SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights November 15, 2012

Top Story of the Week

Obama Meets CEO’s as Fiscal Reckoning Nears      
(Thursday - November 15, 2012)
Source: NY Times — President Obama extended an olive branch to business leaders Wednesday, seeking their support as he prepared to negotiate with Congressional Republicans over the fiscal impasse in Washington.

U.S. to become world's largest oil producer before 2020, IEA says [Google+ Hangout]      
(Tuesday - November 13, 2012)
Source: LA Times - The U.S. will become the world’s top producer of oil within five years, a net exporter of the fuel around 2030 and nearly self-sufficient in energy by 2035, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

ESG / Sustainability

Al Gore calls on Barack Obama to 'act boldly' on climate change 
(Thursday - November 15, 2012)
Source: Guardian.co.uk - The former vice-president and climate champion, Al Gore, has called on Barack Obama to seize the moment and use his re-election victory to push through bold action on climate change.

It's a Bad Time To Be Rich      
(Tuesday - November 13, 2012)
Source: US News and World Report - Everywhere you look, fair-weather tax haters are abandoning the wealthy. Republican House Speaker John Boehner, champion of "job creators," now says he's open to "new tax revenue" to help balance the federal budget...

Research

US Sustainable and Responsible Investing (SRI) Assets Up 22 Percent in Two Years      
(Thursday - November 15, 2012)
Source: U.S. SIF - The new 2012 Report on Sustainable and Responsible Investing Trends in the United States, released today by the US SIF Foundation, finds that sustainable and responsible investing (SRI) accounts for 11.23 percent of...

Commentary

Lloyd Blankfein: The Business Plan for American Revival
(Wednesday - November 14, 2012)
Source: Wall Street Journal - Four years ago, it was said that the incoming Obama administration aspired to the dynamic that existed in Abraham Lincoln's cabinet, where former competitors and antagonists came together to help the country through the Civil...

Sovereign Wealth Funds

French ministers in Libya to discuss cooperation in oil sector      
(Thursday - November 15, 2012) Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority
- en.europeonline-magazine.eu - Montebourg told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper Sunday that France was studying an offer by the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) for France's troubled Petroplus refinery. The refinery in Normandy...

Arab financial reserves swell by $115 billion in 2012      
(Tuesday - November 13, 2012) Associated Profiles : Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
- cpifinancial.net - The report did not cover the massive assets controlled by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the world's largest SWFs with assets of $300-800 billion. The report put the 2011 assets at $30.5 billion...

China to Boost Access for Foreign Investors      
(Monday - November 12, 2012) Associated Profiles : State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Investment Company (China)
- Moneynews (blog) - The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange have agreed in principle to raise the quota for the Renminbi Qualified Foreign...