WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday voted in favor of allowing investors who vote by proxy more freedom to choose their candidates during contested corporate board elections, as the agency’s Democratic leadership seeks to bolster the voting rights of shareholders...

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp board is debating whether to continue with several major oil and gas projects amid a global push from investors for fossil fuel companies to be more cost-conscious and green-energy friendly, WSJ reported on Wednesday. Activist investor Engine No. 1 in May shocked the oil-and-gas industry when three of its four nominees were elected to the board by Exxon shareholders, who were frustrated by weak returns and the company’s flagging attention to climate concerns...

Oct 5 (Reuters) - Carl Icahn holds a significant stake in Southwest Gas Holdings Inc (SWX.N) and is pushing the gas distribution company to abandon a potential acquisition and instead focus on improving its share price, a letter from the activist investor detailed on Tuesday. Southwest Gas has agreed to acquire Questar Pipeline Co, a gas transportation and storage business owned by Dominion Energy Inc (D.N), in an all-cash transaction...

A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that an activist investor can be sued for allegedly making false statements in a heated proxy fight that got two of its nominees elected to a firm’s board of directors. The decision, attorneys for plaintiff Enzo Biochem Inc. said, would give public companies a...

(Reuters) - Earlier this year, some of Mallinckrodt's creditors balked at the prospect of rewarding top executives of the bankrupt pharmaceutical company with bonuses when management was facing accusations of misconduct. But their complaints didn't persuade the judge overseeing the case, who ruled that the 12 executives could collect about $30 million in performance bonuses if they met certain goals...

Chief executives are being warned to “think twice before they tweet” after the boss of takeaway company Just Eat Takeaway was told his Twitter spat with Uber threatened to undermine the firm’s reputation. Jitse Groen this week became the latest in a growing list of chief executives to be rebuked by customers, investors and even regulators over ill-judged tweets...

Facebook spent more than $25 million on CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2020. He collected a salary of $1. More than $23.4 million of that amount was for personal security for Zuckerberg and his family. The combined security for ten other top tech execs, including Sheryl Sandberg, was $23.3 million. See more stories on Insider's business page . Facebook spent more than $23.4 million on security costs for CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2020, according to the company's annual executive compensation report ...

BP shareholders have voted down proposals for tougher emissions targets, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2C compared to pre-industrial levels. Eighty per cent voted against the measure, which wanted the oil giant to set short-and long-term targets on emissions and its use of energy products. The board had urged shareholders to vote against the proposals, which were put forward by Follow This, an activist investor...

An American lawyer on trial in Japan on charges related to reporting of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s compensation asserted his innocence Wednesday, testifying he acted legally and in Nissan's best interests. Greg Kelly, a former executive vice president at Nissan Motor Co., told the Tokyo District Court he was worried Ghosn might job-hop after taking a big pay cut in 2010, when Japan began requiring disclosures of high executive pay...

(Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Management has a stake in Duke Energy Corp and is pushing the U.S. utility company to add directors to its board, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Hedge fund Elliott may also urge Duke Energy to sell some assets or make operational improvements to boost its stock price, the report said. (on.wsj.com/2RB2qcV) Elliott and Duke Energy did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment...

Roughly 57% of investor votes cast backed healthcare company Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) executive pay for 2020, a low level of support for a proposal most shareholders usually rubberstamp..

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse on Tuesday said it was replacing senior managers and reducing proposals for its 2020 dividend and executive compensation as it grapples with the estimated 4.4 billion Swiss franc ($4.69 billion) fallout from its relationship with Archegos Capital Management LP. Chief Risk Officer Lara Warner and investment banking head Brian Chin will both leave the bank in April, Switzerland’s second largest lender said...

(Reuters) - The activist investor leading a proxy fight to reshape Exxon Mobil Corp on Monday named the four directors it wants shareholders to remove at the oil company's upcoming annual general meeting. The investor, Engine No. 1, is a small fund that last year took on the top U.S....

Kohl’s Corp. has issued a statement in response to an activist investor group’s attempt to nominate five directors to its 12-member board. In an announcement this afternoon, the retailer said the nominees put forth by the group — composed of Macellum Advisors GP LLC, Ancora Holdings Inc., Legion Partners Asset Management LLC and 4010 Capital LLC — lack “critical relevant experience” and “meaningful digital experience.” It added that its own directors “outmatch” the investors’ slate of nominees...