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Sustainable Finance

By Ross Kerber, U.S. Sustainable Business Correspondent

Sustainable finance junkies and investors alike have wondered since April whether New York City Comptroller Brad Lander would decide if BlackRock and other big fund firms have done enough on climate issues to justify being kept on as city pension fund managers.

You can read Lander's answer in this week's main story below - like most good politics stories, this one is really all about the money and settles nothing. TLDR: His action passes the ball to his successor and other officials including New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

I've also included links to our coverage of the impact of tariffs on prices and Black Friday shopping and corporate attendance at the COP30 climate conference, among other things.

Finally: with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday upon us, I want to say thank you for being a loyal reader of the Reuters Sustainable Finance Newsletter, which is a lot of fun to write. As always you can follow me on LinkedIn and/or Bluesky, or reach me via ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com

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Latest Headlines

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani stands next to New York City Comptroller Brad Lander during a primary election watch party, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo

Push by NYC Comptroller to drop BlackRock creates a test for Mamdani

Lander is urging city pension fund officials to re-bid $42.3 billion managed by BlackRock, citing climate concerns. It marks the first major move by a Democrat to counter pressure on financial companies from Republican allies of the fossil-fuel industry.

Lander's term in office ends on December 31, but his recommendation, announced on Wednesday, could put the new mayor n the hot seat when he takes office in about five weeks. BlackRock indicated it will try to keep the business, and Mamdani's appointees will take positions that hold some sway over the pension boards that decide where to invest retirement funds for some 800,000 current and former city employees.

You can read what this means for BlackRock, Mamdani and others like Lander's successor Mark Levine by clicking the button below.

Read about New York's climate-pension debate here

Company news

Looking to limit lost sales, fewer global companies signaled price hikes in the third quarter compared to earlier in the year, a Reuters analysis of company statements and earnings calls showed.
At the same time, American shoppers are likely to find fewer bargains from tariff-hit retailers on Black Friday, though record crowds are expected on what is traditionally a huge shopping day after Thanksgiving.
Michael Burry, one of the investors portrayed in the bestselling book "The Big Short," started a newsletter on Substack, taking aim at Nvidia and comparing the current AI boom to the 1990s dot-com era.

Chart of the week

Cuts in spending on science services by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are helping drive a boom for private data companies like those providing satellite imagery for weather or energy applications. Read more here

On my radar

Commercial real estate and investment manager JLL found city-level regulations "are accelerating real estate’s transition toward a low carbon, climate-resilient future." For instance JLL found 41% of local governments have enforceable building performance standards.
Women gained just 23% of new Russell 3000 corporate board seats, the lowest rate in a decade, according to a new study from the 50/50 Women on Boards nonprofit advocacy organization, using data from Equilar. The data reinforces other studies showing boards diminishing their diversity efforts.
U.S. companies remained concerned about climate change, a reason Fortune 100 companies sent 20% more representatives to the COP30 summit than last year despite the Trump Administration's souring on environmental issues, an analysis by my colleague Simon Jessop showed.

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