Corporate Governance

Volkswagen scandal shows need for German reform

15 Jul 2005

Bribes, sex scandals and perks for union bosses. It all suggests that the German system of worker representation has gone rotten. There s an election in the offing. It s time for politicians to consider radical reform of the codetermination system.

Bollore becomes Havas chairman

13 Jul 2005

The French financier has crowned himself king and slotted in what appears to be a lameduck chief executive. Ironically, this probably makes it less likely that he is in the advertising group for the longhaul.

Cheers turn to boos at Mack’s return

11 Jul 2005

It has only taken Morgan Stanley s new boss a few days to alienate staff with his pay guarantee. True, he has now torn it up. But he and the bank s board come out of the episode diminished.

Morgan Stanley on hook for $100m severance

8 Jul 2005

Firing former chief Philip Purcell was never going to be cheap. Nor was hiring John Mack as his successor. But the board made this disorderly handover more expensive than was necessary. And shareholders are footing the bill.

Europe gains from Morgan Stanley civil war

4 Jul 2005

London bankers stayed out of the infighting partly because the bank s European business is cohesive and selfconfident. And they have benefited from it. Europe is getting a bigger say in the top management at Morgan Stanley.

Breton on the ropes over Rhodia

29 Jun 2005

The French finance minister has played down his knowledge of a deal at the center of the Rhodia scandal. But a document has emerged suggesting he was well briefed about it. Breton has some explaining to do.

Is hedge fund activism out of control?

28 Jun 2005

First there was the Deutsche Boerse saga. Now a US hedge fund is taking on an underperforming longonly asset manager. Is nothing sacred? Even the boss of Man Group is worried. But he shouldn t be. Hedge funds have just as much right to be activist as any other investor.

Is Mack the right man for Morgan Stanley?

27 Jun 2005

The former president would certainly be in a better position than anyone to heal the many rifts created by Phil Purcell s stewardship. But on longterm strategy, it s not clear where Mack would take the firm. At CSFB, he pushed hard for a big financial services merger.

Bollore gets upper hand at Havas

22 Jun 2005

The departure of the French advertising group s chairman will make it easier for the corporate raider to have his way. But what he will do is still unclear. And even a new management will struggle to turn Havas around in a hurry.

Sir Ken Morrison backs down

21 Jun 2005

After a bitter fight with David Jones, the deputy chairman, Sir Ken has bowed to the inevitable and named three nonexecutives. It looks like Sir Ken realised that he would lose an outright war. A reasonable start, but there is a lot left to do.

Lazard confirms Braggiotti’s resignation

15 Jun 2005

A large chunk of Lazard s M&A revenue appears to be walking out of the door. This isn t what investors bought into the IPO for. Equally worrying, European M&A is now being run by a committee which presents scope for yet more squabbling.

Braggiotti threatens to quit Lazard

3 Jun 2005

The investment bank s partners seem to be going back to what they do best feuding. Investors in the recent IPO must be wondering what they have bought into.

EADS management re-jig stalled by French non

2 Jun 2005

The French government, one of the defence group's major shareholders, wants to reassert itself after a crushing Europe referendum defeat. But a failed attempt by Forgeard, EADS s future joint head, to wrest more control over management underscores the French camp's weakness.

Andersen should have been kept alive

31 May 2005

The Supreme Court overturned the audit firm s conviction over the Enron affair. But the price has already been borne by investors. No doubt Andersen screwed up. But its death coupled with SarbanesOxley cartelised the industry and sent accounting costs rocketing.

Investors expect too much of Bollore at Havas

30 May 2005

Havas share price has risen by a third since corporate raider Vincent Bollore began buying stock in the French advertising group. Some of that price rise is warranted, but a lot of it is not. Havas now trades at a premium to rivals, and looks overvalued.

Metso an odd target for Icahn and Gardell

26 May 2005

The activist investors are using the same blueprint for change at the Finnish industrial group as they did with Blockbuster and Skandia. But this relies on persuading hedge funds that the shares can rise quickly. And it s not a given that Metso s can.

Sir Ken Morrison needs a change of heart

23 May 2005

Wm Morrison's chairman may say he wants to bring nonexecs on to his board. But it's not clear he really means it. Investors don't want to lose the benefit of Sir Ken's vast experience. But if he stands in the way of reform, they may change their mind.

German authorities pursue Deutsche Boerse dissidents

23 May 2005

They want to punish someone for the ouster of the stock exchange's bosses. Proving rebel investors acted in concert would do nicely. Thanks to lax German laws, and some silly comments from one of the hedge funds, they might have a case.

M&S chairman squabble ends in fudge

17 May 2005

Myners gets another year at the top before Lord Burns steps in. This papers over the boardroom cracks that emerged over the chairmanship. But it isn t clear that the board has picked the best man for the job. This doesn t seem to have the makings of a great solution.

Investors should block Fresenius transformation

16 May 2005

The dialysis group plans to simplify its capital structure but also adopt a legal form that vests more control with the family company. Ordinary shareholders have little to gain from this change. And it may result in FMC trading at a discount.