Adapting to Climate Change...Clients' Views on Markets...Back-to-School Reading List

[Goldman Sachs]( [BRIEFINGS] September 9, 2019 Report: Adapting to Climate Change Climate scientists broadly agree that the world is getting warmer. What’s more, they indicate that emissions already in the atmosphere are likely to warm the earth for decades to come, even if efforts to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions are successful. So ongoing initiatives aimed at abatement will likely need to be paired with investments in adaptation — a reality the Global Markets Institute aims to draw attention to with its latest report, “Taking the Heat: Making cities resilient to climate change.” Cities with high population densities and robust economic activity will most likely find themselves on the frontlines of this adaptation, faced with the challenge of how to best shore up their infrastructure for climate extremes. Investments in everything from seawalls to “sponge cities” to subterranean power lines could ultimately amount to the largest infrastructure build-out in history, according to the Global Markets Institute team, likely drawing on multiple and often innovative sources of financing. [Read report]( SHARE: [twitter]( [facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [email](mailto:?subject=Report%3A%20Adapting%20to%20Climate%20Change&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldmansachs.com%2Finsights%2Fpages%2Ftaking-the-heat.html) Marquee QuickPoll: Central Banks, Brexit and Bears Central banks, Brexit, and bearish positioning are top of mind this month for the nearly 1,600 Goldman Sachs clients who participated in the firm’s latest QuickPoll, which ran on the Securities Division’s Marquee platform on September 3-4. Key findings include: Central Banks in Focus – According to 51% of those surveyed, the most important events for markets in September will be the meetings of the ECB or FOMC. Investors’ expectations for the Fed’s policy path are in line with market pricing, as 49% of respondents expect two or more rate cuts by year end. Clients generally expect the euro to trade lower, with 45% predicting the currency could fall below its current level against the US dollar by the end of September. Brexit: No-Confidence, No Deal, or No Conviction – Brexit expectations are generally bearish with 45% of clients seeing some form of no-deal Brexit taking place; 29% expecting a successful vote of no-confidence or a general election called by year end; and only 10% predicting either a second referendum, the revocation of Article 50 (which would in effect cancel Brexit), or a ratified withdrawal agreement. Sentiment Remains Bearish – Investors continue to be more pessimistic than optimistic, with 57% of investors describing themselves as bearish or slightly bearish on risky assets. This was seen in the end-of-month price expectations for specific assets, reflecting a flight to safety. For example, 43% of respondents expect Treasury yields to move lower, while 39% expect the S&P 500 Stock Index to drop by the end of the month. Meanwhile, 48% of clients predict gold prices will strengthen and 36% think oil prices will weaken. For more information about QuickPoll and Marquee, [reach out to the team](mailto:gs-marquee-sales@ny.email.gs.com?subject=BRIEFINGS%20Follow-Up%3A%20Interested%20in%20Learning%20More%20About%20Marquee&body=BRIEFINGS%20follow-up%3A%20I%20am%20interested%20in%20learning%20more%20about%20Marquee.%20). SHARE: [twitter]( [facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [email](mailto:?subject=Marquee%20QuickPoll%3A%20Central%20Banks%2C%20Brexit%20and%20Bears&body=) Talks at GS with US Senator Tom Cotton Above (L to R): John Waldron of Goldman Sachs and US Senator Tom Cotton During a recent episode of Talks at GS, moderated by the firm’s president and COO John Waldron, US Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas reflected on his time serving in The Old Guard, the elite US Army regiment that performs military honor funerals and, most famously, guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. “There aren’t many more missions I would prefer to be doing that are more meaningful than paying our respects to our fallen comrades or veterans,” said the Senator. A key part of serving in the US Army’s oldest active duty regiment is the rigorous training and performance that is expected of unit members as they lay fallen soldiers to rest. “The Old Guard’s standard is very simple: perfection — perfection in everything they can do,” Cotton described. “It can be a funeral as prominent as President Bush's funeral was, or as John McCain's funeral was, or say, a four star general... or it can be the funeral for a widow whose husband has been buried in Arlington, and is now going to join her husband in eternity there.” That perfection is critical, Senator Cotton said, because “We knew that for the loved ones, for the next of kin, for the mourners, that was probably the only time they were ever going to see a funeral like that,” he said. “And that for them it was a special, unique moment to remember the service of those loved ones.” [Watch video]( SHARE: [twitter]( [facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [email](mailto:?subject=Talks%20at%20GS%20with%20US%20Senator%20Tom%20Cotton&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldmansachs.com%2Finsights%2Ftalks-at-gs%2Ftom-cotton.html) Goldman Sachs Back-to-School Reading List Above (L to R): Goldman Sachs’ Dane Holmes, Anna Skoglund, Rohini Eapen and Zheng Li In the fifth annual Goldman Sachs Reading List, the firm’s leaders across the globe share recommendations from their bookshelves, ranging from biographies and literary fiction to essays on politics and sociology. The Road to Character, by David Brooks, is a must read for Dane Holmes, head of Human Capital Management. The book “is an interesting examination of all the things that could make us better…better leaders, better citizens, better people. By recounting the journeys of bold-faced names from throughout history, Brooks reminds us that the pathway to character isn’t always a smooth and straight one.” The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, by Melinda Gates, is “a thought-provoking and inspiring account of the positive chain reaction unleashed by the investment in women,” says Anna Skoglund in the firm’s Investment Banking Division in London. By blending Gates’ own “personal journey of discovery with those of her heroes...[she makes] a convincing call to action.” Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl, is a “firsthand account of [the author’s] survival in Nazi death camps…and the hope arising from the same atrocity,” says Rohini Eapen, who leads Treasury Services in Bengaluru. “Reading this book is truly inspirational and encourages us to find greater meaning and purpose in our lives.” The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro, “is a story of generational change with socioeconomic and political transformation during the period between the Great World Wars,” says Zheng Li in the firm’s Investment Banking Division in Hong Kong. “The questions raised by the transformation are all very relevant today and leads to introspection of one’s life purpose as well as the human quest of identity.” [See more recommendations]( SHARE: [twitter]( [facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [email](mailto:?subject=Goldman%20Sachs%20Back-to-School%20Reading%20List&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldmansachs.com%2Fcareers%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fback-to-school-reading-list-2019.html) Goldman Sachs Media Highlights Business Insider - September 9 MEDIA_HIGH_LINK_URL[Goldman Sachs teams up with Indian School of Business to nurture women entrepreneurs]( Bloomberg - September 6 [Goldman Sachs’ Ramos: Latin America Not Poor But Poorly Managed]( (6:31) “Magic & Math” Podcast - September 5 [Chairman and CEO David Solomon Interview]( CNBC - September 5 [CFO Stephen Scherr on Market Sentiment]( (2:25) BBC - September 5 ['I Swapped Chelsea FC for the City': From Goalie to Goldman Sachs]( [Subscribe]( [Unsubscribe]( The data provided in this newsletter is for information purposes only and should not be construed as investment or tax advice nor as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular security. 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