December Night Skies

Most stargazers consider the reliably prolific Geminid meteor shower the final act for any given year.  Yet, there happens to be one more notable meteor shower on-deck that is frequently overlooked.  

The Ursids.

With 5 to 10 shooting stars per hour the peak of this meteor shower will occur during the overnight hours of December 21-22 as it passes thru the debris field of Comet 8P/Tuttle.   

The Ursids get their name as their radiant is located in the constellation Ursa Minor (Little Bear).  This constellation moves in a circle around Polaris - the North Star.  The New Moon is December 19 so we're assured of dark skies.  Activity can be viewed all night.

Fingers-crossed for cold, clear viewing conditions.

SRI and ESG Simplified

For some odd reason it occurred to me the other day that the movements in the title of this post have spanned a significant portion of my life and most of my career in the financial services business as a Registered Investment Advisor. 

The common acronym for socially responsible investing is SRI and the concept has been around for awhile.  SRI utilizes a screening process that excludes investments in industries or specific companies engaged in business or activities that an individual may consider undesirable.  Varying by individual investor, SRI popularly excluded companies engaged in the manufacturing or sale of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, gambling and the like.  

The movement has its roots in faith-based investing and the anti war movement during the Vietnam conflict.  In 1971 it led to the first ethical mutual fund - Pax Fund (renamed Impax Funds in 2022).  By the time I joined the fray in 1980 popular divestment campaigns in opposition to South African apartheid raised the profile of SRI and its potential for drawing attention to social change.  The movement achieved broader recognition with the adoption of the Domini Social Index in 1990 - recognizing the US Social Investment Forum and the growth of assets in this sector.

In 2004 the acronym ESG was coined. Named for a new emerging movement known as Environmental, Social and Governance; it introduced specific environmental, social and governance factors into traditional financial analysis to better assess a company's risks, opportunities and long term sustainability.  Financial considerations have continued to remain the primary focus of ESG.  In its nascent years ESG was a niche or boutique movement - a small frog in an enormous investment pond.  Notably, SRI didn't go away; as a matter of fact it persists to this day.   

By 2010, driven by global climate crises and events along with growing corporate support driven by evidence that sustainability improved returns; ESG entered the mainstream. 

ESG initiatives have boosted profitability by means of reducing waste and improving operating efficiencies.  They also enhance brand imaging which improves market position and attracts customers and talent. Stock prices benefit from enhanced stability as a consequence of managing risks associated with everything from labor issues, to brand loyalty to long term climate-smart resourcefulness.

For sure there are mixed results among specific industry sectors including emerging vs. mature markets; and there is not universal success in every single company. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that ESG may provide a strategic advantage leading to long-term value creation over short-term gains.

click on image to enlarge

While the terms SRI and ESG are frequently used interchangeably there are nuanced differences.  SRI is values-driven (who you won't invest-in); while ESG is data-driven (evaluation of risks and opportunities).  

Why is this important?  When evaluating the application of the former vs. the latter in the drafting of an investment policy consider a very common misconception about the ownership of common stock.  Aside from an IPO (initial public offering) your purchase of a stock does not 'support' the company.  Nor does your divestment of a stock 'undermine' the company.  This is because it is not a transaction between you and the company; it is a transaction between you and the previous stock owner.

If you don't care to own shares of an armaments manufacturer because it is cross-ways with your value system that is perfectly OK.  The company will pay dividends to whomever owns the shares on the record date and it cares little for who that is unless you are amassing so much stock that you are approaching majority ownership. This is why companies are generally mum in response to divestment campaigns.  They're a welcome distraction from other, more potent, forms of activism such as a product boycotts.  A scenario altogether better managed by means of the latter vs. the former. 

Don't take my work for it, speak with your trusted financial advisor about how this may, or may not, impact you.

Cheers!  

*More background on the chart here:  https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/insights/sustainable-finance/are-esg-scores-relevant-for-portfolio-returns/

Friday Music

Composed by the songwriting duo Lou Adler and Herb Alpert (who knew?) this was released April 1960 by Keen Records.  It had been recorded during an impromptu session a year earlier during Sam Cooke's final recording session at Keen.  By the time 1960 rolled-around Cooke had signed with RCA Victor and the previously unreleased cut was released as a competitive single.  Cooke subsequently revised the lyrics to make it his own.

The song ended-up performing substantially better on the charts that several of his early RCA singles becoming Cooke's biggest single since You Send Me (1957).  The single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number two on Billboard's Hot R&B chart. 

Nice cover of Wonderful World by Richie and the High Street Rockers.....

Whata Treat

Likely I haven’t enjoyed this since traveling somewhere. It’s been awhile. 

 
Clockwise from 6 o’clock:  Salade César, baked tater (butter, sour cream & scallions) and locally-sourced lamb. Medium to medium rare.

A special treat.

Cheers!

Winter Hunter Returns

Beginning last month and through February this constellation can be found traversing the southern night sky.  

Orion - a familiar image situated on the celestial equator - is one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky.  Finding Orion's Belt is the easiest way to locate the Orion Constellation. Orion's Belt is formed by three bright stars; Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak. 

Named for Orion 'The Hunter' of Greek mythology the constellation's brightest stars are blue-white Rigel and red Betelgeuse. The most noticeable part of Orion is Orion’s Belt – with the alignment of three stars sure to catch your eye.  Hanging from The Hunter’s belt is a sword identified as three fainter stars. The central star of the sword is actually not a star at all – it is the Great Orion Nebula.

In the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere this time of year Orion appears to be lying on his side – with the Belt stars pointing upward – when he rises in the eastern sky.

click on the image for a closer look

This photo was taken a couple weeks ago with my iPhone 14 Pro at midnight, from the porch, looking south.  The unusual brightness is the timing of the photo with the December Cold Full Moon.  A larger and brighter Super Moon.

As the story goes - Orion hunted along the river Eridanus along with his ever-present dogs – Canis Major and Canis Minor.  With his dogs Orion stalked various celestial animals including Lepus the rabbit, and Taurus the bull. In the mythology of the ancient Greeks Orion was in love with Merope - one of the Seven Sisters forming the constellation Pleiades.  Alas, Merope spurned Orion’s advances. Tragically, the heartbroken Orion met his end when he was stung by Scorpious the scorpion.

Nevertheless, the gods were kind and they consequently fixed Orion permanently in the heavens with his two dogs. The creatures he hunted were placed in the sky as constellations as well. With foresight the gods exiled Scorpius to the opposite side of the heavens so that Orion would forever be safe from harm. 

Visibility peaks this month and January.  Raising a toast to cold, clear skies and star gazing.   

Cheers!

The Speech

I watched the president this evening and have two immediate takeaways.  Inflation is the low-hanging fruit.

That was singularly the longest run-on sentence I've ever heard.  Great discipline on the teleprompter however.

Recent inflation is not the worst ever in history.  The president is either uninformed, confused or a liar; you pick. 

 

Wiley Coyote

From time to time I have discussed the interactions of red fox and coyotes if their territories overlap and share the same turf.  It's generally not collegial.

I cannot speak to the nature of their coexistence around here inasmuch as I have no evidence of it being good, bad or inconsequential.

Here are some coyote trail camera images and video retrieved from the most recent batch.  This afternoon I'll publish fox imagery taken from the same batch and same time span. 

 

 

Between you and me Old Wiley has probably robbed that loose cat around here of a couple of her lives....