Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder letter was full of folksy charm and investment wisdom. But it had little to say about how he and the Berkshire Hathaway board are handling climate risks for the sprawling conglomerate.
This is the time of year when corporate directors sweat. They are anxiously finalizing the annual report and proxy materials that will present the company’s financial results and risks for all to see. This year directors have an added challenge: meeting investor expectations to disclose material climate-related risks. The pressure from investors is real. Blackrock, […]
Bank regulators live in obscurity, diligently keeping the wheels of finance spinning. Then a crisis arrives, and they are thrust into view. No one embodied that more than William McDonough, former head of the NY Federal Reserve Bank, who died last week. He is perhaps best known for quelling the market panic when a big […]
With the stock touching levels last seen 20 years ago, this isn’t the transition GE shareholders were hoping for. But it is also a warning of what could be in store for another iconic conglomerate when its long serving CEO steps down.
Democratic victories in last week’s elections have given new life to efforts to combat climate change through cap-and-trade systems. Advances in distributed ledger technology could kick them into high gear.
Government task forces suffer from a bad reputation. Stuffed with members who have big titles but little appetite for hard work, such groups often are formed to bury an issue, not promote it. But the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is an exception. Its report, issued in late June, is substantive and serious. […]
Amazon’s bid to buy Whole Foods has shaken up the grocery business, and it is forcing all retailers to reset their expectations about Amazon’s reach. But like any merger, there’s risk involved. Amid the excitement of a mega-deal it’s easy to overlook an uncomfortable fact: Most mergers fail. Research has shown that mergers fail more […]
Authoring an op-ed or guest article for a major news outlet can be a game-changer for your business and brand. It can give you a credible platform for your ideas and help you engage with a large audience. But the numbers are daunting. Hundreds of unsolicited articles arrive each day at the op-ed department of […]
Uber isn’t having a leadership crisis. It’s having a shareholder revolt. It has been clear for some time that imposing new procedures aimed at changing the company’s culture would require Mr. Kalanick to give up the reins as CEO. In normal circumstances, the board would decide on a course of action, take a vote and […]
Jeff Immelt is stepping down after 16 years at the helm of GE, and by most measures he was a successful leader. He directed a sweeping transformation of the company, adapted to big changes in technologies and global markets and avoided major scandal. But by one significant measure – the stock price – Mr. Immelt […]