Miscellany on 31 October: GCC making peace with Israel, mega IPO in Kazakhstan, impact investing

In miscellany this morning:

Worrying indicator of the day: Credit card companies in the US are tightening credit limits in “an unusual move in a strong economy that may signal longer-term concerns about consumers’ financial health.” (WSJ)

Is the GCC following Egypt’s lead on Israel a generation later? “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise visit to Oman pried open a door to the Persian Gulf usually shut to Israelis, and several of his cabinet members are following him through.” (Bloomberg)

A USD 6.5 bn IPO in … Kazakhstan? “Kazakhstan’s state-run oil and gas company KazMunaiGas is finalizing plans for an initial public offering that could raise as much as USD 6.5 bn, in what could be central Asia’s largest ever stock market listing.” The offering on the London Stock Exchange and a local Kazak bourse will probably take place in late 2019. (Financial Times)

The election of a hard-right leader in Brazil has some asking whether the BRICs still matter as an investment construct. Read Axios’ take or go back and skim theoriginal 16-page Goldman Sachs paper that coined the term (pdf).

The Financial Times is diving deep into impact investing with a package that includes stories on:

• Lack of clarity hinders education impact investing: Despite huge scope globally, where and how to invest funds is often confused
• ‘Profit with purpose’ in Africa and Asia: One investor has proved there is often value in businesses no one else will touch
• Impact investing at family offices: Socially responsible investment can be a way of bringing the generations together
• Is social impact compatible with financial returns? Capital manager Chris West and impact investor Bill McGlashan offer their perspective
• Impact investing faces barriers to scaling up: Challenges in measuring impact and pitching for capital stymie start-ups

There’s plenty more where those came from — tap here for the landing page of the report.