Some of you old-timers and students of journalism will recognize "-30-" as the traditional journalistic closing. Details on the origins of the practice, which came to be adopted for ending press releases, are a bit murky. It is believed that the practice originated during the Civil War when telegraphers tapped "XXX," the Roman numeral for 30, at the end of a transmission. I’ve entitled this column "-30-" because it is my last for IR Alert.
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As Labor Day approaches, I’ve been thinking about the state of the economy and the job market in particular. I have a number of friends who are seeking jobs and I’ve done my best to help even if it is to just listen or serve as a reference.
In this environment, people are trying quite a few tactics to get through to the decision makers. I was struck and somewhat amused by a few inquiries I’ve gotten recently. First via Linkedin, I received a message from a young fellow who began his note to me thusly: "Dear Mr. Marbach, How are you?" I was taken by the mix of formality (the "Mr." part) and informality as in "How are you?" as if we’d known one another for years. The other job seeker was transferred to my line and after stating her name asked for an "informational meeting." I remarked about hearing the term "informational meeting" a few times of late and that this must be some sort of trend; we both chuckled a bit over that one.
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Federal securities class action activity continued to decrease in the first six months of 2010 to the lowest semiannual level since the first half of 2007, according to Securities Class Action Filings—2010 Mid-Year Assessment, a semiannual report prepared by the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse in cooperation with Cornerstone Research.
The report notes that a total of 71 federal securities class actions were filed in the first half of 2010, a 15.5 percent decline from the 84 filings in each half of 2009. The decline in filings is associated with a decrease in credit-crisis-related litigation, which accounted for only eight filings in the first half of 2010 compared with 37 filings in the first half of 2009 and 16 filings in the second half of 2009. In addition, the median lag time between the end of the class periods and the filing dates decreased to 25 days, slightly below the historic median of 28 days, and well below the spike in median lag time of 112 days observed during the second half of 2009.
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According to Deloitte’s fourth annual Ethics & Workplace Survey, one-third (34 percent) of employed Americans plan to look for a new job when the economy gets better. Within this group of respondents, 48 percent cite loss of trust in their employer and 46 percent say lack of transparent communication from their company’s leadership are the primary reasons for pursuing new employment at the end of the recession. Additionally, a large majority (65 percent) of Fortune 1000 executives who are concerned employees will be job hunting in the coming months believe trust will be a factor in a potential increase in voluntary turnover.
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Within days of each other two CEOs announced their intentions to step down. Sara Lee Corp. Chairman and CEO Brenda Barnes announced her decision to step down permanently to focus on improving her health following a stroke. Barnes, 56, had been on temporary medical leave since May 14. Days before Ms. Barnes’ announcement, Much-heralded Hewlett-Packard chieftain Mark Hurd resigned due to "circumstances surrounding a claim of sexual harassment." In both cases interim CEOs have been named; however, Hewlett-Packard’s shares went into a tailspin on the news.
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A lot of companies tend to overlook retail investors when planning their investor relations activities; however, many are taking a second look at this audience for a number of reasons. Chief among them is the fact that retail investors tend to be long-term holders and provide a measure of stability (research indicates that they tend to hold shares longer than their institutional investor counterparts). Efficiently reaching retail investors as well as measuring the effectiveness of a campaign to do so have always presented challenges.
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Ask two attorneys about when it is appropriate to disclose merger negotiations and you’ll most likely get three opinions. This is an issue that emerges more often than you would think.
Well we do have two attorneys to help shed some light on the issue… In an advisory entitled, "Recent Cases Remind M&A Participants of When Disclosure of Merger Negotiations Is Required," Morrison & Foerster attorneys Spencer D. Klein and Michael G. O’Bryan weigh in on the matter.
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Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provides significant incentives and protections to whistleblowers through amendments to both the Commodity Exchange Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Financial institutions or their holding companies with securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act have always been susceptible to claims of allegedly materially misstating their financial condition or results of operations (for example, by overstating the fair value of their financial assets or omitting material information from their public filings). However, those risks are greatly amplified by the Act’s empowerment and protection of whistleblower plaintiffs.
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As readers of this space know, I am an unabashed Yankees fan and have been one for more than five decades now (note to my waggish colleagues: I didn’t see Babe Ruth play). As you, George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, died recently; however, he leaves behind a great legacy, rich in lessons for corporate leaders.
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For those of you seeking a cure for your insomnia, you might want to try wading through the more than 2300-page comprehensive financial regulatory reform bill brought to us by Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Representative Barney Frank (DMA). For the rest of you, I thought I’d review the key points.
The legislation, known as the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act," contains several executive compensation provisions, many of which are incorporated or modified from Senator Dodd’s previous bill passed by the Senate on May 20, 2010. The key provisions include:
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