Corporate Governance

Shell goes the whole hog and unifies

28 Oct 2004

The oil and gas giant will become a UK plc with a single board, but headquartered in Amsterdam. That's much better than expected. That s the good news. The bad news is that there are still 900m barrels of questionable reserves sloshing around.

Political merry-go-round spins at Repsol

28 Oct 2004

Out goes one political appointee, Alfonso Cortina, and in comes the new government s man La Caixa's Antonio Brufau. This looks like the precursor to a politically motivated bid for Gas Natural. That s not good news for shareholders.

Royal Dutch isn’t terribly Dutch

27 Oct 2004

Only a sixth of the company is owned by the Dutch. When you look at the combined Royal Dutch/Shell, that falls to a mere 10%. This ironically may be a reason why the Dutch are reluctant to merge the two groups. But it is really a reason why they should.

Volkswagen needs a new chairman

27 Oct 2004

Ferdinand Piech is a hero to some for turning VW round in the 1990s. But he s the wrong man to head the carmaker. Piech is too dominant and too dyed in the wool to shake up VW. It is time to bring in someone new.

Another head rolls at MG Tech

22 Oct 2004

Stark is the second CEO in 18 months to quit after a row with the German engineering group s largest shareholder, Happel. It will be hard for MG Tech to find anyone that suits Happel. The latter s influence is destabilising the group.

Mondavi gets $1.3bn wine bid

19 Oct 2004

Why Mondavi the godfather of California s wine trade would not recommend the offer is staggering. Maybe it is something in the drink. Constellation is willing to overpay massively to own the iconic vineyard.

Merrill suspends two Sainsbury analysts

19 Oct 2004

Andrew Fowler and John Kershaw have been suspended after a note said the UK retailer had helpfully pointed out their numbers were high. This looks bizarre. If it has to do with the possibility they were selectively briefed, it isn t clear why they should be suspended.

Sky payback can wait another year

18 Oct 2004

Investors fear a proposed buyback would allow News Corp to take creeping control of the UK pay television group. Those fears look overdone. But it comes down to whether investors trust the Murdochs. And after last year s events, it is too early to be asking for a trust me" vote.

Havas should resist Bollore

15 Oct 2004

Just because the corporate raider owns 20% of the French advertising company doesn t mean he automatically deserves seats on the board. Havas could use some shaking up, and Bollore may be the man for the job. But he needs to convince the board this is the case.

Germany sells E4bn of Deutsche Telekom stock

11 Oct 2004

DT has just irked the minorities of TOnline by withholding a premium from them when squeezing them out. That will make it easier for this huge sale of its own shares to succeed.

VW appoints hard man to turn around cars

7 Oct 2004

Former Daimler executive Wolfgang Bernhard specialises in the sort of tough love Carlos Ghosn practiced at Nissan. If he s given a free rein, he could make an impact at the German carmaker. But the halfhearted nature of his appointment raises doubts.

First year proves tough for Citigroup boss

1 Oct 2004

Charles Prince was slightly dropped in it by Sandy Weill, who left a legacy of regulatory problems. These are hurting the stock and complicating Prince s next obvious move buying a big deposit gatherer in the US.

Markets must cope without Fannie Mae’s help

1 Oct 2004

New capital constraints agreed by the giant US mortgage intermediary are but a sign of things to come. Fannie Mae is far too big. But if it can t grow, house prices are vulnerable and bond markets will miss liquidity during times of stress.

Fideuram loses second boss in one month

28 Sep 2004

Fideuram now has a vacuum at the top and risks significant outflows in its assets under management. The asset manager's top executives seem to have trouble getting along with with SanPaolo, its major shareholder.

Suez tightens grip over Electrabel

28 Sep 2004

The French utility has parachuted in its chief operating officer and possibly its chairman into the top two jobs at the Belgian utility. This may not mean that Suez will buy out Electrabel's minority shareholders any time soon. But it does make an eventual move more likely.

Gardening leave crosses the Atlantic

23 Sep 2004

Merrill Lynch is importing the practice, de rigueur in the City, of forcing sixmonth notice periods on its top USbased executives. Short term, this move may help Merrill protect the franchise. Longer term, it could jack up costs for the investment banking industry.

Stelios hits the warpath

21 Sep 2004

The Greek entrepreneur is being treated like a stowaway on his own yacht with Stelmar s $677m agreed sale to private equity group Fortress. But Stelios is not walking the plank without a fight. And he has some good arguments for taking on the Stelmar board.

Havas submits to Vincent Bollore

17 Sep 2004

It seems masochistic to welcome someone onto your board who's not only a raider but has just been rubbishing your strategy. Does the French advertising firm now ascribe to Bollore s views? Or is it just desperate for capital? Either way, it's a bit of a mess.

Sainsbury settles with Peter Davis, non-execs resign

17 Sep 2004

The nonexecs responsible for Davis paypackage and for embarassingly trying to wriggle out of it deserved to go. Meanwhile, reaching a settlement with Davis should help the supermarket group put this circus behind it.

Richard North goes from IHG top slot

15 Sep 2004

This might seem harsh: the shares have risen by 66% since the 6Con dermerger. But against the sector, the performance has been mediocre. North has led the group through its restructuring. But now that the strategy is set, IHG needs someone with a different skillset.