The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank aims to help the region accelerate adoption of cleaner power as nations respond to energy shocks from the Iran war by seeking greater self-sufficiency. “We will do whatever we can to speed up the transition towards climate resilient infrastructure,” said Murtaza Syed , head of ecosystem at the economics department at AIIB. “It is one of our priorities, but ...
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank aims to help the region accelerate adoption of cleaner power as nations respond to energy shocks from the Iran war by seeking greater self-sufficiency. “We will do whatever we can to speed up the transition towards climate resilient infrastructure,” said Murtaza Syed , head of ecosystem at the economics department at AIIB. “It is one of our priorities, but I foresee that once the conflict is over, there will probably be an even bigger push in that direction.” Advocates of climate action see potential for a medium-and long-term boosts to renewable energy as nations aim to bolster supply security by lowering reliance on imports of fossil fuels. That’s even as many economies, particularly across Asia, switch back to coal in the short-term to shore up power grids. The China-based lender, with almost $67 billion in assets , has held talks in recent weeks with officials from nations including Indonesia, India and Singapore to discuss cooperation on issues including financing of energy transition and climate resilience projects. Asia remains far more reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation than Europe or North America, according to data compiled by Ember, an energy think tank. “The good news is that we have now found ways to generate energy that do not compromise on the environment,” Syed said at a briefing at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan on Tuesday. “More than 50% of our lending goes to green infrastructure projects.” The AIIB approved $8.4 billion in financing in 2024 on more than 50 projects spanning energy to water and digital infrastructure, according to its most recent annual data .
Andrew Roth on why the war on Iran is unpopular with the US public and what it means for Maga insiders Andrew Roth, the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent based in Washington DC, says reporting on the US and Israeli war on Iran gives you “whiplash”. “We’re so used to going into these kinds of wars and conflicts where there’s a massive plan for what’s going to happen six weeks from now, six mo...
Andrew Roth on why the war on Iran is unpopular with the US public and what it means for Maga insiders Andrew Roth, the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent based in Washington DC, says reporting on the US and Israeli war on Iran gives you “whiplash”. “We’re so used to going into these kinds of wars and conflicts where there’s a massive plan for what’s going to happen six weeks from now, six months from now,” he tells Michael Safi. Continue reading...
hirun/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis This article continues my coverage of the WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap ETF ( EPS ), which I last reviewed on March 28, 2023. At the time, I found its fundamentals were extremely similar to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF ( SPY ), so I decided there wasn't a serious opportunity to buy this lesser-known, earnings-based ETF. Since that review was published, EPS has de...
hirun/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis This article continues my coverage of the WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap ETF ( EPS ), which I last reviewed on March 28, 2023. At the time, I found its fundamentals were extremely similar to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF ( SPY ), so I decided there wasn't a serious opportunity to buy this lesser-known, earnings-based ETF. Since that review was published, EPS has delivered a 67.64% total return, which was about 3% lower than SPY's 70.38% gain. Morningstar These returns align with EPS's performance since its February 2007 inception, and after reviewing EPS's latest fundamentals and factor mix, I found that there may be a small value opportunity today based on its P/E ratios, which are about 12% discounted to SPY's. Still, I want to emphasize that any outperformance will likely be small and likely short-lived, and as such, it's not enough to move off my prior "hold" rating for EPS. EPS Overview and Strategy Summary EPS, launched on February 23, 2007, has a 0.08% expense ratio, and tracks the WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Index , which, according to WisdomTree, "is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of earnings-generating companies within the large-capitalization segment of the U.S. Stock Market." Per this presentation , WisdomTree's philosophy is that market-cap-weighting schemes are flawed, pricing errors and return premiums exist, and fundamentals and the concept of relative value are important, which is why the first screen applied is for companies with positive earnings over the last four quarters. Furthermore, WisdomTree applies a composite risk scoring system across two universes (large/mid-caps and small-caps) and removes the bottom 10%, effectively rewarding high-quality companies with positive risk-adjusted momentum. WisdomTree The 500 largest stocks are selected for inclusion, with weightings based on earnings rather than market capitalization. This step gives EPS its value lean, and on the surface, this a...