Proxy Access and the Balance of Power in Corporate Governance

(Editor’s Note: This post comes to us from Roy J. Katzovicz of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P.) Our experience with concentrated, long-term investments in large, public companies has taught us that the overwhelming majority of corporate directors are smart, diligent, and capable business people trying the best they can to faithfully discharge their fiduciary duties. They do not, however, always get it right. Something is broken in corporate America. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-02 13:46:42

Blog posts (647) | Videos (299)
 

Recent Tweets from the BARN

The following was sent to the BARN via e-mail (barnmedia@yahoo.com). This is no reflection either way of the BARN’s views or opinions, nor it’s sponsors, but is posted to provoke debate and thought on this subject matter.The Greediest Corporate Agribusiness Move We’ve Ever Seen!Help us defeat Issue 2 and the corporate takeover in Ohio We need your help to stop factory farms from being written into the Ohio constitution.Ohio could become the first state to have corporate agribusiness acting as [more...]

Date: 2009-10-12 00:52:28

LRN Corporation requires Partner Assistance Specialist

About LRN Corporation :LRN has a singular mission: to help inspire principled performance in business. We believe that a corporate culture that governs according to shared values is the ultimate driver of productivity, profit and long-term value. Companies with a reputation for responsible conduct attract and retain the best employees, customers, partners and investors - yielding long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-16 09:49:01

Corporate Jets Redefining The Magic of Flight

Corporate Jets, LLC is the most recent and ambitious chapter in the dynamic and successful career of pilot and aviation professional, Richard Hodkinson. LOS ANGELES, CA, - As a highly experienced professional pilot, Hodkinson’s acute leadership qualities have been honed by having logged over 14,000 hours in the cockpit as well as many years in the boardroom. His venerable background serves to provide Corporate Jets, LLC with unprecedented vision, skill and guidance. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-16 15:34:06

Breaking Through Corporate Health Frontiers

Breaking Through Corporate Health Frontiers SINGAPORE, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ — The rising cost of corporate healthcare is fast becoming a great source of concern for many companies. Based on the assessment by our health minister, Mr. Khaw Boon Wan, healthcare spending in Singapore may rise from current 4 percent of GDP to nearly 10 percent, and when that happens, it would mean that individuals will be spending 12 to 15 percent of their income on medical expenses alone. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 05:24:32

Corporate Acquisition Group Issues Valuation Refund

Over the past two months I have made some posts talking about Ty Tymkovich and Corporate Acquisitions Group. Corporate Acquisitions Group finds investors for businesses and I listed one of my companies with him just over a year ago. Corporate Acquisitions Group has a simple service guarantee: If they don [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 18:00:07

Corporate SEO Services

You would either have to be new to the industry or under a rock to not notice how the SEO industry has become more corporate over the past 3 or 4 years. The trend has been slow and gradual with many small steps, but I thought it would be a good idea to try to put the pieces together. What started off as a 5 minute project took a couple hours. I hope you like it! If you are a creative thinker you should be able to get a number of actionable ideas by thinking about how such trends will change your market. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-21 05:15:10

U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets

Facebook, too - everyone’s favourite outlet for the minutest details of their lives - had, or has, a connection to In-Q-Tel . And in case you’re a mite skeptical about whether it’s of any importance whether someone in company A also sits on the board of company B while investing in company C, I’d invite you to do some research on the purpose and function of shell, or dummy corporations . Interlocking board memberships are just the way corporations move money around in order to obscure its source. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-19 16:40:31

A Down-n-Dirty Primer on Launching a Freelance Writing Home Business

Got a virtual intro to ‘Howie’ this week. Seems he’s left Corporate America where he was a marketing communications hack and is hoping to make a go as a corporate copywriter. My advice to Howie… Hey Howie. Good to (virtually) meet you. My simple net-net to launching a home-based writing business is to Build on Your Strengths. Grab the domain (my suggested catchy moniker is excluded here, at least until he grabs it) - it’s available; I just checked at GoDaddy. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 09:47:23

