Brand Story

Analyst Breakdown

• California banned sales of new fossil-fueled cars by 2035, heralding the end of the combustion engine’s hegemonic reign over the American auto industry
• In issuing his executive order Wednesday morning, Gov
• Gavin Newsom (D) trumpeted the move as “the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change” at a moment when historic fires are scorching the state

Analyst Breakdown

• In June, at the height of a reckoning over race and police killings in the U
• , Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf tried to blame his bank’s failure to hire and promote Black people on Black people themselves
• “While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of black talent to recruit from,” he said in a memo to employees this summer, uncovered by Reuters on Tuesday

Analyst Breakdown

• Google’s parent, Alphabet, has settled a lawsuit with angry shareholders after the company made lucrative severance deals with executives accused of sexual harassment
• As part of the settlement, Alphabet has agreed to expand its policy of prohibiting severance for those terminated for misconduct to include anyone under investigation for “sexual misconduct or retaliation,” according to a company blog post
• In addition, Alphabet will commit $310 million to corporate diversity programs over the next 10 years

Analyst Breakdown

• Earlier this year, oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell assessed the climate lobbying done by trade associations they have been involved with, and publicly quit a handful of high-profile industry groups campaigning to undermine regulations to reduce greenhouse gases
• The effort was part of a vow to increase corporate transparency and bring planet-heating emissions to net zero over the next few decades
• But Shell and BP ― the second- and fourth-largest oil companies by revenue last year ― are still active members of at least eight trade organizations lobbying against climate measures in the United States and Australia, an Unearthed and HuffPost investigation has found