Beware the ides of March.

The real Prof G, Scott Galloway will likely forgive my slight transgression of using a derivation of his slogan “Prof G”, from my lowly perch here in Asia. Mr. Galloway is an adjunct professor at NYU’s Stern Business School in Manhattan and carries so much sway (coincidentally the title of Kara Swisher’s podcast ….Kara and Scott go together like chocolate and peanut butter in a Reese’s peanut butter cup) he can not just charge US$500/per student, but gather a a proper forum for his venerable on-line marketing focused course offerings. …

There is officially such a thing!

As reported by Platts, a division of S&P Global this week saw a historic shipment of carbon neutral crude oil. An innovative use of carbon offset credits. This is good news for the planet! Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has huge potential, but has not proven to be commercially viable to date at scale. JCG

Platts report:

-VLCC Sea Pearl delivers 2 mil barrels of US crude to Jamnagar

-Oxy says this is first step towards net-zero oil

-Various offsets were used to cover GHG emissions

US’ Occidental sends first cargo of ‘carbon-neutral crude’…

-Caleb Gibbons

Nobody wanted to win this race
Contenders, there were few
India was the frontrunner
The crown of thorns set upon Australia

The 1st uninhabitable continent at 52° C
Door #1 in a man-made hell
The animals left us first, canaries indeed
Above-ground coal mines for all

Grandchildren will know kangaroo skeletons
Joeys no more, where to now
The great migration is upon us
Geographic roulette, no longer gas & oil rich

Cool refuge for the apex species, gone too far
Paradise, coincidentally, lies north of 52° latitude

Temple University RMI 2501 Introduction to Personal Financial Planning

Educators globally are challenged to engage students and impart deep learning in the face of global COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Distance learning dominates as Zoom’s market capitalization exceeds $140 billion (up 6-fold in 2020’s C-19 online pivot).

Online content from staid Powerpoint presentations are least likely to inspire thirsty young minds. Gen Z (born 1996–2015), will prove to be a powerful demographic going forward, 68 million strong in the USA alone.

Large universities like Temple University with international campuses (e.g. Rome, Tokyo) can augment US centric textbooks and learning resources by bringing…

The last plane of gaijin left Haneda airport November 2022. Japan was now the only fully homogeneous country with a population greater than one hundred million. COVID-19 had crested, it is true. The waves kept coming unfortunately, like the ones that still lapped the Fukushima shores. One million tons of contaminated water in storage was the power utility’s limit. The ocean has no limit, in theory at least. Geoengineering, indeed. Hoping the sea floor serves as a permanent grave for the varied radionuclides, all with half-lives well exceeding the lifespan of the clever humans that directed them there.

Caleb Gibbons, CFA, FRM is an Adjunct Professor at Temple University, Japan Campus. He resides in Tokyo with his wife and their two children. Canadian national. Cape Bretoner.

ESG (Environmental/Social/Governance) Investment Filters- We Must Clean the Lens to Maintain Forward Momentum

Credits: Cover photo; Forbes. ESG investing link circa 2016 self-authored post PRI (Principles of Responsible Investing), 2016 Singapore Conference and Raconteur; Responsible Investing 2020 Archives; The Sunday Times.

Introduction

We need to collectively improve all facets of the ESG investment mega-trend in support of multi-cycle, long-term value creation. With 1 of every 4 dollars currently invested at stake ($2–3/4 or 1/2 to 2/3rds’, within 5 years, at the current ESG trajectory), there is palpable urgency. Globally, it is estimated US$45 trillion in assets under management adhere to a sustainable investment approach, which are inclusive of ESG principles. The Global Sustainable…

Today, June 6, 2019 is the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied forces landing on the beaches of Normandy, hence a good time to both remember those Canadians that made the ultimate sacrifice, and to survey the current state of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Of the 4,400 Allied soldiers who died on June 6, 1944 Canadian soldiers represented 359, 8% of the total allied soldiers killed in battle on the 1st day (5,000 Canadians perished during the full Normandy campaign). The full 14,000 Canadian contingent at Normandy during Operation Overlord were volunteer soldiers. Talk about an out-sized contribution! Canada’s population…