By Ross Kerber
Feb 18 (Reuters) - This is the weekly Reuters Sustainable Finance Newsletter, which you can sign up for here .
The U.S. Justice Department's recent document dump of material related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein shows his ties to a wide-ranging group of prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business.
The fallout for many has been severe even if some of their conduct was not technically improper, a case involving a top bank attorney shows. Read the analysis below by Reuters legal columnist Jenna Greene of the rules on how an Epstein gift worth less than $10,000 can intersect with a Wall Street career.
This week I also flag our coverage of NASCAR's continued interest in electric vehicles and a big month for muni bonds.
Please follow me on LinkedIn and/or Bluesky. You can reach me via ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com
The real price of a $9,350 purse
Goldman Sachs top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler stepped down following revelations that she accepted thousands of dollars' worth of gifts from Jeffrey Epstein when she was previously a partner at a law firm.
As a matter of attorney ethics, her conduct did not appear to violate any professional rules -- but it raised questions of judgment, some legal ethics experts told our columnist Jenna Greene. You can click here to read her piece that makes you think about the spirit versus the letter of any norm.
Company news
Speaking of glam merchandise, hedge fund bets and investors' nerves over AI-rattled markets mean many sharp share price swings for luxury goods companies like LVMH LVMH.PA and Gucci-owner Kering, PRTP.PA my colleagues' analysis shows.
Pension funds and other activists asked bigger Starbucks SBUX.O investors to vote against the reelection of two directors, citing tensions with the coffee giant's unionized baristas.
One NASCAR vehicle to watch at last Sunday's Daytona 500 wasn't on the official start list. I refer instead to the electric prototype race car that Swiss engineering group ABB ABBN.S showed off at the event. Big carmakers are pulling back from EV investments but ABB at least is continuing a partnership dating to 2024.
On my radar
Health and environmental groups sued over the Trump administration's decision to revoke the scientific finding underlying U.S. climate regulations.
Trump's top antitrust enforcer, Gail Slater, is stepping down after less than a year, a sign of an internal battle over policing anti-competitive conduct.
Tax benefits traditionally make January a strong month for U.S. municipal bond funds. Even so last month's take was striking with the funds recording $14.5 billion of net new deposits, according to Morningstar, bringing their total net assets above $1 trillion for the first time in four years.
(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by David Gregorio)
((ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com; (617) 412 0093;))