Galleon case a warning to corp dev leaders

You could go to a lot of conferences on best practices in corporate development in recent years without hearing much about how to stay out of trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That may change given that a couple of corporate executives involved in deals were among those charged by the SEC on Friday in connection with a major insider-trading case. At the center of the case is Raj Rajaratnam, co-founder of the tech-focused hedge fund Galleon Group. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-19 15:54:19

Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them: Featuring Michelle Campbell of AlixPartners

Bio for this week's Superwoman JD: Michelle Campbell leads the strategic communications practice at AlixPartners, LLP, a global firm of senior business and consulting professionals that specializes in improving corporate financial and operational performance, executing corporate turnarounds and providing litigation consulting and forensic accounting services when it really matters – in urgent, high-impact situations.      She consults with clients to strategically plan communications campaigns [more...]

Date: 2009-08-01 22:13:43

In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group European private equity LBO activity shows signs of life. The Swiss government makes a 26% annualised return on the UBS bail-out. Global corporate bond issuance for 2009 is already more than $1 trillion. These are but a  few highlights  of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed. Economic Backdrop Ben Bernanke reinforced hopes that the global economy is on the mend. [more...]

Date: 2009-08-24 10:00:27

Intermediate Financial Management (with Thomson One): Eugene F. Brigham, Phillip R. Daves

Editorial Reviews “Why aren’t you using the ONLY book expressly written for your Intermediate/Advanced Corporate Finance course?” This comprehensive text contains enough background material to refresh and reinforce earlier courses in corporate finance while still providing enough advanced material to stimulate the most advanced learner. The predominant strengths of clarity, current coverage, and friendliness to learner and instructors continue in this new edition. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 12:13:43

“Socialized” state-funded Medical Care saved my Left Foot

At a cost so far of under $20,000.  The so-called “Free” market unregulated Corporate Profiteering pretty much Fucked Off the right foot, at a cost of approximately half a million. Through 14 years of medical neglect, denial of MY right to petition the Government for redress of Grievances through tort action against among others, the Largest Corporation In America, (Halliburton) who were responsible for the accident that broke my foot to Hell and beyond in the first place. Denial of Basic Health Care. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 03:44:07

Help Create a New Army of Progressive Journalists

       Powerful corporate interests like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are spending millions to block real change in health care, climate change policies and workers’ rights. They are aided by the corporate-controlled media and its budget slashing for reporting and investigative staff. Workers are fighting back against the lack of real news by looking for ways to preserve investigative journalism and get the truth out to the public. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-12 13:00:16

A Movement Hijacked

It's been brilliant and largely unnoticed - at least not all the dots have been connected. But for now it looks like corporations are solidly in the driver's seat. They have captured the momentum from 2006 and 2008 public angst, turned it on its head, and are now using it to protect their own profits. The clueless tea baggers, birthers, and tenthers don't even realize they are actually helping protect corporate profits when they advocate against government regulations. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-15 17:30:38

Consultant (Kuwait)

Employer: Career HuntersIndustry: Finance and AccountsLocation: KuwaitMain responsibilities: Responsible for financial and business restricting,setting up systems & processes including formulation of Policies & Procedures, revamping working capital management involving effective credit control management . Would be responsible for GAAP accounting, financial systems and processes, budgeting and Tax, MIS reporting, HR corporate secretarial, legal, corporate governance, etc. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-25 20:22:42

Words from the (Investment) Wise (October 18, 2009)

Risky assets remained in favor during the past week, generally helped along by fairly robust economic data and better-than-expected corporate earnings reports. A number of bourses, crude oil, inflation-linked bonds and high-yielding corporate bonds and currencies recorded fresh highs for the year, whereas gold hit an all-time high of $1,070.20 per ounce. Assets such as government bonds and the US dollar saw fading demand as safe havens, now that the global economy is on the mend. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-18 13:21:01

Unisys Corporation Files To Raise Cash (UIS)

Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) has filed to sell up to $660 million in a mixed securities shelf ... package or some large acquisition and/or the thought of a reverse merger improve the company's fortunes ... . The company listed the use of funds from the net proceeds as for general corporate purposes [more...]

