Tag: economy and society

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C. House subcommittee addresses proxy advisory firms What’s the story? The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets held a hearing last week on proxy advisory firms, which guide institutional investors on how to vote their shares.  Why does it matter? Opponents say proxy firms…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C., and around the world Fannie Mae closes ESG department What’s the story? Fannie Mae—the Federal National Mortgage Association, a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)—shut down its ESG department, firing over 30 employees, including Laurel Davis, head of the company’s mission and impact program. Why does it…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C., and around the world SEC approves new stock exchange with environmental standards What’s the story? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the nation’s first environmentally focused stock exchange, the Global Impact Exchange (GIX), on Apr. 11. The exchange is expected to begin trading…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C., and around the world Trump issues executive order opposing state ESG policies  What’s the story? President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order last week directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate and block enforcement of state laws promoting ESG policies. Trump argued…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C. Republicans ask SEC to drop ESG rules What’s the story? The House Financial Services Committee sent a letter last week to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asking the agency to rescind several Biden-era climate-related rules, including: Why does it matter? The fight over…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C. SEC ends defense of climate reporting rules What’s the story? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced last week that it voted to end its defense of the Biden-era corporate emissions reporting rules. Why does it matter? The decision indicates the majority of current…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In the states Florida attorney general investigates proxy advisors What’s the story? Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) announced last week that his office is launching an antitrust investigation into Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the two largest proxy advisory firms. Why does it matter?…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C., and around the world Republicans respond to Europe’s ESG regulations What’s the story? Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced a bill—the PROTECT USA Act—that he says will protect American companies from the European Union’s (EU) ESG reporting requirements.…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In the states Democratic state officials advocate for ESG What’s the story? State elected officials signaled their willingness to fight for ESG in pension and retirement plans during a state pension webinar on Feb. 25, 2025.  Why does it matter? During the Biden presidency, Republican state officials…

In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In the states Democratic state financial officers support ESG in letter to regulators What’s the story? Seventeen Democratic state financial officers sent a letter to the acting heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Labor (DOL), asking them to not restrict the…