Welcome to POLITICO's new Sustainable Finance Spotlight — an extension of the Global Translations newsletter. Each week we track major issues facing the globe. Sign up here .
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Before the coronavirus crisis hit, there was a fast-building global wave of money flowing toward financing a more sustainable future: from green buildings to renewable energy, from more efficient factories to 479 green bonds in 2019 alone .
Yet for all that momentum, the status quo of most banks is still brown. They've invested more than $1 trillion in fossil fuels since the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement and Zach Sautner from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management told POLITICO the pandemic will "unfortunately take (away) pressure from banks to shift away from brown lending."
Other things to check out:
Stimulus checks: When you’ll get your money and why some will have to wait longer | Fox 59
The US government is preparing to send out direct payments to help individuals amid the coronavirus pandemic, but those who need the money most may be waiting the longest to see it.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at a White House coronavirus briefing that payments would go out within two weeks to people whose direct deposit details are on file with the government, echoing comments he made after passage of the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill that payments would not go out until mid-April.
Coronavirus unemployment benefits, jobs, more: Your questions answered
In this time of uncertainty, USA TODAY is working to find answers to your money questions – anything from finding a job or unemployment benefits to your 401(k) or retirement plans. We want to help you navigate your personal finances during this crisis so USA TODAY Network's top financial journalists are finding answers to your questions.
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We will be updating the Q&A frequently, so be sure to check back often. And, for more money advice, sign up for our newsletter, The Daily Money .
How to Worry About Money in a Pandemic
Being cooped up at home has made me both obsessed with planning and very bad at it. I stare at the four walls of my apartment and spend absurd amounts of time thinking about dinner. Is the chicken defrosting? I check the fridge again. I make lists of things to buy with paychecks I'm not sure I'll get. I look at my in-box. I look at my phone. I look at my bank account. How is it so low?! Oh, right — groceries . Enough to last us for weeks … I think?
This sounded counterintuitive at first, but talking yourself through the chain of disaster scenarios can make you realize that you'll actually be okay, says Brad Klontz, a psychologist and financial planner. "There's a technique in psychology called exposure therapy, and this is similar: I don't avoid thinking about the worst that could happen. I dive into it instead. The trick is to keep asking yourself, 'And then, what would I do?' Follow that trail."
And here's another article:
3 Bad Reasons To Take Money Out Of Your Retirement Savings
President Trump recently signed the CARES Act into law. Among the many other things it does, the Act gives you the penalty-free option to take money out of your 401(k) plan or IRA before you are 59½.
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Granted, in cases of true hardship you may have no other choice than to sacrifice your retirement for an urgent need today. Still, it would be unfortunate to succumb to any one of several bad reasons for using your retirement savings now. Here are three of them:
Need money? Have you checked here?
This is money from old bank accounts, deposits from apartments, over payments of utilities, even unclaimed gift cards.
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Typically, it takes 90 days to get your money. If you're the legal Heir of a claim, that would take longer. Sometimes, claims are processed within 10 days. It all depends on the claim.
Where's the Money? Keep an Eye on the CARES Act - Government Executive
The Small Business Administration says it will start accepting "paycheck protection" applications from up to 30 million small businesses by April 11. The IRS expects to start sending out stimulus payment checks in mid-April to about 140 million taxpayers. And there are dozens of other provisions mandating action with impossibly short deadlines—all while much of the federal workforce is working from home.
In the midst of this frenetic action, the new law—officially the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act —also contains a series of accountability provisions to oversee this rapid spending. What are these provisions? How do they compare to those in the 2009 Recovery Act, which distributed $787 billion to mitigate the Great Recession? Are there insights from the 2009 oversight efforts that could help jumpstart current efforts?
When Can America Reopen From Its Coronavirus Shutdown? - POLITICO
The answer depends how you weigh human health against the economy. We asked experts how to think about the tricky calculus.
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Since then, the president has backed away from opening businesses up right away, but he also had a point: This cure is pretty bad. This week's report that 6.6. million Americans had filed for unemployment insurance was double the previous record, which was set only last week. Analysts are predicting that GDP could shrink by double-digit percentages this quarter. That's a lot of future unhappiness.
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