So it’s not just shareholder meetings that have voting problems. The UK’s general election collapsed into the realms of farce this week with disenfranchised voters complaining of lost ballot cards, out of date voting registers and exclusion from polling stations – now where have we heard those complaints before? So, why can we usher thousands of private […]
Read MoreThe UK’s High Court has granted an injunction prohibiting the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) from taking any further steps in its plea bargain settlement with BAE Systems. SFO has been investigating alleged bribery and corruption in BAE’s arms deals since 2004 in several countries (including Chile, Czech Republic, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South […]
Read MoreBall Corp, an Indiana-incorporated company, has faced shareholder proposals in four of the past five years (2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009) to declassify its board. In each year, despite board opposition, the proposal received majority support from shareholders voting for and against. Despite the message from shareholders, the board took no action to address their concerns. […]
Read MoreAmendments to ‘Broker Voting Rule’ yield unexpected results The long-awaited change to NYSE Rule 452, effective Jan. 1, 2010, reclassifying uncontested director elections as ‘non-routine’ items, thereby eliminating the discretion of brokers to vote uninstructed shares, also makes it more difficult for companies with no routine matters on the ballot to achieve a quorum. Under […]
Read MoreThe UK’s Finanancial Reporting Council has issued a series of proposal to reform the UK’s corporate governance regime. What was previously called “The Combined Code” now becomes “The UK Corporate Governance Code” and, subject to consultation, will apply to all listed companies with a Premium Listing for financial years beginning on or after 29 June 2010, […]
Read MoreThis month’s guest article has been written by Catherine Howarth, CEO of FairPensions. Corporate governance reform isn’t perhaps the most glamorous area of public policy for your ordinary man or woman on the street. Indeed it’s easy to forget how vital it is to the long-term well-being of millions of citizens, particularly those of us with a […]
Read MoreNext week’s vote on the appointment of KPMG plc at Rentokil (15 May) looks to be more than usually interesting. While the cut price deal struck by KPMG offers a 30% headline discount, concerned investors are questioning the real hidden costs of blurring lines of accountability to management on the one hand and the real audit […]
Read MoreUBS has confirmed that it will be seeking a formal liability discharge at next month’s AGM for the board members and senior executives involved in the bank’s management during the financial crisis. No liability discharge resolution has been proposed for the past two financial years due to ongoing internal and external investigations into the multi-billion dollar write-offs the company […]
Read MoreWhile shareholder resolutions and countermotions are still relatively rare in Europe, they are a core feature of the US market. Here Allie Monaco of ProxyGovernance has highlighted some of February and March’s more interesting proposals.
Read MoreThe NAPF has written to the Chairmen of all FTSE 350 companies urging executive pay restraint and making it clear that company remuneration should be aligned with the long-term interests of shareholders, including pension funds. The letter suggests that a review of accepted best practice is warranted as it ‘serves neither shareholders nor management well’. […]
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