"Iran, The New South Africa"

It is a little unusual for me to link to a post over at Captain's Quarters, as this is an investing blog, not a political one, and the intersection of the two realms is not an everyday occurrence, but this is an unusual story, and he's on it.

If large American institutional investors, like public pension funds, begin to divest themselves of investments in companies doing business with Iran, that could have interesting effects. In a few cases, it might lead some foreign companies to stop looking for new business with Iran. It could. it could ratchet up the pressure on Iran's economy, which is already in pretty bad shape. If that happens, and if that then leads to regime change in Iran, what's not to like about that? Usually, this sort of socially-conscious investing concept had been the province of liberal groups, such as those who pushed for divestment of South African companies and boycotts of diamonds, etc., before the end of apartheid. This is a bit of a new twist, it seems.



Captain's Quarters: Iran, the New South Africa