Wal-Mart, Mexico, red flags and hindsight…
The initial buzz has faded when it comes to David Barstow’s stunning April 21 New York Times report on Wal-Mart and bribery allegations in Mexico, but from what we can tell, it still features prominently in the conversation whenever corporate-governance types gather. And there has been plenty of follow-up: a lawsuit by CalPERS, more scrutiny...
Florida firefighters take on Ralph Lauren…
Over the years, we’ve picked on Ralph Lauren (RL) a bit as we’ve found various examples of excess in the company’s filings. (See here for a car valued at $67,500 that was transferred to Ralph Lauren’s brother). And that’s just one example. Pretty much every one of their proxies has had a few pearls worth...
A lesson in disclosure at Wright Medical Group…
If ever a company illustrated the value of reading SEC filings — as opposed to just their press releases — it may just be Wright Medical Group (WMGI). And we don’t mean that in a good way. By way of background, Wright Medical is an orthopedic medical-device maker that last fall settled [PDF] a U.S....
Fighting words at Tenet & Community Health…
The no-holds-barred battle between Tenet Healthcare (THC) and Community Health Systems (CYH) would be amusing if there weren’t so much at stake: Tenet is fighting for its independence in the face of a decidedly hostile overture from Community Health; Community Health is now facing so many lawsuits and government inquiries you need a spreadsheet to...
And the beef goes on (at Yum)…
You probably remember the big dust-up a few months ago over what exactly was in Taco Bell’s beef. A class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court in late January, 2011 by Alabama-based law firm Beasley, Allen against Taco Bell, a subsidiary owned by Yum Brands (YUM). Beasley Allen’s petition claimed that Taco Bell’s products that...
Transocean’s quiet risk panel & push for immunity
Could it be that, in the outrage over the safety bonuses awarded to top executives at Transocean (RIG), two other striking parts of the company’s proxy go largely overlooked? Transocean, of course, is the offshore drilling contractor that owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that burst into flame a year ago, killing 11 and triggering...
Proxy access: The free-speech edition…
The lawsuit brought against the Securities and Exchange Commission last fall by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable — seeking to toss out a rule giving some shareholders the right to put their own board candidates in the official company proxy filing — got a lot of press at the time. A...
Still cleaning up after Pandora and Bernie…
We know that Pandora was a mythological woman, and that her notorious box really started out as a jar.* But the premise of her myth – that evil has been unleashed on Earth – made us think about federal prisoner number 61727-054… otherwise known as Bernie Madoff. Madoff didn’t invent the Ponzi scheme; that dubious...
