Avoiding the FTXs of the Future

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You made it to Thursday!

Between the FTX meltdown, the ongoing Twitter saga, and news of more tech layoffs, there’s been plenty to make investors feel 😫 this week — and all that was even before a Ticketmaster crash sent Swifties (ok, that might include a few of us at FWIW) spiraling. We cover some of the investor takeaways from FTX’s crash down below. But a few other things caught our attention, too, like the Fed signaling that it could soon start slowing interest rate hikes. And the latest Producer Price Index, which measures prices paid by businesses, rose less than economists had expected in October, providing some hope that inflation is slowing.

Also, you might have heard that the earth passed a remarkable milestone this week: global population reached 8 billion — a growth of one billion people in just 12 years. According to the UN, one reason behind the huge jump is increasing human lifespans thanks to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene, and medicine. Go science! 🔬 🧪

But demographers also point out that much of the growth has been concentrated in the world’s poorest countries, where food security is already a concern and climate change continues to pose a looming threat. Taking care of our 8 billion-strong global family will require massive investments in sustainable agriculture, healthcare, climate tech, education, and other infrastructure. And that will open up new opportunities for values-aligned investors. For starters, our guide to cleantech investing offers a peek at several sectors essential to tackling the challenges of population growth, like food tech and water tech.

We’ll be taking off next week to stuff ourselves with turkey and pie as we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US, so look for us in your inboxes again on December 1. On that note, we give thanks to you, our FWIW community, for sticking with us each week to learn more about how you can align your investments with your values. Happy Thanksgiving!

News you can use

• Big utilities say that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will help them transition to cleaner energy while giving customers a break on energy bills. Duke Energy, for one, said it will provide a $56 million refund to its Florida customers next year for solar production tax credits. In other IRA news, a Bloomberg survey found that investors see big potential in the battery storage market thanks to the Act’s passage and Macquarie Group says it boosted green hydrogen’s future as a major energy source.
  
• Americans want businesses to make paying a fair, living wage their top priority according to a new survey conducted by JUST Capital. The survey also found 81% believe that business can be a powerful force of societal change — if they would just talk less and act more. The insights from our friends at JUST Capital are pretty interesting and you may find the poll report worth a read.
  
• Renewable, but make it fashion! Researchers are exploring new materials to create more aesthetically-pleasing solar panels, which could make clean power more attractive to homeowners, reports the Wall Street Journal. While much of the new designs are currently coming from university researchers and private companies, some publicly traded companies like Tesla are commercializing solar roof shingles that appeal to style-conscious buyers.