—The SEC has told the US Court of Appeals that it will not review or reconsider its climate disclosure rules for companies and has requested the court to rule on pending legal challenges.
The SEC comments form part of a status report provided by the regulator, in response to a request made by the Eighth Circuit court in April.
Before the court’s request, Mark Uyeda, acting chairman of the SEC, hadalready saidthat the Commission would end its legal defense of the rules, without actually having to rescind the rules.
The SEC adopted climate disclosure rules in March 2024, which were then met with legal challenges and a stay order.
—Macquarie Group has decided to review its executive compensationfollowing a regulatory compliance lawsuit as shareholders voted against its salary plans for the first time at its annual meeting, Reuters (paywall)reported.
The group reported that 25.4 percent of investors voted against the bank’s remuneration plans. The company has become known for its generous pay packages and is nicknamed the millionaire factory.
A remuneration report requires a 25 percent opposing vote to trigger a strike, as opposed to the usual majority required for ordinary resolutions.
Macquarie also confirmed that its CFO Alex Harvey was retiring in mid-2026 after completing ahandover to deputy CFO Frank Kwok.
The news comes following the decision by the Australian corporate regulator tosue Macquariein May accusing it of misreporting up to 1.5 bn short sales.
—International money transfer company Wise was caught up in a shareholder dispute earlier this week when Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder and 5.1 percent shareholder, urged other shareholders to reject proposals to switch the company’s listing from London to the US.
As reported by the Financial Times (paywall), Hinrikus used his investment vehicle Skaala Investments to condemn governance changes contained within the listing proposals that would extend enhanced voting rights for shareholders with class B shares by 10 years.
Skaala has called on Wiseto split the governance changes from its broader listing plan, giving shareholders separate votes on each point. The investment vehicle has encouraged investors to vote against Wise’s listing move unless the issues are ’separated and not inter-conditional’.
Skaala, which owns more than 15 percent of Wise’s class B shares, said the current proposal ‘deprives owners of a fair choice’, forcing an ‘all-or-nothing’ vote.
—Earlier this week, a group comprised of five UK pension schemes launched a billion-pound campaign to champion good governance to UK economic growth.
The campaign called the Governance for Growth Investor Campaign (GGIC), represents 11 mn members, managing approximately £150 bn ($201.5 bn) in assets and investing more than £60 bn in the UK.
The campaign will showcase evidence that effective corporate governance and shareholder rights help companies perform better by helping ensure they are well-run, transparent and accountable.
Built around four policy pillars: securing a seat for pension schemes in policy discussions, avoiding divides between private and public markets, promoting the UK’s governance standards internationally and recognizing the importance of shareholder rights.
The GGIC includes Brunel Pension Partnership, The Church of England Pension Board, People’s Pension, Brightwell andRailpen.
—bp chairman Helge Lund has been replaced by Albert Manifold as the oil giant changes course from a focus on renewables and back to fossil fuels.
The decision follows pressure from bp shareholders like activist group Elliott Investment Management, which is bp’s third-largest shareholder.
Elliott has been urging bp to prioritize cost reduction, including potential spending cuts on renewable energy projects and divestments of certain assets.
Mainfold assumes the role as of October, taking over from Lund who announced his resignation three months ago.
According to the Telegraph (paywall) Manifold said the job would give him the ‘the opportunity to help the company reach its full potential’.
He currently serves as a non-executive director at chemicals producer LyondellBasell Industries and at consultant Mercury Engineering.
—Monday also saw activist investor Elliott Investment Managementincrease its shareholding in data center operator Equinix, making it one of the company’s 10 largest shareholders.
Details on the stake amount or its value weren’t shared, but according to Reuters (paywall), Elloitt has been in discussions with the company over several weeks.
The move comes after Equinix investors were caught off guard at the company’s analyst day last month by news of a higher-than-expected capital expenditure plan that triggered a sharp sell-off.
Equinix’s stock price fell 18 percent in the two trading sessions following the June 25 analyst day, the first for Equinix’s new chief executive officer, Adaire Fox-Martin, who assumed the role in June 2024.
—A lawsuit accusing Intel of defrauding shareholders by withholding problems with a business where it manufactured chips for customers has been dismissed by a federal judge.
US District Judge Trina Thompson was cited by Reuters (paywall) as saying she ‘understands plaintiffs’ frustrations,’ but found that Intel did notwait too longto reveal a $7 bn 2023 operating loss in its foundry business.
At the time the lawsuit led to a $32 bn one-day decline in its market value.
Thompson found that Intel clearly stated its foundry results would be ‘obscured’ until 2024, so that its earlier financial reporting was not ‘misleading’.
Thompson also cited an ‘overarching policy consideration’ saying that because Intel’s public statements suggested a ‘trial-and-error’ approach to the foundry business, the company would have faced risks from early reporting.