In Japan, Hundreds of Shareholder Meetings on Same Day; This year, more than one in three companies will hold their meetings on Friday. Experts say the practice underscores Japanese companies’ dismissive attitude toward shareholders

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

In Japan, Hundreds of Shareholder Meetings on Same Day

By HIROKO TABUCHI

JUNE 23, 2014 1:06 PM 1 Comments

Investors who own shares in Japanese corporations might want to clear their calendars next Friday.

At 10 a.m. on June 27, annual shareholders’ meetings kick off at more than 900 major Japanese companies across the country. That’s more than one in three companies traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Read more of this post

Merger Fever Can Be a Menace for Shareholders; Deals often stroke the ego of chief executives. But they can also destroy much value

Merger Fever Can Be a Menace for Shareholders

JUNE 21, 2014

By JEFF SOMMER

Shareholders beware: M.&A. mania is back.

The numbers suggest that chief executives have a bad case of the seven-year itch: After eyeing other companies hungrily for so long, they have begun trying to buy them. Read more of this post

Son of former Philippines leader arrested in graft scandal

Son of former Philippines leader arrested in graft scandal

Monday, June 23, 2014 – 13:58

AFP

MANILA – Philippine police detained Monday the senator son of former president Joseph Estrada, the second high-profile official arrested within days over a massive corruption scandal.

Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, 51, gave himself up to police after the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court said it found probable cause to proceed with the charges and issued an arrest warrant. Read more of this post

The Hidden Cost of Trading Stocks; ‘Best Execution’ and Rebates for Brokers

The Hidden Cost of Trading Stocks

‘Best Execution’ and Rebates for Brokers

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDJUNE 22, 2014

There’s no escaping the conclusion that the stock market is not a level playing field where all investors, large and small, have an equal shot at a fair deal.

A recent groundbreaking study found that undetected insider trading occurs in a stunning one-fourth of public-company deals. Experts have long debatedthe pros and cons of high-frequency trading, another pervasive practice, but there is no doubt that it gives superfast traders the jump on others in trading stocks. And the very idea of trading on a public exchange, where stock prices and trading volumes are visible to all, is being eclipsed byprivate trading of public stocks in off-exchange venues, called dark pools, usually operated by banks. Read more of this post

Beijing’s Overhauls Get Short Shrift; Long-Term Plans to Revamp Economy Take Back Seat to Immediate Needs; Premier Pushes Spending

Beijing’s Overhauls Get Short Shrift

Long-Term Plans to Revamp Economy Take Back Seat to Immediate Needs; Premier Pushes Spending

MARK MAGNIER

June 22, 2014 9:13 p.m. ET

Construction workers labored at the site of a new bridge over the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, in May. Li An/Xinhua/Zuma Press

BEIJING—Long-term economic overhauls that China’s leadership promised are taking a back seat to short-term needs as Beijing wrestles with a slowing economy and a foot-dragging bureaucracy. Read more of this post

Johor’s Forest City land reclamation project alarms Singapore

Johor’s Forest City project alarms Singapore

Monday, June 23, 2014 – 10:15

The Star/Asia News Network

PETALING JAYA – The Singapore government has confirmed that it is perturbed over Johor’s Forest City project involving massive land reclamation that could affect the island state.

“Given Johor’s close proximity to Singapore, we are naturally concerned about any possible transboundary impact on Singapore from property development projects that involve reclamation work in the Straits of Johor,” a Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said in a statement. Read more of this post

Poll suggests more bank fundraisings in the pipeline

June 23, 2014 12:01 am

Poll suggests more bank fundraisings in the pipeline

By Sam Fleming

Bankers from dozens of European lenders questioned in an anonymous poll say their firm may need to raise further capital as it seeks to bolster its balance sheet and comply with regulatory demands.

Some 65 banks across the region either expect to raise capital or may need to do so, according to a survey by EY, the accountants. That is out of a total of 294 bankers questioned in interviews conducted during March and April.

