Wednesday, May 2, 2012

SEC - Where is the public good?

Jesse Eisinger posted a very good piece on the SEC and ratings agencies today (SEC keeps the Ratings Game Rigged). He writes about the Egan-Jones case, "This is your S.E.C., folks. It courageously assails tiny firms, and at the pace of a three-toed sloth. And when it goes after… May 2, 2012

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A Happy Monopoly - Ratings Agencies

Happy monopoly describes the ongoing status of the SEC approved rating companies (Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations – NRSRO).  Notwithstanding that the Financial Crisis Investigation Commission and Senator Carl Levin’s Subcommittee on Oversight confronted the CEOs of the big ratings firms whose crisis-related pay went up by a multiple… April 24, 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012

The Case Against Lehman Brothers - 60 Minutes

Did you see 60 Minutes last night?  About SEC failure to do anything about Lehman Brothers.  Watch. April 23, 2012

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Citigroup Shareholders

55% of Citigroup shareholders voted against the proposed pay package for the CEO, Vickram Pandit.  Will this impact votes at other companies?   More in the video... April 19, 2012 | Say on Pay , shareholder activism , CEO Pay , proxy , shareholder resolutions

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Say on Pay Redux

Seems Say on Pay (and CEO pay, in general) is on everyone's mind.  Thought I'd share a couple of things from the news of the last 24 hours. GMI's Paul Hodgson has an op-ed in the Washington Post (The Original Sin of Executive Pay) and says, "Not all CEOs… April 18, 2012

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Say on Pay

Gretchen Morgenson of the NYT wrote recently ("When Shareholders Make Their Voices Heard," April 8, 2012) about Say on Pay and indications that, "some companies seem to be listening."  This is heartening news  indeed but I still have reservations about Say on Pay because, in the end, precatory proposals… April 17, 2012 | Say on Pay , CEO Pay , shareholder resolutions , shareholder activism , boards of directors

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Confronting Power

The only way I know to combat corporate power as it now stands is for government to exercise its powers as owners of a preponderance of publicly traded stock. Self-regulation didn't work and any attempts at government regulation are thwarted or circumnavigated. You can't control a corporation from outside… April 5, 2012 | fiduciary duty , CEO power , Capture , Corporate Power , Government Capture , Money in Politics , ownership

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Interview on Responsible Investor TV

My thanks to the folks at Responsible Investor for this very nice interview.  RI is one of my trusted resources for corporate governance news so I'm happy to have had the chance to talk with them... March 13, 2012

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Effective consumer action means collective action

I read an interesting article in Yes Magazine recently (Watch Us Move Our Missions, 02/01/12). It profiled cities, organizations and churches moving their money out of banks that they consider to have had a negative impact on society. You might have heard about Bank Transfer Day. I, honestly, didn’t hear too much… March 7, 2012

Monday, February 6, 2012

Attacking Proxy Advisors

  Since the passage of Dodd-Frank, in the summer of 2010, there has been a constant drumbeat from representatives of the corporate community, particularly the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, regarding the need for an increased level of regulatory oversight focused on proxy advisory firms.  … February 6, 2012 | proxy , Capture , SEC , institutional investors , shareholder activism

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Jack Bogle & Paul Volcker

A great discussion between Jack Bogle and Paul Volcker, moderated by Kathleen Hays at the John Bogle Legacy Forum on Tuesday in New York.  They discussed long-term investing, transaction tax, securities markets, opposition to the Volcker Rule at Davos, liquidity, and more.  Boble, said, "I have an idea that… February 2, 2012

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Are corporations the best model -- or just the best we have?

In a recent article, Seven ways to fix the system's flaws, Martin Wolf wrote, "The corporation is the best institution we know of for running large, complex and dynamic businesses."  I agree it is the best option we have so far.  That doesn't mean, however that we shouldn't make… January 26, 2012 | capitalism , capitalism , self-regulation