A shareholder resolution tabled at BP’s AGM calling for more financial, environmental and social information on the implications of extracting oil sands has managed to achieve 6% of votes in favour. Taking abstentions or votes positively witheld, the company was only able to achieve 85% support for its approach to this controversial exploration scheme. Over 140 institutional investors, including several […]
Read MoreThe US Senate has revealed its proposals to overhaul the American financial system through Senator Christopher Dodd’s “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010”. Across 1,336 pages the Bill outlines a series of remedies which it states will end “too big to fail” and restore responsibility and accountability to the markets. Commentators have observed that the […]
Read MoreLord Myners has supported calls for reform of the Takeover Code in the UK, but made it clear that “The owners of firms that have lost so much from ill-advised takeovers must generate the momentum for reform”. Myners was speaking at the public policy think-tank, The Smith Institute, where he laid out his most comprehensive […]
Read MoreThe annual report of former AIM-traded company Meldex International plc for the December 2008 year end has been published and includes revealing statements from the new CEO about the serious lapses in corporate governance during the tenure of his predecessor. In June 2009, Meldex, the Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company whose shares were suspended in December 2008, […]
Read MoreCSR Asia has announced the launch of a major new initiative to help improve Asian reporting standards. The Asian Sustainability Rating provides an in depth assessment of CSR related disclosure of 200 of the largest companies across ten countries in Asia. According to CSR Asia, this is the first Asian based analysis of the largest […]
Read MoreThe Nominations Committee of the Board of ITV plc has terminated its discussions with CEO candidate Tony Ball, bringing to an end the speculation about a potential £30 million salary package. In a regulatory news announcement published at 12:36pm today (25th Sept 2009) the Committee said that it had “negotiated exhaustively with Mr Ball, and throughout has been fully cognisant […]
Read MoreAs the UK gears up for the national elections on May, the general public has now received nearly all of their “notices of meeting” ahead of casting their ballots. Sadly, there won’t be any electronic voting – but then the residents of Florida would probably say we should be grateful for a stubby little pencil […]
Read MoreA coalition of international investors representing $2.1 trillion in assets is upping its scrutiny of ‘laggard’ listed companies with a view to improving their reporting of ESG issues. The 86 companies have been targetted for their failure to honour the reporting requirements of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative. “Companies […]
Read MoreFebruary’s Guest Article is by Louise Rouse, FairPensions’ Director of Investor Engagement and looks at their recent initiative to engage with leading oil producers about their oil sands projects The 2010 AGM season could herald both a new era of public accountability for companies and their investors and a template for future shareholder activism. Having […]
Read MoreManifest has released it’s first executive remuneration analysis using the Obermatt Bonus Index. The analysis of Swiss-quoted Novartis shows that former CEO Daniel Vasella’s received a bonus in 2009 almost three times the amount he would have been due based on the relative earnings growth of the company’s peer universe. According to Manifest’s calculations, Vasella’s total […]
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