Todd Russ, the state’s treasurer, is targeting six companies that Oklahoma has invested in through its US$2-billion Tobacco Settlement Endowment fund, saying it will start screening firms for their approach to DEI and various social issues. The Vancouver-based athleisure company is among them, along with others including Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet and Netflix. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: The move is the latest example of the growing backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion practices, as companies have pulled the reins on their outwardly progressive corporate policies amid waning public support for such efforts. Companies from Ford to Walmart to Google have wound down their DEI hiring practices. On Wednesday, Russ called for “political neutrality” from the companies Oklahoma invests in—a tactic that some Wall Street banks have so far opposed. The fund owns less than one per cent of each of the targeted stocks. The state has also put forward an anti-ESG law that has been met with resistance in the courts.