This is another tough week for big name start-ups and their major stakeholders. Are the anticipated bubbles around ‘fake’ tech start-ups finally going to bust? The outlook for the overall market is still heavily affected by uncertainties and a lack of faith, but maybe there’s an unexpected silver lining lying in the increased interest around ESG or green investing.

Exorcising Phantom FDI (VOX EU) This paper proposes a clever technique to identify the true investors behind FDI data. US companies actually account for 10% of FDI into China, rather than the officially reported 1%. Meanwhile, the EU accounts for around 30% of FDI into the UK, rather than the official 40%. [Bullish US large-cap, bullish GBP]

Alternative Proteins and the Future of Meat (McKinsey) Across different economies, health is the common driver of demand for alternative proteins. Alternative protein is a niche market, but McKinsey believes it is sizeable enough to disrupt the food industry in the future. [Bullish alt meat markets]

10 Key Investor Takeaways From the 2019 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank (PIMCO) Geopolitical uncertainties such as the 2020 presidential election and the US-China trade tension were the biggest concerns. Meanwhile, ESG investing has become the trendy topic as a result of increased awareness of climate changes. [Bullish ESG stocks]