Date: 2008-11-26 22:01:17

Without Health-Care Reform, the Customer Is Always Wrong

by Anonymous Guest Contributor10-21-2009 From my up-close-and-personal perspective as a cancer survivor, I couldn’t agree more with LaVonne Neff’s main point: it is the system, rather than insurance corporations, that is to blame for 18,000 unnecessary deaths a year in this country. Of course, it’s true that corporations and their management do commit evil, and sometimes illegal, acts, as Neff also points out. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 19:00:54

Opinion: Kiwi$ world’s strongest performing currency; over 75 USc

By Mike Jones The NZD has been the strongest performing currency over the past 24 hours. Broad-based USD weakness and surging risk appetite combined to send the NZD/USD rocketing over 0.7500. Overnight, global equity markets picked up where they left off last week. The US corporate earnings season continues to impress which is supporting the sense that US corporates have emerged from the crisis in okay shape. Both Gannet and Eaton beat estimates last night, helping the S&P500 to a new 12-month high. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-19 19:58:48

Cott Corporation – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Cott Corporation ( COT ) has posted big earnings surprises of 240% and 528% the last two quarters. With third quarter results due on Oct 29, will it keep its streak intact? Company Description Cott manufactures non-alcoholic beverages and is one of the world's largest retailers of brand soft drinks. It partners with customers to produce private label soft drinks as well as distributes its own brands under the names Cott, RC, Ben Shaws, Stars & Stripes, Vintage and Vess. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 05:00:00

Merger News Sends Wall St. Higher

Corporate mergers and acquisitions all but dried up during last year’s financial crisis. But on Monday, Wall Street bounded higher on signs that companies once again had enough cash, credit and confidence to undertake big-ticket deals, The New York Times’s Jack Healy reported.Announcements of two separate deals by Xerox and the pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories were the latest in a small flurry of corporate deal-making. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 08:15:55

How to Start a Business in a Recession

Too often, many would-be entrepreneurs spend all of their time planning their corporate structure, getting all of the necessary permits, licenses, ... your corporate presence, you won’t have any money left to pay yourself when you have to go back ... t get a bank account. Your personal banking account will work just fine if someone wants to write you a [more...]

Date: 2009-03-28 01:42:15

Every 1 in 2 Indian Corporates are Unhappy. Are you in or Out?

More than half of corporate India's workforce suffers from various chronic and lifestyle diseases, with those in the information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITES), media, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and financial services topping the list, says an industry group report.A study by the Associated Chambers of commerce [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 12:34:53

Legal Fictions, Surrealism and Fantasy in the Post-Modern World

LEGAL FICTIONS AND THE SANCTITY OF CONTRACTS – A LOT OF NICE BULL Corporations, limited liability companies, banks, financial entities, ... , sales, purchases, transfers, mergers, and reorganizations – and in every case, real people keep ... by too many in corporate America is that every business enterprise is essentially a group of dedicated [more...]

Date: 2009-03-16 23:53:31

Sinking Fund Eases Strain Of Annual Expenses

If you listen to personal financial advice very long you are bound to hear the term “sinking fund” tossed around ... , in the context of corporate finance, is a sum of money identified by a corporation to be held aside over time ... . In the personal finance world we can use sinking funds to help prepare for large, infrequent expenses [more...]

Date: 2009-03-21 10:00:05

Lawyer Layoff Surge is Hitting In-House Counsel Hard, Too

It isn't just BigLaw private practitioners who are getting the ax as corporations struggling to cope with the dismal economy cut legal expenses. Many in-house corporate lawyers are being laid off, too, reports the National Law Journal. "Name an industry where you've seen a significant problem, and attorneys are experiencing it along [more...]

