Biz Briefs: Bottoms-Up Divesting

Sometimes, living by your principles is a difficult thing to do. Last month Pax World Funds, a socially responsible investing outfit, sold 375,000 shares of Starbucks, worth some $23.4 million, because the java chain started selling coffee liqueur with spirits firm Jim Beam--and Pax won't invest in companies that make liquor. "We were very reluctant to do this," says Anita Green, Pax's vice president for social research. "There's a lot we like about this company." In fact, Starbucks has been lauded--by Pax and others--for its progressive environmental policies, its commitment to sell Fair Trade coffee and its treatment of workers. The...

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