German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW), which last year admitted to falsifying emissions data in its diesel cars around the world, has reached a $10.03 billion settlement with US authorities and former and current diesel car owners. If approved by US regulators, VW has agreed to buy back cars, terminate lease deals or modify cars for free. It […]
Read MoreSustainability reporting in the US needs improvement according to the chair of its Security and Exchange Commission, Mary Jo White, in her key note address at the International Corporate Governance Network conference that took place in San Francisco this week. She said the regulator, along with companies and investors, needed to do more work on sustainability reporting including on whether, […]
Read MoreMoves to regulate proxy research would undermine relationships with shareholders, compromise research integrity and eliminate competition say global investors. Proposed regulation contradicts moves to improve objectivity in sell-side space. The US House of Representatives’ Finance Services Committee last week passed a series of Bills which seek to repeal large chunks of the Dodd-Frank Act which was passed in […]
Read MoreExecutive pay firm, Semler Brossey, has analysed the relationship between the shareholder support given in elections of remuneration committee members and chairs and the result of the say on pay votes at US company AGMs. The study of director election results between 2014 and 2016 found that over 80% of director elections have received vote support […]
Read MoreUS investors passed the first shareholder resolution in a decade at ExxonMobil when they voted to back the proxy access resolution at its recent AGM. The non-binding resolution called for the oil company to give investors that have jointly held at least 3% of its common stock for at least three years the ability to nominate directors using […]
Read MoreShareholder resolutions requesting reporting on how oil companies ExxonMobil and Chevron will adapt to climate change targets received record investor backing at their AGMs last week (25th May), according to US pressure group, Ceres. The resolution that would have required ExxonMobil to prepare an annual report examining the implications to the company’s business if world leaders follow […]
Read MoreUS legislators held a hearing recently (17th May) which considered possible bills which they believe would improve US financial transparency, regulation and capital market formation, including a proposal “To improve the quality of proxy advisory firms for the protection of investors and the U.S. economy, and in the public interest, by fostering accountability, transparency, responsiveness, and […]
Read MoreThe US federation of trade unions, the AFL-CIO, has released its latest Executive Paywatch data which it says shows the average CEO of an S&P 500 company received an annual income of $12.4 million in 2015—335 times more money than the average rank-and-file worker. The AFL-CIO said its figures showed that in 2015 the average production and non-supervisory worker earned about $36,900 per […]
Read MoreThe US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has announced that its rules to improve the transparency of the audit by disclosing the names of audit engagement partners, as well as information about other firms that participate in the audits, were approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Audit firms are required to file with the PCAOB […]
Read MoreThe US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ruled that oil giants, ExxonMobil and Chevron, need to include shareholder proposals at their AGMs requesting information on the impact on their businesses of the policies on reducing carbon emissions and responding to global warming. Both companies had sought permission to block a shareholder vote on the proposals […]
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