Bausch Health Cos BHC -3.08% . agreed Friday to pay $45 million to resolve regulatory claims that it improperly booked some revenue and misled investors about the impact of a significant price increase on a single drug. The Securities and Exchange Commission said three former executives also agreed to pay penalties to settle the agency’s…
Minerva Comment Letter on DOL/EBSA ESG Proposal
From the comment filed by Minerva Analytics on the DOL/EBSA ESG proposal (full text attached below): The Proposed Rules stand in stark contrast to many OECD markets and appear to contradict decades of guidance from the DoL which has allowed ERISA-regulated retirement plans to invest responsibly and take ESG factors into account, under appropriately strict…
Two senators demand answers from Wells Fargo following NBC News reports
Citing a recent investigation by NBC News, two U.S. senators have asked the chief executive of Wells Fargo to answer extensive questions about the bank’s practice of pausing mortgage payments for borrowers without their consent under a federal program designed to help homeowners financially hurt by COVID-19. The senators, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Brian…
CII Comment on Proposed DOL ESG Rule
CII’s comment to DOL/EBSA includes an outstanding list of empirical studies supporting the financial impact of ESG factors. The full comment is below. An excerpt: We also believe the Proposed Rule would create significant burdens of proof for investment approaches that emphasize investment risk and opportunities around ill-defined ESG matters, without subjecting funds that dismiss…
Supplemental Comment Letter to SEC on Shareholder Proposals
A group of investors has filed a supplemental comment with the SEC asking for withdrawal of the proposed rule restricting shareholder proposals. The full comment is below. An excerpt: This evidence demonstrates that the economic harm that the amendments could cause if they were finalized far outweighs the de minimis purported benefits cited in the…
VEA Vice Chair Quoted: Divided SEC Passes Controversial Proxy Advisor Rule
Nell Minow, Vice Chair of ValueEdge Advisors and a co-founder and former president of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), takes a different view on the proxy advisor rules. She told me that the rulemaking procedure is deficient in several different ways, and could be subject to court challenge. Initially, the Commission acted without proper regard…
BlackRock Shows Resolve and Restraint in Public Climate Test – Bloomberg
In the first major test of BlackRock Inc.’s commitment to use its vast influence and resources to fight climate change, the asset manager showed a capacity both for combativeness and restraint. The $6.5 trillion firm said in a report on Tuesday it identified 244 companies during the 2020 annual proxy season that weren’t doing enough…
Why did so many ESG funds back Boohoo?
Just weeks before Boohoo was hit with fresh allegations about poor working practices in factories that make its clothes, MSCI gave the UK fast-fashion retailer a clean bill of health. The rating and index provider reiterated Boohoo’s double A rating — its second-highest ranking — while highlighting how it scored far above the industry average on…
If Black Lives Really Matter to the Rich, Philanthropy Isn’t Enough – The New York Times
Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation writes in The NY Times: No chief executive, investor or rich person wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror, and says, “Today, I want to go out and create more inequality in America.” And yet, all too often, that is exactly what happens. Even before the…
Qualcomm’s corporate board sued for lack of diversity, failure to appoint Black directors – The San Diego Union-Tribune
A Qualcomm shareholder has sued the company’s corporate directors for failing to bring Blacks onto the board or into top executive roles while repeatedly touting diversity efforts in public. The lawsuit, which comes in the wake of widespread Black Lives Matter protests over racial inequality, is one of three shareholder derivative legal actions recently filed…
