SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights August 25, 2011

ESG / Sustainability

New Leaks Reveal Insider Tips on S&P's U.S. Credit Downgrade to "Privileged Clients" 
(Source: Global Research.ca)  We live in an age where insider deals, conflicts of interest, revolving doors between "regulators" and the "regulated" (lubricated with oceans of cash) accompanies the generalized looting of social wealth by deviant capitalist elites. It now appears that insiders at Standard and Poor's or the Treasury Department, take your pick, may have leaked information to privileged clients on the recent U.S. credit downgrade, with confirmation coming from a surprising source.  Associated Profiles : Standard & Poors

Jules Kroll Comments on Outlook for Credit Rating Companies
video (Source:  Bloomberg)  Jules Kroll, CEO and founder of Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), discusses the outlook for credit rating companies and the replacement of S&P's president on Bloomberg Television's "Taking Stock.”  Associated Profiles : Kroll Bond Rating Agency

Research/Reports

Five Steps CFOs Need to Take to Improve Sustainability, Governance Visibility  
(Source: On Wall Street)  Chief financial officers navigating their firms through these uncertain and troubling economic times already have plenty to worry about. How these executives manage risk and enhance their corporate value through sustainability will play an increasingly larger role in how investors view their firms and their respective stocks going forward. A new report released this week from Ernst & Young details some important steps CFOs and other C-level executives can and need to take to improve investor relations, risk management strategies and external reporting and operational controllership.

Does Climate Change Cause Civil War?
(Source: International Business Times)  A theory that climate change could be a cause in triggering conflict has been given a new boost after a new scientific study found a correlation between climate fluctuations and violence. The reports explains tropical countries affected by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation are twice as likely to suffer internal unrest compared to the phenomenon's cooler, wetter counterpart, La Niña. The authors of the study cite the civil war and famine that is devastating countries like Somalia as a typical example of what happens when a climate swing causes drought, increasing pressure on societies that are already living in very precarious conditions.
 

This is just a sample of four articles from this weeks SustainabilityHQ Highlights.  You can view the full Highlights by using the following links.  Sustainability | ESG, Highlights for the Week of August 25, 2011