Climate Risk Assessment
Storms, floods, fires, drought: what are the potential hazards threatening the physical assets of different regions? Furthermore, how can we estimate the magnitude of physical risk of each of these under a climate change scenario? “We’ve built infrastructure for certain weather patterns,” said Rohan Hamden, “but now it no longer fits with the weather we are experiencing.” Hamden is the founder and CEO of XDI, the Cross-Dependency Initiative, a company focused on Cross Dependency Analytics to estimate the physical risk to assets of many kinds of hazards. He was invited to share his expertise in physical risk data, modeling, and […]
The New Interventionism
Have you noticed that governments are stepping in more often to regulate things? There appears to be renewed interest in industrial policy. In the words of the magazine The Economist, “governments around the world are becoming bossier to the private sector.” Why is this? What will be the overall effect? On January 20, 2022, Sacha Nauta, executive editor of the Economist, posed questions to her colleagues: Jan Piotrowski, business editor, and Don Weinland, China business and finance editor, in order to explore the rise of state interventionism and its potential consequences. Old versus New “There’s been an increase in the […]
The Decisive Decade
Raging, uncontrollable forest fires. Prolonged heat domes, causing hundreds of deaths. Catastrophic storms. Flash floods. These are just a few of the effects of climate change being felt this year. Are the countries of the world acting quickly enough to prevent irreversible damage? Two months ahead of the upcoming COP26 negotiations in Glasgow, two editors from the magazine the Economist discussed their expectations of this crucial conference in a webinar on September 23, 2021, before an audience of hundreds. Oliver Morton, the Economist’s Briefings senior editor, and Catherine Brahic, Environment editor, discussed the recent findings of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate […]
Starting an Alternative Desk
When a finance company is starting up an alternative fund, the managers may have been isolated from the day-to-day tasks such as trading and execution, fund administration, and cyber security. Where does one begin, and how does one prioritize? “Often the IT is overlooked. Some people think they just need a Bloomberg terminal,” said Robert Strawbridge, Vice President, Head of Canada at Options IT, a global leader in fintech managed services, colocation, and cybersecurity. His firm can step in to help. “We manage the cloud services. We do everything but the trading.” Strawbridge was one of four panellists who convened […]
Update on the Jab
It’s a truism: bad health of the population, bad economy. What then is happening globally in the Covid-19 pandemic? When will things return to normal? The pandemic continues to rage in various parts of the world, affecting both developed and emerging markets. On July 7, 2021, The Economist, a magazine that has been running stories on vaccines and the Covid-19 pandemic each week, sponsored a webinar featuring an editor and correspondent on the pandemic beat. Natasha Lode, health policy editor at the Economist, highlighted some recent issues. She is also host of the Economist’s podcast The Jab, whose tagline reads, […]
Net-Zero Buildings
How do we build our homes and cities for a sustainable future? Climate change is such a huge, complex problem that tackling it can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, many organizations are addressing various parts of this colossal puzzle. One aspect is the “built environment.” Can existing buildings be modified to cope with climate change? Can buildings be redesigned to have net zero effect on the environment? On July 1, 2021, a panel of experts gave their thoughts on matters relating to climate change and buildings, as part of the New York Times Climate Hub series of webinars. This is the “Built […]
WTO: The Jabs and the Jab-Nots
As the covid-19 vaccines continue to be rolled out across the world, and as trade disputes continue to fester, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has her work cut out for her as the new director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). With many years’ experience in politics, economics, and vaccine production, she already has a deep understanding of the issues. On June 29, 2021, she spoke with Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of the magazine the Economist, about ending the covid-19 pandemic and the future of globalization. Ngozi described herself as a “trade outsider” when she first began at the World Bank, “which has […]
From Ideas to Action
Climate change will reshape how financial organizations and investors think about climate-related events. But how will we deal with climate change risk? How will financial organizations respond to increasing demands for transparency, measurement, and action? On February 2, 2021, the Institutional Asset Management Committee of the CFA Society of Toronto convened a webinar with three seasoned experts who discussed how best to move into a world of green initiatives. The session was opened by Brandon Gill, Senior Portfolio Manager, Capital Markets Group, External Public Investments and Credit at OPTrust, the pension trust fund of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. […]
Covid Vaccines
“Be careful what you wish for,” the adage goes, “it might come true.” After a year of an ever-broadening pandemic, vaccines have arrived, and thus begins a new round of planning and negotiating. As the first covid-19 vaccines are rolled out across the world, the magazine the Economist assembled a panel on January 14, 2021, to reflect on the challenges. An audience of thousands tuned in as three seasoned journalists discussed global issues related to vaccine development, the risks of misinformation, and the expected impact of an uneven distribution process of vaccines. The panel moderator was Helen Joyce, executive editor for […]
The Achilles Heel of Banking
After last decade’s financial crisis, regulators introduced several new measures to reduce systemic risk in the financial system. How are the new safeguards working? What are the implications for future balance sheet structure? The CFA Society Toronto convened a panel of three experts on November 25, 2020, to discuss the new regulatory capital and liquidity frameworks and how they are reshaping the way Canadian banks approach the market. The webinar, including a Q&A session, was moderated by Nigel D’Souza, Investment Analyst, Veritas Investment Research. “There’s no doubt the financial crisis changed balance sheets,” said Bruce Choy, Managing Director (Former Risk […]