Shareholder activism is vital for a properly functioning City April 26, 2012 OWNERS of publicly listed companies need to behave as proprietors. They shouldn’t micromanage firms in which they invest – that is their executives’ jobs – but they should ratify some key decisions, including the pay of their top staff. In his 1970 polemic Exit, Voice and Loyalty, Albert O Hirschman explained that members of any [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 26, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES NEW SFO BOSS VOWS TO STAY RELEVANT The incoming director of the Serious Fraud Office has promised to pursue a more aggressive crime-fighting strategy, saying he will investigate “significant strategic targets” suspected of committing the most complex financial crime and overseas corruption. INVESTORS TURN HEAT ON MAN CHIEF Leading shareholders of Man Group, [...]
Diamond is fighting the pay row with rearguard political action April 26, 2012 DO not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance,” Investec analyst Ian Gordon wrote to investors before Barclays chief Bob Diamond unveiled a strong rise in profits yesterday. Thus far, this year, Diamond is on course to deliver. Or, in Bob’s more prosaic American language: “Execute, execute, execute.” Having set ambitious returns [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 26, 2012 ITV Liberum reiterates its “buy” advice on the media group, increasing its target from 135p to 140p. The brokers say ITV Family advertising could grow by six per cent for the year, outperforming the market. And a summer of sport will be beneficial to ITV – even though it will not show the Olympics. VIRGIN [...]
Bumper results lift FTSE higher April 26, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares pushed higher yesterday, notching up a third session of gains as investors digested a big bag of blue chip results, with advances in oil majors outweighing a heavy fall in drugs firm AstraZeneca. The FTSE 100 index closed up 29.83 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,748.72 after a choppy session, continuing [...]
Today Barclays puts its pay report before investors: Are you intending to support it? April 26, 2012 YES Guy Jubb We are pleased that our key concerns over last year’s executive bonuses have been addressed. The decisions demonstrate that robust stewardship engagement by long-term institutional investors does work, especially when it is undertaken in a “comply or explain” governance environment. The result is a much better alignment with pay for performance than [...]
FTSE lifted by Shell and Barclays boost April 26, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot today with gains fuelled by the energy sector after Shell reported encouraging fourth quarter profits. In banking Barclays announced a 22 per cent rise in first quarter earnings, which also helped to inject some momentum into the market. Investors shrugged off yesterday’s bleak news that the UK [...]
Barclays profit up as investment bank bounces back April 26, 2012 Barclays posted a 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit, ahead of market forecasts, as a strong rebound in revenue from its investment banking arm and a drop in bad debt countered increased compensation for insurance mis-selling. The bank reported an adjusted pretax profit of £2.45bn in the three months to end-March, up from 2 billion [...]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch fights back in talent stakes April 25, 2012 BANK of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) took the first step towards replenishing talent for its European investment bank yesterday, poaching one of the City’s most senior bankers to be president of Europe and Emerging Markets, and recruiting one of its former charges to co-head its UK corporate broking team. After a period during which the [...]
DIAMOND’S PAY SLAMMED BY IOD April 25, 2012 HEAD of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Simon Walker yesterday criticised the size of Barclay’s chief executive Bob Diamond’s remuneration package. “I think Barclays, overall, is out of order and that includes Bob Diamond. Barclays pays three times more in bonuses to top executives than it does in total dividends to all its shareholders,” he [...]