Manifest-i - Comment

Company Law Reform Bill finally arrives
Karen Talbot, Editor

November 2005

 "We have consulted every step of the way," said Alan Johnson the trade and industry secretary as the much-heralded Company Law Reform Bill was put before parliament.
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French activists oppose double voting rights
European Research Team Leader Jonathan Harker

Early indications in Manifest’s review of the 2005 European voting season show a general trend towards significant dissent against specific capital increases, buybacks and related share issues, and remuneration-related resolutions.  More >>

Governance
Standards & Guidance
Company Law Reform Bill enters parliament

The Company Law Reform Bill has been introduced to parliament, proposing to abolish the need for a company secretary and to require institutional investors to disclose how they use their votes.
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Companies
Refco implodes as ex-chief accused of fraud

Commodities brokerage, Refco, which floated on the New York Stock Exchange in August, is selling off its regulated subsidiaries while its other businesses are under chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after investors quickly lost confidence after the company revealed millions was owed to it. More >>
Activism
US activist pension funds boost equity assets

US activist pension funds have increased their ownership of US companies, according to The Conference Board. Pension funds as a whole owned 40.7% of total US equity assets in 2003, compared with 32.6% in 1980, while the public employee funds’ proportion of this has risen from 7.4% in 1980 to 11.6% in 2003. More >>
Accounting/Auditing
McCreevy welcomes adoption of audit directive

Charlie McCreevy, European internal market commissioner has welcomed the agreement reached by all parties on the 8th Company Law directive on statutory audit, with formal adoption by the EU expected in spring 2006 and member states adopting the requirements into national law by spring 2008. More >>
Research
ABI finds improvement in code explanations

Only 46% of FTSE 100 companies state they are fully compliant with the Combined Code, according to analysis of 477 annual reports by the Association of British Insurer’s (ABI’s) Institutional Voting Investment Service (IVIS). More >>
People
Nortel hires Zafirovski

Mike Zafirovski is to become president and chief executive of Nortel, the communications company, on 15 November. He replaces Bill Owens, who will continue to serve on boards of various other companies around the world.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Socially Responsible Investment
SRI funds gain importance

Although still making up a very small proportion of all funds operating in Europe, green, social and ethical funds are gaining in importance and in some countries occupy well over 1% of the market, found the 2005 review by Avansi, the SRI research organisation, and Sustainable Investment Research International.  More >>
Best Practice and Ethics
High levels of corruption remain

Over two-thirds of the 159 nations surveyed by Transparency International (TI) in its 2005 corruption perceptions index scored less than five out of ten. Corruption was found to be highest in poor countries, most markedly in Chad, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and Haiti. Iceland received the highest score at 9.7. More >>
Corporate Reporting
Kesko tops Finnish reporting awards

Kesko, a provider of services to the retail sector, came first in a competition judging environmental and social responsibility reporting in Finland. Nordic energy company, Fortum, was awarded joint second position with the paper and packaging supplier, M-Real.
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Environment
Consumers need to pick greener power firms

Consumers wanting clean energy should stop supporting polluting power companies, such as Powergen and ScottishPower, and move to other suppliers, said Martyn Williams, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth (FoE), the environmental campaigning group. More  >>
Health and Safety
No criminal proceedings for Potters Bar

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has advised against pursuing criminal charges in relation to the Potters Bar rail crash in May 2002, which resulted in the deaths of seven passengers and injury of around 70 more. More >>

Governance Resources

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Conferences

Topical governance and CSR-related conferences. More >>

Features
Interview
Penny Shepherd: still arguing the case for SRI

Penny Shepherd, who was the UK Social Investment Forum’s (UKSIF) executive director from 1997 until 2001, returned in May to head up the organisation as its chief executive.  More >>
Sector Review
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology

The recent global concerns about the rapid spread of bird flu and the call for Roche, manufacturer of an effective treatment, to allow other companies to produce it to increase stocks available, demonstrates how in the pharmaceutical sector companies can rarely ignore the fact that their products are meeting a real need and providing a public good. More  >>
Leaders and Laggards
GSK works to become governance leader

In 2003, GSK suffered the humiliation of losing a vote on its remuneration report when shareholders were first given an advisory vote on this under UK law.
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Academic Round up

Manifest-I presents a summary of recently released academic papers on international corporate governance issues. More >>

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