When the Chairman and CEO of a Fortune 500 NYSE-listed company is charged with insider trading, complicated by the fact that he is a substantial financial contributor to the political party in power, it’s usually a significant financial news story. But, that not what happened when Jeff Sprecher, founder, Chairman, and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange,…
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CalPERS Is Voting Against Directors Over Compensation – Will Others Follow? – Corporate Board Member
The $410 billion California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) is sending a message to members of corporate boards: find a way to better align executive pay with performance or have your re-election to the board opposed at the annual meeting. CalPERS Is Voting Against Directors Over Compensation – Will Others Follow? – Corporate Board Member…
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow on Motley Fool Money — Quibi, Movie Theaters, and More
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow was a guest on the Motley Fool Money podcast this week, discussing corporate governance and movies.
PCAOB Board Member Says the Revised Research and Standard-Setting Agendas Reduce Credibility, Accountability and Confidence in the Financial Reporting Process
PCAOB Board member J. Robert Brown, Jr., has issued a very strong statement objecting to the omissions and re-directions in the PCAOB’a new agendas. The introduction is excerpted below (footnotes omitted) and there is a link to the full statement at the bottom of this post. In late 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission…
Alpha Investor’s Charles Mizrahi on God, Capitalism, and ESG
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow interviewed Alpha Investor’s Charles Mizrahi for Medium about his article on the Biblical basis for capitalism. An excerpt: Over time the “invisible hand of the market” encourages compassion and generosity. Consumers patronize companies that are more socially responsible. Companies that are not, will see a loss of market share. End…
Did Goya’s CEO endorse Trump to prevent a buyout and keep his job?
We’ve heard a lot of crazy and colorfully named anti-takeover devices and strategies over the years, from chewable poison pills to greenmail, golden parachutes, and the Jewish dentists defense, but this is unquestionably the nuttiest, as possibly also the most destructive of shareholder value. [Goya CEO] Bob [Unanue] knew, when he said that [he supported…
The Con: Interview with Eric Vaughan About the Stunning New Series on the Financial Meltdown
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow highly recommends the new series The Con, an exceptionally thorough and compelling history of the 2008 financial meltdown. In an interview with Ms. Minow, series director/co-writer Eric Vaughan talked about making the extremely complicated transactions accessible to the interested-but-not expert viewer, who he wanted to interview but could not get, and…
A “Tectonic Shift” Toward Sustainability: BlackRock Investment Institute
A focus on sustainability can help make portfolios more resilient. We believe the adoption of sustainable investing is a tectonic shift that will carry a return advantage for years to come – and the coronavirus shock seems to be accelerating this shift. via Global Weekly Commentary | BlackRock Investment Institute A commonly held view is…
Corporate Insiders Pocket $1 Billion in Rush for Coronavirus Vaccine – The New York Times
Yet another reason insiders should not be allowed to sell stock until 3-5 years after leaving the company. And yet another reason that boards of directors should be more careful in setting incentive compensation benchmarks to avoid short-term profit-taking. They are making millions of dollars after announcing positive developments, including support from the government, in…
David Sirota on the DOL/EBSA ESG Proposal: A New Trump Rule Could Help Big Oil Crush The Climate Movement
This emblematic two-part story of climate deception starts with a new rule from Donald Trump’s Labor Department. Coming at a moment when fossil fuel companies and their investors are facing huge losses, the Trump rule aims to make it more difficult for pension and 401k administrators to shift workers’ savings out of fossil fuel assets…
