Are we finally seeing consolidation in the solar sector? The sector has been suffering from oversupply for a long time but the market forces of supply and demand so far have only led to sharp price declines throughout the supply chain. The overcapacity issue persists due to the availability of cheap loans and preferential government policies in China. Finally, here comes the news which looks like the beginning of industry consolidation. Suntech’s Wuxi subsidiary declared bankruptcy on Wednesday, following its default on a $541 million convertible bond.

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I attended a talk by Al Gore earlier this week hosted by ShareAction (which recently changed its name from Fair Pensions). To my surprise, he described it as: “the most important talk I have ever given.” His mission these days is to promote a shift to a more sustainable capitalism – clearly a subject he is passionate about.

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Today, Tuesday the 12th March, is Ownership Day, a new initiative from UK Sustainable Investment and Finance (UKSIF) to raise awareness of the benefits of active ownership strategies in investment management. We are supporters of Ownership Day, and hope it is successful in encouraging asset owners, including pension fund members and retail investors to ask their trustees, financial advisers and fund managers whether their portfolio is being actively managed.

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When you run electric current through a tungsten filament in an incandescent light-bulb, you waste roughly nine times the energy transformed into light, as heat. And those old incandescent light-bulbs always need changing: each one lasts around three months at average usage.

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