The News Review:
- Honda Motor mulling investment request from ailing audiovisual …
- Water: A Rising Tide of Smart Investing Plays
- Broker paid hefty fees for state investment work
Honda Motor mulling investment request from ailing audiovisual …
Los Angeles Times
said Thursday it is considering investing in Pioneer Corp. the ailing Japanese audiovisual products maker that’s seeking to bolster its capital base.
Related from Sales-monster: Auto sales: It’s not the bottom yet
Water: A Rising Tide of Smart Investing Plays
BusinessWeek
housing market by causing the tax base for many parts of the country to shrink is likely speeding up the privatization process says Judd Hill a managing partner at Washington-based Summit Global Management who focuses on new investment ideas in the water industry. The thought of investing in privatized water utilities is sure to stir some uneasiness if not revolt among socially responsible investors who look not only at returns on their invested capital but also at the impact of management practices on a company’s employees and customers. There has been a backlash against privatization in such places as Uruguay where the local populace ousted a Suez subsidiary for not doing the work that had been contracted and for denying service to those who couldn’t afford connections. The push to make access to water a human right is likely to intensify now that Canadian water activist Maude Barlow has been appointed the United Nations’ first advisor on water. seeking pure-play water companiesStill there’s growing recognition of the need for further market-oriented solutions since people lack sufficient motivation to use water more efficiently unless they’re paying more for it. The water industry is undergoing a transition that will result in a more clearly defined structure enabling the emergence of pure-play companies dedicated to resolving water challenges says Steve Hoffmann an analyst for the Palisades Water Indexes and author of a new book Planet Water: Investing in the World’s Most Valuable Resource.
Broker paid hefty fees for state investment work
The Associated Press
(AP) — A Chicago-based financial firm paid a politically connected New Mexico broker to help obtain a $50 million state investment that a whistleblower lawsuit alleges was made as part of a pay-to-play scheme. The money paid to Santa Fe investor and broker Marc Correra was part of more than $11 million in fees he potentially shared in for helping investment firms secure business with the State Investment Council according to records released by the state agency that’s responsible for managing and investing New Mexico’s permanent funds. Those funds were valued at about $11 billion at the end of last year. The fees were disclosed in a report prepared by the investment council staff in response to an ongoing corruption investigation involving a New York state pension fund. The conduct of several executives including auto task force leader Steven Rattner is being examined by state and federal officials as part of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s investigation into whether top aides to former New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi took bribes from investment firms seeking deals with that pension fund.