Forbes: Scotland's Ruling Party Makes Questionable Decision: Ditch British Pound "As Soon As Practicable"

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

The bad policy ideas just keep on coming from Scotland' ruling party.

Saturday, the Scottish National Party, which controls Scotland's independent parliament, voted to ditch the British pound "as soon as practicable" when or if the country gains full independence.

The vote appears to be motivated by little more than animosity toward many things English, a recurrent theme for the SNP. It could signal a turn towards Venezuelan-style economics. Read more here.

Fake Scottish pound note

Photo by Alf van Beem, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

TheStreet: Why France's Total Is a Much Better Oil Play Than Exxon Mobil

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors wanting an oil play should buy France's Total SA over Exxon Mobil. 

Total is a steal when compared to its well-known rival Exxon. Read more here.

TheStreet: Restaurant Brands International Misses Earnings Expectations

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Higher taxes took a bite out of first-quarter earnings for Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of restaurant brands Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons. Read more here.

Photo by Ismail Hadine on Unsplash

TheStreet: Gardner Denver to Merge with a Division of Ingersoll-Rand - Report

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A deal announcing the merger of North Carolina-based pump manufacturer Gardner Denver Holdings with part of Ingersoll-Rand could come as soon as this week, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Read more here.

TheStreet: Anadarko to Begin Deal Negotiations With Occidental Petroleum - Report

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There's rarely a dull moment in the oil patch these days.

Anadarko Petroleum has decided to begin talks to sell itself to Occidental Petroleum. Read more here.

WSJ Guide to Econ Indicators Dubbed "Most Transformative"

RBC: The rise of ESG: Investing opportunities in emerging markets

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investment professionals are proving that responsible and ethical investing in emerging markets (EM) can go hand-in-hand with superior returns. At the same time, doing so may protect the environment and produce economic growth that is sustainable over the long term.

The success of investing through environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) is in the numbers. Over the last decade, the MSCI Emerging Markets ESG Leaders Index, which tracks companies with high performance in ESG metrics relative to their peers, outshone the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index, with a 14.5 percent annualised returns versus 10.7 percent, according to data from indexing firm MSCI. Read more here.