- __[Shade](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/IoFpxzaCMWYIRwnWz8IHa/articles/6aRpVMxqEwEvfe2Crkv3qp/):__ Another day, another Zucking. __Facebook__ partnered with Ray-Ban to launch “Stories,” smart glasses that shoot videos, play music, and *aren’t* FB-branded.
- __[B-Day](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/16uFOszfvdJpLmfPxuN8cQ/articles/1VGWOHosnNxOoSHGQ0xRm/):__ El Salvador became the first country to adopt __Bitcoin__ as a national currency. It's the first big coin experiment, and the stakes are *high*.
- __[Blood](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/1FAijBlzaHGLZcAV5Dg4Rm/articles/4cHeVkQK4qzzwBVhLUqqOV/):__ The trial of Elizabeth Holmes, disgraced founder of blood-testing startup __Theranos__, kicked off last week— “fake it till you make it” culture is also getting heat.

ICYMI

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__ABC, easy as…__ ESG? Socially responsible investing, aka ESG (or environmental, social and governance) investing, has boomed recently. ESG criteria — like a company’s enviro-impact, board diversity, and/or exec compensation —  is used by some firms and investors to evaluate companies for funds or personal portfolios. S&P Global, Bloomberg, and Moody’s are a few of the companies that rate and measure ESG performance.

__Spell it out…__ Like with most stock purchases on public markets, people aren’t *directly* funding ESG-conscious companies when they buy their stock. But investors gain voting rights that could help companies make better decisions. Increasingly, people are using their values and ethics to guide investment choices — especially Millennials. 

- __10X:__ Investors contributed $51B to sustainable funds in 2020, compared to less than $5B five years ago.
- __90%__ of Millennial investors say they believe in sustainable investing, according to a 2019 [report](https://www.morganstanley.com/pub/content/dam/msdotcom/ideas/sustainable-signals/pdf/Sustainable_Signals_Whitepaper.pdf).
- __$285B:__ How much ESG funds [grew](https://qz.com/guide/esg/) last year — nearly double their 2019 value. 

__Lean in to green…__ This month, the SEC said it may require companies to report climate-risk info along with their annual earnings. Think: emissions metrics and progress toward climate goals. In recent years, companies have been doubling down on ESG initiatives — *especially* environmental ones. Big Tech companies are the largest allocations for most ESG funds. __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__ pledged to become carbon neutral by 2040, __[Microsoft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MSFT)__ committed to become carbon-negative by 2030, and __[Google](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOG)__ bought enough wind and solar energy in 2019 to power 500M European homes.


_Up close and personal with ESGs [David Trood/ DigitalVision via GettyImages]_

__The next step in ESG is validation…__ Many aspects of ESG investing still aren't well-defined. Dozens of sources share company ESG scores, but many use different criteria that can be tough for companies to measure. It can also be hard to measure ESG investing’s impact: One study found that increasing ESG investment didn't lead companies to reduce pollution, or improve workplace safety or board diversity. The next step is having clearer, standardized criteria to assess ESG investments — and keep companies accountable.

The ESG boom: “ethical investing” has taken off – but what does it actually mean?

__Shots in the hot seat...__ Last week, President Biden ordered companies with 100+ employees to require employee vaccinations or weekly testing. __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__  praised the move, while __[Nike](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NKE)__ and __[Target](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TGT)__ questioned America’s ability to meet the requirement. Some smaller employers and Republican politicians criticized the mandate as costly overreach. Meanwhile, others like __[United Airlines](https://robinhood.com/stocks/UAL)__ and __[Tyson](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TSN)__ have already passed vax mandates. We’ll see how companies approach implementation.

__Prime cap and gown...__ __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__  offered to pay full college tuition at select schools for 750K+ employees, in a push to attract workers in a tight labor market. The US has a record 10.9M job openings, but 8.4M Americans are still unemployed. __[Walmart](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMT)__ and __[Target](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TGT)__  began offering college tuition perks  earlier this summer, __[Uber](https://robinhood.com/stocks/UBER)__ and __[Lyft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LYFT)__ debuted huge bonuses to attract drivers, __[Chipotle](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CMG)__ and __[McDonald’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MCD)__ raised wages, and some big banks even offered employees free Pelotons. TBD if the perks will work.


Zoom Out

Stories we're watching...

__The core of the Apple…__ Tomorrow, __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__ is expected to drop the iPhone 13 and other new tech goodies at its big launch event. iPhone sales consistently make up over half of the Fruit's total, but they fell in 2019 and 2020. *This* year, iPhone sales soared as the new 5G-enabled iPhone 12 fueled a sweet upgrade cycle — but they’ve slowed quarter to quarter. We’ll see if the iPhone 13 has the specs to rev up demand.

__Here comes the sun…__ energy. Solar energy powers 3% of the US electric grid, but Biden wants it to power *nearly half* by 2050 — which would require solar infrastructure to double each of the next four years, and again by 2030. It’s potentially brilliant news for solar battery makers like __[Tesla](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TSLA)__ and __[Panasonic](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PCRFY)__, and solar panel producers like __[First Solar](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FSLR)__ and __[JinkoSolar](https://robinhood.com/stocks/JKS)__, the world’s largest panel-maker. JinkoSolar’s earnings this Wednesday could shed light on momentum in the solar biz.


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