Week InReview

Friday | Oct 28, 2022

Tweet of the week.

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let's recap...

Everyone’s favorite type of bear.

The surprisingly chilled bear market

This year’s bear market has been “epic” in depth and breadth. But aside from the mess in fixed income markets, it has also been remarkably orderly. Why has stock market volatility been so low? It might not always be obvious, but in terms of both realized and implied volatility, the 2022 rout has been remarkably subdued. In other words, equity markets have deflated steadily like a balloon held in place, rather than a punctured one let loose to fly. (Financial Times | Oct 25) see also The bear hasn’t broken passive yet (Financial Times | Oct 25)


US economy grew 2.6% in third quarter, GDP report shows

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter but showed signs of a broad slowdown as consumer and business spending faltered under the weight of high inflation and rising interest rates. Gross domestic product – a measure of goods and services produced across the nation – increased after declining in the first half of the year as the trade balance boosted growth, the Commerce Department said Thursday. (The Wall Street Journal | Oct 27)


US SEC adopts executive compensation clawback rules

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday voted to adopt new rules that will require companies that restate their financials due to compliance lapses to claw back excess compensation from their executives. The rule, which Congress mandated following the 2007-2009 financial crisis, was left unfinished in 2015, but was revived by the SEC under Chair Gary Gensler last year as part of a broader effort to crack down on corporate malfeasance by strengthening the agency's tools for penalizing executives. (Reuters | Oct 26)


Pension fund appetite for commercial real estate is fading fast

U.S. public pension funds, after pouring new money into commercial real estate at a record rate during the first half of the year, are cooling fast on the sector and cutting back on new investments. These retirement funds made $32.6 billion worth of new financial commitments to office buildings, warehouses, hotels and other commercial properties during the first six months of 2022. Those investments, made through financial firms and funds, were up nearly 40% from the same period in 2021. (The Wall Street Journal | Oct 25)


Fed is losing billions, wiping out profits that funded spendingProfits and losses aren’t usually thought of as a consideration for central banks, but rapidly mounting red ink at the Federal Reserve, and many peers, risks becoming more than just an accounting oddity. The bond market is enduring its worst selloff in a generation, triggered by high inflation and the aggressive interest-rate hikes that central banks are implementing. Falling bond prices, in turn, mean paper losses on the massive holdings that the Fed and others accumulated during their rescue efforts in recent years. (Bloomberg Economics - Central Banks | Oct 25)

the cyber cafe

Click image to download slide presentation.

(Oct 26) — At our INVESTORS Cyber Security industry update this week, we were joined by Andrew S. Pak, who reviewed the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed cybersecurity rule.


Andrew counsels businesses on cybersecurity, data protection, risks, compliance, and litigation matters at the international law firm Perkins Coie.


Drawing on his experience as a former federal prosecutor with the U.S Department of Justice, and as in-house counsel to a global Fortune 500 financial institution, Andrew advises clients on issues ranging from cybersecurity risk, incident response, and privacy to litigation, internal investigations, and regulatory matters.


In addition to litigating malicious hacking cases and fraud-related matters. Andrew also served as senior trial counsel at the DOJ Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, where he prosecuted cybercrime matters, coordinated national DOJ litigation strategy relating to email search warrants, and worked on policy and legislative matters.


Andrew is the recipient of two Federal Law Enforcement Foundation “Prosecutor of the Year” awards and has received letters of recognition for his service from two directors of the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

binge reading disorder

Sergei Chemezov, left, and Alisher Usmanov, right, are both under international sanctions. Center, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo illustration: Dave Cole/WSJ | Photos: Tass/Zuma Press

Russian oligarchs obscure their wealth through secretive Isle of Man network

A Silicon Valley laser startup that went public in February had a surprising investor: a Russian billionaire. The deal, routed through a series of offshore companies and a venture fund, let the oligarch, Alisher Usmanov, move more of his vast wealth into the West. The investment in Quanergy Systems Inc. was made through a network of shell companies and middlemen used by Putin allies and others for years to move hundreds of millions of dollars out of Russia.

— The Wall Street Journal


The healthy building movement is sick of crummy ventilation

In October, the White House held its first-ever summit on indoor air quality, encouraging businesses, organizations and especially schools to improve their buildings’ ventilation and filtration systems. The summit, which came in response to the pandemic, underscored that buildings are a first line of defense against infectious diseases and a key to public health. 

— Bloomberg CityLab | Housing


Warren Buffet says what separates the doers from the dreamers really comes down to 1 easy choice

Warren Buffett is considered to be one of the greatest investors of all time and is consistently ranked among the richest people in the world. When Buffett offers up recommendations, people's ears perk up. The Oracle of Omaha once advised people to invest as much as possible in a commodity that anyone, anywhere, can have access to regardless of how much money they have. In fact, Buffett went as far as saying that one can never invest too much in this indispensable asset. Yourself.

— Inc.

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