The working day as we know it, in general lasting eight hours between 7am and 7pm and covering five days of the week, dates back 100 years. It has its origins in the industrial revolution, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life. At first the working day would range from 10-16 hours; the work week was six days and the use of child labour was common. A shorter working day as well as improved working conditions was raised by the International Workingmen’s Association at the Congress in Geneva in 1866, but the working week as we know it was not adopted in most countries until shortly after the first world war. There remain exceptions in developing countries and it depends on the type of work, but this structure has held for the majority of the global workforce since.
News
QUAERO CAPITAL receives A+ rating from the PRI
QUAERO CAPITAL scored an ‘A+’ rating for ‘Strategy & Governance’ in the 2020 PRI Annual Assessment Report, reflecting a continued investment in sustainable investment.
The social risks of fast fashion
The fast fashion industry has been a significant economic success story of the last two decades, nearly doubling in size, employing 70m people worldwide and contributing 2% to global GDP. This has been driven by huge advances in supply chain management, shrinking lead times from six months to two weeks and enabling retailers to stock more choice, reduce prices and respond rapidly to consumer demand.
American politics and the green economy
The polarisation of American politics is a subject well covered with the Biden vs. Trump campaigns heating up as we close down on the three-month point before the election. Every nationwide poll currently has Biden leading by between 6 and 15 points, but there is plenty of time for this to change and polls are often wrong.
QUAERO CAPITAL hires Daniel Ritz as Head of Business Development for German-speaking Switzerland
QUAERO CAPITAL has hired Daniel Ritz as Head of Business Development for the Swiss German region. He will be in charge of promoting QUAERO CAPITAL’s strategies to institutional and wholesale clients in Swiss German Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Prior to joining QUAERO CAPITAL, Daniel Ritz was Institutional Sales & Relationship Manager at the Fintech Lykke Corp.Read more
Family ownership and sustainability
An inherent aspect of sustainability is about encouraging the players of a market economy to consider the long term. This is explicit in the European Commission’s Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth; one of the plan’s three aims is to ‘foster transparency and long-termism’. If all CEOs and investors were only concerned about the next few quarters, or even years, then it’s easy to understand how sustainable factors such as finite resources, climate change and diversity wouldn’t feature high on the agenda.
Des questions de style aujourd’hui largement dépassées
Cette chronique de Jean Keller a été publiée dans Le Temps du 22 juin 2020. Lire l’article.
Les indices boursiers ont en grande partie récupéré le terrain perdu depuis l’éclatement de la crise du coronavirus. Mais ce redressement est surtout le fait de quelques géants de la Tech et de très nombreuses sociétés de qualité se traitent encore à des prix sacrifiés. Pour l’investisseur, c’est l’occasion de réconcilier valeur et croissance, tout en se reconnectant avec l’économie réelle.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency is rising on the global post-COVID agenda
Of the recovery bills approved by global governments during the peak of the pandemic, little focused on a green recovery. Most were attentive to quick-acting programs to protect jobs and to ensure the survival of businesses.
The legal framework for sustainability
There is a consensus emerging that society and investors are best served by companies that focus on sustainable value creation rather than short-term profit. Many companies communicate increasingly loudly about how sustainability is core to their purpose, producing shiny brochures full of positive stories and setting targets such as the wave of 2050 carbon neutrality targets seen in recent months. However, one of the great challenges of sustainable investing is identifying the difference between company rhetoric and action.
The shades of grey in sustainable investment
A documentary film called ‘Planet of the Humans’ was recently released online to much controversy. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it describes itself as a “full-frontal assault on our sacred cows’, arguing that renewable energy and green movements have been hijacked by the traditional form of capitalism, and that these technologies are not as good for the environment or society as we’re led to believe.