Clean Green Fund Investing

by Steve Sweeney |  Thursday, 4 November 2010 Investors like to make money and for many years, the companies yielding the best returns may not have been responsible corporate citizens. History is littered with shining examples of corporate profits taking precedence over doing the right thing, whether by the people, the environment or through good corporate [...]

Preparing your financial survival kit

Natural disasters are unpredictable and in many cases can be life changing for those caught up in them. The recent disasters around the world, including Christchurch, Japan and as of this morning Sumatra, have got many Kiwis talking about and actively putting their survival plans in place. Whilst the main emphasis should be placed on [...]

Commodities – do they really stack up as a good investment?

After listening to Janine from Liontamer managed funds talk this morning I was wondering how many people realised that you could actually invest into real products, besides property.  Liontamer’s new fund invests into an index made up of Brent Oil, Copper, Cotton, Sugar, Corn, Lead, Nickel, Gasoline and Palladium. Now I am not saying that [...]

Turning Garbage into Gas – The Economist

Atomising trash eliminates the need to dump it, and generates useful power too Feb 3rd 2011 | From The Economist print edition DISPOSING of household rubbish is not, at first glance, a task that looks amenable to high-tech solutions. But Hilburn Hillestad of Geoplasma, a firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, begs to differ. Burying trash—the [...]

Economist: Clean and Green for a Price

DESPITE its reputation for wind and rain, Britain is not used to cold weather. Unseasonal snow over the past couple of weeks has blocked roads, shut airports, closed schools and brought the army out to help clear Edinburgh’s streets. Energy-watchers, meanwhile, have been fretting about the spike in energy consumption caused by the chill. On [...]

Pollution In China – Raising a Stink

Efforts to improve China’s environment are having far too little effect Aug 5th 2010 | TAI LAKE | From The Economist print edition AN OILY green algal film slops on the shore of Tai Lake, China’s third-largest freshwater body. Its foul odour drifts over nearby villages. By the water’s edge it is hard not to [...]

Palm Oil – what is the big deal?

Courtesy of The Economist: The charges against palm oil are serious: environmental groups regard it as a danger not only to Asian wildlife but also to the health of the planet. Between 1967 and 2000 the area under cultivation in Indonesia expanded from less than 2,000 square kilometres (770 square miles) to more than 30,000 [...]