Date: 2009-03-24 00:41:28

Bankers: Too Busy to Work on Mergers?

One of the central problems in the credit crisis was that banks depended too much on ratings agencies to sign off on the value of subprime-mortgage-related securities. Are we in for rerun in corporate America, with corporate boards depending too much on investment bankers to do their thinking for them? “Boards are looking [more...]

Date: 2009-04-03 17:00:54

PBGC — Lessons Learned From a “Federal Corporation”

Good Evening: Stocks rallied back to recoup some of yesterday’s losses and exited the month of March with the best monthly gain in six years. Even with today’s pop, though, the S&P 500 still managed to lose almost 12% during the first quarter. The rally was certainly good news for the folks at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [more...]

Date: 2009-04-01 06:31:59

Leasing Cheap £656.65 inc VAT

Woo-hoo! I have just uploaded a new lease deal to my car leasing and contract hire website! This is damn cheap, filling your boots! ... employed staff with as much drive as a Reliant Robin and are up to their necks in corporate bullshit. Car manufacturers in general overproduce cars, generate the corporate bullshit that suffocates [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 17:00:50

Monday column

Grow and Die "Grow or die" is one of the corporate mantras of the late 20th century ... that is modern finance-driven corporatism, requires constant growth. Rather like great white sharks, which ... , the financial sector accounted for around 12 percent of American corporate profits, never reaching 20 percent [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 08:12:00

Will Mergers Live On in Asia?

M&A activity has ground to a halt across the globe. Could Asia be the first place for a rebound? ... % of corporate executives in Asia expect to be involved in at least one merger or acquisition in the next 12 ... , a partner in Norton Rose Group’s Hong Kong corporate-finance practice. “There isn’t the deal [more...]

Date: 2009-01-20 10:00:48

Links: 2009-04-01

Lessons from Japan’s failed fiscal stimulus - Vox Eu Obama’s Ersatz Capitalism - Joseph Stiglitz, ... Good history and a must read Pissed Off at the Corporate Banking Industry? Here’s an Easy Way ... Chicago Sun-Times parent files for bankruptcy Fiat SpA Long-Term Corporate Credit Rating Cut [more...]

Date: 2009-04-01 12:33:03

Toyota Motors Corporation (NYSE:TM) - Significant increase in common stock price since our previous company news alert.

Toyota Motors Corporation’s (Toyota Motors) common stock has appreciated significantly since our supplement to the 2Q 09 update report, ... and Authorized by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and registered with the Securities Exchange ... . Such decisions should only be made on the basis of independent advice from an appropriately qualified adviser [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 16:25:30

Financing Solutions: What Is A Merchant Banking Operation?

October 6, 2009 | By Amy Nutt In Online Business | by Amy NuttIn today’s diverse and unpredictable economy, the need for a sustained profit plan and long term growth strategy has become essential for both individuals and corporations. Merchant banking principally involves providing financial services and advice for individuals and corporations. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-06 06:23:55

Red Hat Opts for Pragmatism Over Glitz

Behold Jim Whitehurst’s iron-willed pragmatism. Mr. Whitehurst, the chief executive at Red Hat, ... I have refocused us on the corporate market and away from the consumer market.”I’d like to say that Mr ... will just keep focusing on selling support and services to corporate customers. It’s a model that led to 18 [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 21:37:49

Bonuses for Bad Performance

Merrill Lynch’s former chief executive, John A. Thain, ... excesses in executive compensation.Is it time to make corporate compensation less reliant on bonuses? Here ... of the Center on Corporate Governance at Columbia University Law School.Although the public [more...]

Date: 2009-01-29 22:30:48

Would you ‘Kumo’ it?

Would you ‘Kumo’ it? Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 4:54 pm Categories: Corporate strategy, Code names, Search, Yahoo Tags: Microsoft Live Search, Microsoft Corp., LiveSide.Net Folk, Mergers & Acquisitions, Workforce Management, Corporate Law, Search, Investment, Finance, Human Resources A few months back, I noted Microsoft [more...]

