Friday was a horrible day for investors in Groupon. The stock tumbled 6 percent on news that the company would restate it earnings after underestimating customer refunds, which led its auditor to declare the company had a material weakness in its internal controls. That kind of news is never welcome, and Groupon’s management has a […]
Hartford Financial CEO Liam McGee on Wednesday announced plans to break up the company, largely along the lines recommended by hedge-fund activist John Paulson, whose funds own about 8.5% of the insurer. It looks like McGee never put up a serious effort to counter Paulson’s recommendation to separate Hartford’s property and casualty insurance business, despite […]
We don’t yet know how much Bob Diamond was paid for running Barclays last year. We do know the bank will cap cash bonuses at £65,000 (about $100,000), joining a growing list of banks that have bowed to shareholder and public pressure to curb payouts. Barclays could have reported Diamond’s compensation yesterday, but it decided […]
Three months after its IPO, Groupon reported earnings that were good but not as good as many expected, and the shares tumbled. You might expect the management team to be rattled and strike a defensive tone on its conference call with investors. Instead, the call was all business: detailed, candid and orderly. Groupon CEO Andrew […]
Insurance company earnings calls are normally staid affairs. But Hartford Financial Group had a sudden burst of excitement yesterday as its largest shareholder, hedge fund titan John Paulson, joined the call. He hammered CEO Liam McGee for not being more specific about his plans for increasing shareholder value at the company, which saw its shares […]
As reported today, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has introduced guidance for financial firms related to reporting of their European debt exposure. The SEC issued its recommendations to address the inconsistent approach firms have used to disclose their risk to sovereign and private borrowers: “In response to our comments on their disclosure documents, registrants […]
Embattled investment bank Jefferies reported stronger-than-expected earnings and a slimmed-down balance sheet, confounding critics and sending the firm’s shares on a surge. The news marks a victory for the firm’s management and vindicates its strategy of aggressive communication during a crisis, as the firm sought to dispel rumors about its trading exposure and liquidity. Of […]
Tom Glocer today became the latest CEO to be fired, in a year that has seen a score of corporate chiefs get the boot. Glocer, who has led Thomson Reuters since 2001, lost the confidence of the Thomson family, the company’s largest shareholder. Although billed as a retirement, it’s clear that Glocer was forced out […]
Sure, the positive comments today from Meredith Whitney helped, but give Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) credit for handling its communications well in a very challenging environment. At one point the stock was down 20 percent as rumors swirled about the firm’s exposure to European sovereign debt and a downgrade by Egan-Jones. By day’s end, however, the […]
It’s hard to square the statement by Olympus that its M&A transactions, which are now the subject of an independent investigation, “were in no way improper.” Presumably, the propriety of the deals is up to the investigation to determine. It’s precisely that sort of statement that makes investors skeptical about the company’s commitment to shedding […]