Reuters can take a well-earned bow for its coverage of Chesapeake Energy and its CEO, Aubrey McClendon. The news service has broken several major stories in the past three weeks that brought to light McClendon’s questionable financial dealings, including his borrowings against stakes in the company’s wells and investments in a hedge fund. The reports […]
When the CEO exits, other senior executives often follow. At Best Buy, the resignation last month of CEO Brian Dunn has been followed by the departure of the chief marketing officer (Barry Judge), the chief technology officer (Robert Stephens) and the CFO of the international division (David Demo). An exodus of senior talent isn’t good […]
Herbalife didn’t get much of a bounce today, a day after investor David Einhorn raised questions about the company’s accounting that sent the shares tumbling. After rising early in the day, the shares fell another 6 percent, even after the company provided additional information in response to Einhorn’s questions. (My earlier post discussed the […]
Herbalife shares are rebounding a little after a 22% drop yesterday, when questions from investor David Einhorn during the company’s earnings call sent investors fleeing. Einhorn is known for spotting accounting problems at companies and backing up his skepticism by taking big short positions. His sharp questioning of Lehman Brothers highlighted issues that ultimately brought […]
The Coca-Cola Company was compelled to release a short statement yesterday denying that it was “at this time, not in dicussionss” to acquire energy-drink maker Monster Beverage Corp. Monster shares spiked on a report in the Wall Street Journal that Coke was exploring a deal for the company, only to fall back once Coke issued […]
The Barclays annual shareholder meeting last week was a loud and lively affair, with howls of protest directed at CEO Bob Diamond and Chairman Marcus Agius over the bank’s pay practices. Here’s how it was reported by the New York Times: “The atmosphere at the meeting was hostile from the start, and the speeches were […]
The board of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) just released a statement in which it denied knowing of CEO Aubrey McClendon’s borrowings related to his stakes in the company’s wells, contradicting a statement made by the company’s general counsel earlier in the week: “Chesapeake also wishes to clarify a statement appearing in its April 18, 2012 […]
The question for Wal-Mart is how long its public statement about bribery allegations in Mexico will stand as pressure mounts on the company from several fronts. A report surfaced today that the U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the matter – news that likely was responsible for a further 2% slide in Wal-Mart […]
Best Buy Co has accomplished something remarkable. In a few short hours, it took a fairly routine CEO resignation and turned it into a scandal. Early this morning, just after the opening of trading, Best Buy issued a brief statement saying CEO Brian Dunn resigned. It wasn’t a big surprise; after all, Dunn had been […]
The announcement by Best Buy Co. that its CEO Brian Dunn resigned is significant for what it doesn’t say. Although it was awkwardly announced just as the stock market was opening, the company’s news release was direct, brief and included positive comments from Dunn and interim CEO Mike Mikan. The statement was also quick to […]