” said the DeepGreen spokesperson, who added the company expects submit their environmental impact statement in 2023 for review in the hope of beginning commercial mining in 2024.

Meanwhile, others are urging caution. This month the EU parliament advised the European Union to promote a moratorium on deep seabed mining until its environmental impacts could be better understood and managed. But DeepGreen’s boss, Gerard Barron, has suggested that if the ISA moves slowly on developing a regulatory framework, the company might invoke the so-called two-year rule, which allows a country sponsoring a mining contractor to notify the ISA that the company intends to begin mining. The ISA then has two years to finalise the regulations for deep sea mining. If it is unable to do so, the ISA is required to allow the contractor to begin work under whatever regulations are in place at the time.

“It’s something that’s consistently under review – it’s not off the table, that’s for sure,” Barron told China Dialogue Ocean about triggering the two-year rule.

In response to the Guardian’s questions on the subject, DeepGreen said the two-year rule is “only available to sponsoring states to use, not contractors like DG, which cannot invoke it” but that it was a “a valid option available to all member states of the International Seabed Authority.”

40 Years of the S&P 500 Index

A good bench mark to follow is the the S&P 500 Index. This is the index by Standard and Poors’, of America’s 500 largest corporations.

In July 1981 (Just 40 years ago) the index as show below….

was at 130 points.

Fast forward 40 years from then, to now.

The index is at 4297 points.
Imagine buying an S&P Index fund in 1981, when it was at 130 points……

Vodafone PLC Debt.

Today Vodafone PLC, owes over $40bn.

https://investors.vodafone.com/debt-investors/financing-strategy

The chart below shows that debt pile grow.

However, some interesting things to note.

https://investors.vodafone.com/sites/vodafone-ir/files/vodafone/debt-investors/bond-outstanding/pdf/t-30.pdf

In 2008, during the height of the financial crisis, when stability and solvency of banks was questioned, Vodafone was able to borrow €186,350,000, (€186 Million) for 20 years, via this bond issue at ZERO percent interest.
In o

100 Years of the Dow Jones 30 Index

The graphs below explain the logic behind index funds.

In June 1921, the Dow Jones Industrial Index which is made up of America’s 30 largest companies, was at 68 points.

In June 2021, 100 years later, the Dow Jones Industrial Index which is made up of America’s 30 largest companies, was at 34,502 points……

So, 68.45 points in June 1921…..

Fast forward 100 years…..

it is at 34,502.51 points. Imagine buying an index fund 100 years ago in the Dow 30….

M&G Better Health Solutions Fund

M&G Investments PLC, have launched a new investment fund, the M&G Better Health Solutions Fund.

https://www.mymandg.co.uk/better-health-solutions-fund

The Fund will invest in impactful companies whose solutions help to save lives or encourage better health, offering a powerful dual proposition for investors:

The potential for competitive, long-term financial returns. The opportunity to make a positive impact on people and communities around the world.
The fund stands apart from other health-focused global equities funds as it looks beyond the healthcare sector, to invest in companies that deliver better well-being too.

The fund embraces the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework and invests in companies that generally contribute most clearly to SDG 3: good health and well-being, but also;

SDG 2: zero hunger
SDG 6: clean water and sanitation
SDG 8: decent work and economic growth
SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities
SDG 12: responsible consumption and production

https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Tesco PLC July 2021 Dividend

Yesterday, Tesco PLC the UK’s largest supermarket group paid out its July 2021 dividend.

5.95p a share.

www.tescoplc.com

total number of voting rights in the Company as at 15 February 2021 is 7,731,707,820.

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/TSCO/share-consolidation-total-voting-rights/14864789

Thus:-

7,731,707,820 x £0.0595 = £460,036,615.29

That is £460 Million

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/TSCO/tesco-plc/company-page

HICL Infrastructure Dividend: June Dividend.

Yesterday, Wed 30th June, HICL Infrastructure (HICL) paid out its quarterly dividend

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/HICL/hicl-infrastructure-plc/company-page

2.07p a share.

The total issued share capital with voting rights is 1,936,813,501.

the total voting rights in HICL is 1,936,813,501

Total Voting Rights – 07:00:05 31 Jul 2020 – HICL News article | London Stock Exchange

Thus:-

601,392,027 x £0.0207 = £40,092,039.4707

That is £40 million