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The 2015 Paris Agreement called for a 5-year cycle of updates on nationally determined contributions (NDC). This latest update would have occurred in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having been dormant for nearly 50 years, the term ‘stagflation’ has once again re-entered investors’ lexicon and with it a concern of a lost decade like the one faced by investors in the US in the 1970s.

The Chinese economy is facing headwinds leading into 2022, including: 1) Ongoing regulatory crackdown; 2) Exposure to COVID outbreaks; 3) A slump in the housing sector; and 4) Power shortages over the winter months.

With the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference currently underway in Glasgow, Union Bancaire Privée's Impact Investing team has compiled a list of important areas to focus on. The outcome of the conference will be crucial in determining how humanity can mitigate and adapt to climate change.

In the United States, the Covid-19 Delta variant is continuing to wreak havoc, causing concern that the recovery could be derailed. However, there are reasons to be optimistic about the US equity market, with companies having posted exceptional earnings over the second quarter. Looking ahead, a focus on long-term, sustainable, quality, growth companies is the right approach to capture returns.

London, 12 October 2021 - With the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) under way this week in Kunming, China, Union Bancaire Privée’s (UBP) Impact Investing team has called on delegates to match their ambitions on the protection of global biodiversity by issuing four “wishes” for commitments at the Conference.

Tighter rules have led to rapid deleveraging in China’s housing sector. Embattled real-estate developer Evergrande’s situation has sent shock waves through the credit market. The company’s default looks manageable but could become a systemic issue if the authorities do not facilitate an orderly default.

The world stands at the beginning of a pivotal decade in which institutional investors and governments each have a responsibility to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis. UBP is a signatory of the 2021 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis.

The UK Stewardship Code 2020 sets high stewardship standards for those investing on behalf of UK savers and pensioners.

China’s deployment of a growing range of tools across its policy arsenal highlights the sharp pivot that has taken place from the ‘To get rich is glorious’ era of Deng Xiaoping to the ‘Common Prosperity’ epoch being pursued in earnest by its current leader, Xi Jinping.

Asian markets are being slow to emerge from lockdown, despite the rest of the world gradually opening up its economies again. The reasons for this have much to do with low vaccination rates, but also with governance. A growth gap between developed and emerging markets is beginning to appear.

What influence do we as individual consumers have on how sustainable the global textile industry is? Quite a bit, as it turns out. What clothes we buy and how often we do so determines how sustainably one of the world’s largest industries is going to evolve.

The fashion industry is attracting more and more attention for its environmental and social footprint. While it has a long way to go before becoming truly sustainable, a host of promising initiatives points towards a greener future ahead.

The issuance of green, social and sustainability bonds by emerging and frontier countries is gaining traction. UBP expects further expansion of the market.

The creditworthiness of an emerging market country is often thought to be determined simply by its ability to service and repay debt.