(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Procter & Gamble Co.'s 2019 outlook is starting to look more attainable. The company behind brands such as Pampers diapers and Dawn dish soap reported Friday that organic sales — a figure that excludes M&A and currency effects — rose a robust 4 percent in the first quarter over a year earlier. That made for P&G's strongest growth on this measure in five years...
The ability of dissident shareholders to annually place proxy proposals that get handily defeated each year should be curtailed to allow shareholders and board members to focus on serious issues germane to the operation of the company...
As we have in the past, Fortune collaborated with our partner Korn Ferry Hay Group on this survey of corporate reputations. We began with a universe of about 1,500 candidates: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more...
Social media: A friend and a foe! Powerful “level playing” platform, yet a mechanism for exposure to legal snafus. Avoid ad-hoc tweeting. Breathe and deliberate before you tweet!!...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- David Einhorn's decision to take a stake in BT Group Plc may provide just the boost needed to convince Britain's former national carrier to sell a stake in its traditional network. That probably won't satisfy the activist investor. When it became apparent back in May that BT was willing to at least consider selling a stake in its Openreach operation, CEO Gavin Patterson's goal seemed to be to fend off prospective activist investors and keep his job. He failed at both...
CBS Corp. sought to turn the page on a tumultuous stretch when it said last month that Leslie Moonves was stepping down as chairman and chief executive amid sexual-harassment accusations and that the media company was settling litigation with its controlling shareholder. Instead, the boardroom drama continued. On Sept. 25, the company announced that its lead independent director Bruce Gordon was stepping down, surprising many people close to the company...
Like outstanding entrepreneurs before him, there comes a time when breaking all the rules has adverse effects. For Musk and Tesla, this time is now. To improve the business, the board of directors needs critical skills and experience. - here are recommendations...
Regulation and state intervention in the economy has a bad rap in the US. The Trump government claims that its deregulation drive (mostly in the environmental and financial spheres), is at least partly responsible for the economic miracle. The other day, Trump wrote an op-ed in US Today warning against regulation and state meddling in healthcare, more specifically plans from the Democrats involving extending Medicare to all US citizens...
The number of public activist campaigns increased sharply in 1H 2018, following a slowing trend in 2016 and 2017 as compared to 2014 and 2015. There were roughly 150 campaigns globally in 1H 2018, up from about 100 in 1H 2017...
A new-look board could allow Tesla to re-examine its product lineup and provide needed oversight of the occasionally erratic Musk...
Shares of Papa John's International (NASDAQ: PZZA) surged 9% last Tuesday on rumors that the pizzeria owner may be bought out. An activist investor recently purchased stock in the company, while founder and former chairman John Schnatter has reportedly been in talks with private equity firms to help him buy back the business. After a year of controversy, investors are desperately looking for a catalyst to propel their shares higher...
For anyone who thinks that Starbucks ' ( NASDAQ:SBUX ) long growth arc has started to level out, there's a billionaire who disagrees, and he's putting his investors' money where his mouth is. Bill Ackman's hedge fund, Pershing Square, has taken a $900 million stake in the coffeehouse chain, and he sees the stock doubling in the next three years...
Long-Term Economic Consequences of Hedge Fund Activist Interventions, from the Rock Center for Corporate Governance , examines just that ...
Ladies and gentlemen, we have board drama at Tesla! I live. I’m going to read some tea leaves, because James Murdoch very rarely speaks on the record. Last week, The New York Times indicated that “some directors” thought Murdoch might do a really good job as the new chairman of the Tesla board, now that Elon Musk is being forced by SEC settlement to step down...
When Harvey Weinstein was fired a year ago this week, commentators were quick to point out that all of his board members were men. Similarly, when Leslie Moonves was forced out of CBS last month, many noted that just three of the company’s 14 directors were women. The #MeToo movement has raised a question that often follows corporate disasters: Could this have been avoided if more women were in charge?...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Nobody really roots for banks after what happened 10 years ago — except for maybe politicians in New York, who intuitively grasp that banks generate a lot of tax revenue. Bankers and traders aren’t the most sympathetic characters, but a lot of people have lost sight of the fact that a healthy banking system is central to a healthy economy and everyone’s well-being generally...
No doubt, boards benefit from a range of viewpoints represented by differing backgrounds, life experiences and ages. But, it has been shown that there are added benefits from gender diversity...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Last October, it felt like Procter & Gamble Co.'s annual meeting might end up being a turning point in the effort to revitalize the company behind brands such as Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste. Activist investor Nelson Peltz had been agitating for a spot on P&G's board as he called for a long list of changes, and the consumer-goods giant had spent big money to try secure enough votes to deny him a seat at the table...
The coup that has resulted in the exit of Mark Wilson as chief executive of Aviva was executed with some skill.To the outside world, Monday marked a mundane start to the insurer’s working week. It was anything but. Just a day later and its CEO of six years is putting his feet up – sorry, “assisting with the transition”, which he will be doing until next April when his contractual gardening leave comes to an end...
California’s new law not only fails to recognize the gains women have made, it implies that women are undeserving based on their own merits...