insto - Australian financial markets

While many companies are reluctant to admit their potential greenhouse gas costs, the number of institutional investors seeking this information has spiked, repots Bernard Kellerman.

The Carbon Disclosure Project has evolved as the pre-eminent mechanism for communication between companies and investors on climate change and carbon exposure issues. It has been run globally for 7 years, but for the fourth year has been expanded to cover the top 200 Australian and top 50 New Zealand companies.

Investec Asset Management's chief investment strategist, Michael Power, spoke to Insto about gold, the rise of the renminbi and the formation of an Asian bond market.

Insto: You've had a lot to say on commodities, especially gold. What's your view on the outlook for gold in the near to medium term?

Policymakers were well aware of the risks that led to the global financial crisis, but were not sufficiently prepared to respond to them in time, says the head of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

Central banks around the world were warning of the underpricing of risk and the build-up of leverage in the lead-up to the crisis, said John Laker in a speech to the Australian Economic Forum in Sydney on Wednesday 19 August.