Of the number, some 22 bankers were definitive in saying their company had plans to raise more capital. Read more of this post

UK Mittelstand to outpace European rivals

June 23, 2014 12:02 am

UK Mittelstand to outpace European rivals

By Brian Groom, Business and Employment EditorAuthor alerts

Britain’s neglected medium-sized companies expect to grow faster than their mainland European rivals during the coming year, but they are being held back by the UK tax system, business leaders say.

UK mid-market companies are narrowing the performance gap with Germany’s admired Mittelstand, according to research by GE Capital, the finance provider. Read more of this post

Shareholder activism catches fire in Japan

June 22, 2014 4:28 am

Shareholder activism catches fire in Japan

By Ben McLannahan in TokyoAuthor alerts

Shareholder activism is catching on in Japan.

A record 14 shareholder proposals for higher returns will be made at annual general meetings this month, according to IR Japan, a research firm.

Five are from a single investor – The Children’s Investment Fund of London – which will be coming back at Japan Tobacco on Tuesday with a similar set of resolutions to the ones rejected for the past two years. (Since then, though it denies any causation, JT has raised payouts.) The rest are from individuals and domestic institutions. Read more of this post

Banks speed up shift to forex automation in foreign exchange and rates trading as they move to slash costs and reduce the risk of further price manipulation scandals

June 22, 2014 5:43 pm

Banks speed up shift to forex automation

By Daniel Schäfer and Martin Arnold in LondonAuthor alerts

Banks including Barclays and UBS are accelerating a shift towards automation in foreign exchange and rates trading as they move to slash costs and reduce the risk of further price manipulation scandals.

Senior bankers are aiming to minimise human intervention because traditional trading over the phone has come under an intense regulatory spotlight. Authorities around the globe are investigating alleged manipulation of benchmarks such as currency fixes and interbank lending rates. Read more of this post

Central banks are planning to cut their exposure to longer-term debt to protect themselves from losses when the Federal Reserve ends its bond-buying this autumn, increasing the risk of instability in global markets

June 23, 2014 12:01 am

Central banks set to cut debt holdings

By Claire Jones in Frankfurt

Central banks are planning to cut their exposure to longer-term debt to protect themselves from losses when the Federal Reserve ends its bond-buying this autumn, increasing the risk of instability in global markets.

The majority of respondents in a survey of reserve managers who control assets worth $6.7tn, or more than half of central banks’ total reserves, said they were likely to adjust their portfolios in preparation of tighter monetary policy.

As the UK and US embark down the path back to more normal interest rates, big changes in asset holdings by other central banks around the world would heighten the risks of market disruption. Read more of this post

Corporate governance: the resurgent activist

Corporate governance: the resurgent activist

A rising level of shareholder resolutions at annual meetings has provoked a reaction from the business lobby, write Stephen Foley and Jennifer Bissel

The US Chamber of Commerce calls it “minoritarianism, the tyranny of a minority”. Dan Gallagher of the Securities and Exchange Commission says annual meetings have been “hijacked” by “corporate gadflies”. Leo Strine, the chief justice of Delaware, where most big US companies are registered, says shareholder democracy has wrought a “constant ‘model UN’ where managers are repeatedly distracted by referendums on a variety of topics proposed by investors with trifling stakes”. Read more of this post

Anglo-Saxon economies should envy Germany’s rental culture; There might, however, be another explanation for the resilience of the German economy: its approach to housing

June 22, 2014 7:29 pm

Anglo-Saxon economies should envy Germany’s rental culture

By Mark Schieritz

Housing bubbles triggered the biggest financial crisis in living memory, writes Mark Schieritz

There is no shortage of explanations for the resilience of the German economy: its companies are strong; its political and social institutions stable; and the skills of its engineers legendary. There might, however, be another explanation: its approach to housing. The country’s property market differs widely from those in the rest of the world – and particularly from those of most Anglo-Saxon countries. Read more of this post