Date: 2008-11-24 00:54:54

Manulife Financial Corporation’s Second Quarter Earnings Increase to $1.77 Billion

Manulife Financial Corporation’s Second Quarter Earnings Increase to $1.77 BillionC$ unless otherwise statedTSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945- Solid performance reported across key business areas – Additional progress in variable annuity hedging, rebalancing and de-risking product portfolio – Capital position at satisfactory levels – Given continued economic volatility, dividend reducedTORONTO, Aug. [more...]

Date: 2009-08-06 14:22:50

Still a chance to defeat French 3 strikes law

p2pnet news view | P2P | Politics:- The governments in France and New Zealand have said they’re willing to to act as a taxpayer-funded corporate copyright enforcers. ISPs would ‘punish’ anyone the corporate movie and music industries claim are ‘illegal’ downloaders. The cartels are having trouble in New Zealand where ISP TelstraClear [more...]

Date: 2009-03-18 11:01:07

Half of corporate sector workforce unwell: Assocham

New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) More than half of corporate India’s workforce suffers from various chronic and lifestyle diseases, with those in the information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITES), media, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and financial services topping the list, says an industry group report [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 11:05:38

Guest Post: Charlotte Observer pitches softball, Ken Lewis hits homer

Submitted by Rolfe Winkler , CFA , publisher of OptionARMageddon ... read like the standard puffery one finds in corporate press releases. If the interviewers asked any ... his corporate talking points. The article is topped by a cheery and totally misleading headline: "Lewis [more...]

Date: 2009-03-18 20:39:00

Is there a quality premium anomaly ?

Robert Waldmann I don't know anything about finance. Taking my advice on how to invest would be like tacking Moody's universe of rated corporate ... for corporate bonds by Moody's rating. Note it is based on data from the last century. Default events [more...]

Date: 2009-03-22 06:11:00

Charlotte Observer pitches softball, Ken Lewis hits homer

The Charlotte Observer deserves a big fat Bronx Cheer for prostituting its pages ... . The quotes read like the standard puffery one finds in corporate press releases ... to recite his corporate talking points. The article is topped by a cheery and totally misleading [more...]

Date: 2009-03-18 21:26:07

Pay for Performance Act of 2009

House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank is taking his TARP mandate and the Obama Corporate Management Strategy to the next logical step by ... will have the beneficial effect of causing any corporate CEO or Board of Directors to think long and hard [more...]

Date: 2009-03-31 21:20:16

E-Commerce Guide Features My Tips for Effective Corporate Use of Twitter

E-Commerce Guide reporter Vangie Beal interviewed me about how corporations can use Twitter effectively ... in-house, it's smart to have an experienced consultant to act as your Sherpa guide, at least initially. o Twitter is a worthwhile investment for businesses that use the service as a way [more...]

Date: 2009-03-18 14:15:21

AIG probes in 20 U.S. states

(CNN) — Twenty state attorneys general announced investigations Friday into the $165 million bonuses paid out by insurance giant AIG last week, ... about corporate compensation to employees as well as investment decisions by AIG Financial Products Corporation [more...]

Date: 2009-03-21 00:55:42

Ralph Anspach: Economist Spent Decades Fighting Monopoly Game’s Corporate Owner

Ralph Anspach, an 83-year-old economics professor, spent decades locked in a real-life battle with Monopoly and its corporate owners. The campaign dented his finances, sent him on a nationwide trek for intelligence and sparked a legal case that reached the steps of the Supreme Court. More on Supreme Court [more...]

Date: 2009-10-20 05:25:34

Executive Bonuses Triggering Lawsuits Nationwide

Executive bonuses might be stirring public outrage these days, but they're still alive and well in corporate America -- and triggering a variety of litigation. The lawsuits range from corporate officers who allege their companies reneged on bonuses to officers [more...]

Date: 2009-04-07 00:44:47

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