The threat of greenwashing accusations is weighing on ESG debt markets: More bond issuers are concerned that tapping the ESG debt market will invite increased scrutiny and PR nightmares related to accusations of greenwashing, Bloomberg reports. While many issuers have found ESG bonds attractive because of their lower borrowing costs, “there’s a number of issuers that are reconsidering the cost benefit trade-off,” Jason Taylor, managing director for sustainability advisory and finance at National Bank of Canada told the business information service. After a number of recent PR headaches for companies like Chanel and the UK supermarket Tesco, who either failed to meet their sustainability targets or were using minuscule metrics, more asset managers — including Goldman Sachs — are getting pickier with ESG pitches.

“Greenwashing across the board is going to be more and more scrutinized as we head into 2030,” Taylor said. Green bond issuers are also beginning to overlook longer-tenured ESG debt issuances because of the fast-changing nature of the regulatory landscape for the industry. “Standards are also developing at a faster rate so those gray zones are dissipating more and more,” Taylor said. “Over time, the market’s going to tighten up on its own.”

EARNINGS WATCH- Disney’s streaming subscriber numbers are now bigger than Netflix: Disney reported (pdf) a 26% y-o-y jump in revenues to USD 21.5 bn in 2Q 2022, easily beating analysts’ estimates of USD 20.9 bn as new spending at its theme parks rose and its streaming service Disney+ saw larger-than-expected subscriber growth. The company added 14.4 mn Disney+ subscribers during the quarter, taking total subscriptions across all its streaming services to 221 mn, above Netflix’s 220.7 mn. Disney shares rose almost 7% in after-hours trading.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 was effectively flat at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.01 bn (19.1% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is down 16.6% YTD.

In the green: Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling (+7.2%), CIRA (+4.7%) and Abu Qir Fertilizers (+1.4%).

In the red: e-Finance (-3.6%), Cleopatra Hospitals (-3.3%) and Palm Hills (-2.5%).

Asian markets are picking up where Wall Street left off yesterday and are seeing large gains this morning as investors bet that cooling US inflation last month will persuade the Federal Reserve to temper its aggressive tightening cycle. Shares are on course to continue rallying in Europe and the US today, according to stock futures.