Noteworthy list #17

Notable excerpts and links to articles and reports we’ve found worthwhile reading. Though we try to avoid them, some links may be intercepted by ads or may require free log-ins. Please don’t blame us for this.

IR News

National Investor Relations Institute Elects New Board Chairman and Four Directors
The National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) announced today the election of Matthew V. Stroud as the 2007-2008 chairman of the NIRI Board of Directors. Stroud is the Vice President of Investor Relations for Orlando based Darden Restaurants, Inc. He succeeds Maureen Wolff-Reid, President of investor relations agency Sharon Merrill Associates Inc.

Merrill Restricts Research Access to Guard Intellectual Capital
Starting this month, Merrill will make research on its Web site available only to clients, Browning said in the memo. Media outlets will be given restricted and delayed access to the firm’s research. Merrill also plans to change its policy for licensing its research to ensure that it charges prices that are competitive with other providers, the memo said.

`Suspicious’ Trades Precede Most Big Canada Mergers, Study Says
The rate of unusual trading found in Canada — 63 percent — was higher than in the U.S., where a Measuredmarkets study last year flagged 41 percent of comparable mergers. The London- based Financial Services Authority said March 7 that insider trading may have preceded almost 25 percent of U.K. merger announcements in 2005.

Wealthy investors pull back from hedge funds, survey finds
Wealthy individuals are scaling down investment plans for hedge funds as pension funds and endowments increase allocations to the rapidly growing industry, according to a survey of investors by Goldman Sachs.

Governance

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments on U.S. Shareholder-Suit Limits
The U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to push the number of lawsuits by investors, already on the wane, even lower. The court this week hears arguments on two appeals asking for new limits on such cases. In one, investment banks including Credit Suisse Group are seeking a shield from antitrust suits as they fight claims they rigged initial public offerings. In the other, telecommunications-equipment maker Tellabs Inc. wants the justices to require shareholders claiming fraud to be more specific in their allegations.

2007 Preview: Environmental Issues
Shareholders concerned with how U.S. companies manage environmental and social issues have already filed more than 340 proposals this season. The number of resolutions point to a busy proxy year that could beat the all-time high of 367 resolutions offered in 2006.

Opposition to Stock Plans Wanes, ISS Study Finds
The dilutive impact of employee stock option plans drew less investor opposition in 2006 than in 2005, according to findings from ISS’ recently released Stock Plan Dilution study. Average voting opposition for 2006 stood at 22.1 percent, compared with 25.5 percent in 2005 and 24.6 percent in 2004.

TIAA-CREF Ups the Ante With New Stance on ESG Issues
Since this policy acts as a guide for TIAA-CREF’s investment managers, portfolio companies would do well to note the trail it blazes. With $406 billion invested worldwide, TIAA-CREF cuts a wide path.

CEO Pay

Coalition aims to give shareholders say on CEO pay
A coalition of institutional investors that includes state and union pension funds is submitting proposals to give shareholders a nonbinding vote on executive pay. The effort, which targets more than 60 companies, is complemented by legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Financial Services.

New proxy disclosure rules unveil lots of details about executive pay
It has never been a secret that CEOs get paid big money, but all the little extras that pad their pay - allowances for beer, cash slush funds, home security systems, commuting costs and more - have been hidden from public view.

The politics of pay
The rewards of America’s company bosses face yet more scrutiny and attack

Web & Tech

Mini-blog is the talk of Silicon Valley
The sudden popularity of Twitter has seen the number of messages posted on its site jump from 20,000 to 70,000 a day, said Biz Stone of Obvious, the internet company which started the service. According to HitWise, which measures web traffic, use of the service jumped by 55 per cent the week after the conference, though it said Twitter was “still very niche” and had yet to reach the mass market.

Click, click, bling, bling
What geek could look upon BASF’s web site without feeling a tingle all the way to the root of his C drive? It’s got everything: podcasts and vidcasts, RSS, the annual report in both HTML and PDF, a Google-quality search function and a bit of animation. This is German engineering at its best, a sleek BMW on the info autobahn that retains the folksy charm of a Volkswagen. This chemicals company web site has chemistry.

IBM Makes Software, Web, Accessibility Push
But IBM wants to broaden development for the needs of the disabled at a fundamental teaching level. A recent survey of 200 two and four-year U.S. universities commissioned by the computer giant found that the majority of faculty do not teach accessibility in the classroom.

Adobe Apollo, beyond the hype
Apollo in its current form seems overhyped, but the cross platform development space will definitely look different in a year as we see new toolkits from big companies executed inside and outside of the browser. It’s not too difficult for a web application to pop out of the web browser and into a standalone web technology, and the marketing and investment dollars being spent by large companies such as Adobe and Microsoft should help boost the visibility of cutting edge web apps.

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