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…
The Case Against Lehman Brothers – 60 Minutes
Did you see 60 Minutes last night? About SEC failure to do anything about Lehman Brothers. Watch.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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
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…
Private Equity
Private equity is another Wall Street process by which a few people make an enormous amount of money at public cost …
Davos report: The Future of Capitalism
To Serve Society Better, Capitalism Needs a Redesign Adrian Monck, Managing Director, Head of Communications: +41 (0)79 817 0315; adrian.monck@weforum.org While how well the business community is meeting its social responsibilities is a matter of debate, efforts are needed to ensure that capitalism is fair and better serves society…
The Six Primary Symptoms of Government Capture
American corporations today are like the great European monarchies of yore: They have the power to control the rules under which they function and to direct the allocation of public resources. This is not a prediction of what’s to come; this is a simple statement of the present state…
Let Us Buy Elections
Mark Magee’s Citizen United cartoon from 2009. Strikes a chord in this election year…
