You are here

joint byline

Lobbyists as Directors Test Rules for Corporate Boards

Directors at some companies are paid to lobby for those firms or allied trade groups, while also helping set the CEO’s pay
Original publication date: 
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - 15:23

At Louisiana health-care company LHC Group Inc., the board’s compensation committee has approved a 90% raise for the chief executive over

CEO Pay Shrinks 4.6% but Offers Weak Reflection of Performance

None of last year’s 10 highest-paid chiefs among the S&P 500 ran one of the best-performing companies
Original publication date: 
Thursday, June 2, 2016 - 14:19

Median pay for chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies slipped 4.6% last year, but the link between annual compensation and shareholder returns remained weak.

Big Investors Question Corporate Board Tenures

At 24% of major U.S. companies, most directors have been in place for at least 10 years
Original publication date: 
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - 15:37

Large U.S.

Corporate Directors’ Pay Ratchets Higher as Risks Grow

Pay for nonexecutive directors of S&P 500 companies rose nearly 50% between 2006 and 2014
Original publication date: 
Wednesday, February 24, 2016 - 15:29

Director pay has received scant attention over the years as investors, regulators and the public have focused on soaring executive compensation. 

U.S. Corporations Increasingly Adjust to Mind the GAAP

The use of figures that exclude certain items is becoming more prominent in corporate filings
Original publication date: 
Monday, December 14, 2015 - 20:28

A financial obfuscation of the dot-com era is making a comeback: Hundreds of U.S. companies are trumpeting adjusted net income, adjusted sales and “adjusted Ebitda.”

Why Wal-Mart’s $15 billion stock buyback may not be as great as it seems

Hugh Jackman Wal-Mart shareholders meeting

When Wal-Mart Stores does a thing, it does it big. The stock buy-back it announced at its annual meeting today is no exception, at $15 billion, hot on the heels of an earlier $15-billion repurchase plan.

So it’s probably a good time to remember that stock buybacks generally aren’t the unparalleled good that they can seem at first glance.

The SEC Speeds Up Its Enforcement Arm

SEC officials signal an enforcement division that functions more like a criminal prosecutor's office
Original publication date: 
Friday, August 7, 2009 - 00:00

It has been a big week so far for the market cops at the Securities & Exchange Commission: Each day brought a new multimillion-dollar settlement, most involving high-profile people or companies—Bank of America (BAC), General Electric (GE), and two former executives of American International Group (AIG), plus two smaller trading firms.

European Regulators Target U.S. Firms

New regulatory efforts by European policymakers may put American banks, insurers, and money managers at a competitive disadvantage
Original publication date: 
Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 00:00

President Barack Obama's plan to overhaul financial regulation covers everything from mortgages to hedge funds. But reform efforts in Europe may prove more significant for U.S. companies. European regulators are hashing out new rules for banks, insurers, and money managers that could put U.S. firms at a disadvantage.

Private Equity Waits Out the Feds

More problem banks and less FDIC money mean tough takeover rules could eventually be loosened
Original publication date: 
Thursday, September 3, 2009 - 00:00

More problem banks and less FDIC money mean tough takeover rules could eventually be loosened

No Big Fix for Global Finance

New regulations will be tepid—and will leave the global financial system, and taxpayers, at risk
Original publication date: 
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - 00:00

World leaders are talking bravely about fixing the global financial system. As the Group of Twenty heads toward an important summit in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24-25, they are vowing to bang out a regulatory structure that will keep rich, careless bankers from once again driving their firms to ruin and then getting bailed out by taxpayers.

Subscribe to RSS - joint byline