Business Pants

LET'S GET POLITICAL!Companies from Delta to Office Depot are disciplining and/or firing employees for their public comments on Charlie Kirk's death Trump wants to end a half-century-old mandate on how companies report earningsCompanies should instead only be required to post earnings every six months, pending the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval. This change would break a quarterly reporting mandate that's been in place since 1970.“This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies.” Appeals court allows Trump administration to end the ‘climate bank' where $20B was set aside to fund climate change projects Donald Trump tilts balance of power from investors to CEOsA BUNCH OF ESG CRAP!Exxon Reportedly Rolls Out Auto-Voting System To Boost Retail Investor Participation, Curb Activist InfluenceOpt-in proxy system would automate retail investor votes to support board positionsElon Musk's $1 Trillion Pay Proposal: Redefining CEO Compensation in the 21st CenturyFirst Elon Musk, now Larry Ellison: The world's richest men are buying huge media companies--because they canLachlan Murdoch Secures Control of Fox and News Corp, Ending Succession FightGoogle tops $3 trillion for the first time, joining select market-cap club with only 3 other membersApple, Microsoft, NvidiaOnly 7 countries have GDPs greater than $3TToxic Fumes Are Leaking Into Airplanes, Sickening Crews and PassengersDoctors compare brain effects to concussions in NFL players.A Wall Street Journal investigation shows the problem is getting worse and not much is being done about it. The Journal's reporting shows that aircraft manufacturers and their airline customers have played down health risks, successfully lobbied against safety measures, and made cost-saving changes that increased the risks to crew and passengers.The gender pay gap is getting wider, reversing progress US shareholders fail to pass any green proposals for first time in 6 years CLIMATE CHANGE/AI SPEED ROUNDCarbon emissions from oil giants directly linked to dozens of deadly heatwaves for first timeBrace for impact: Climate change is set to intensify flight turbulence, warn scientistsWhy climate change is making dengue fever a global threat Climate change will make 1-in-100-year crop failures more commonClimate Change Drives Surge in Deadly Supercell Storms Across EuropeClimate change is pushing venomous snakes into new regionsClimate Change Drives Surge in Deadly Flesh-Eating Bacteria on US CoastsOne out of every 4 homes is at ‘severe or extreme' climate risk, study saysOpenAI foresees millions of AI agents 'somewhere in the cloud' in just a few years--with human supervision Experts Concerned AI Is Going to Start a Nuclear WarPsychologist Says AI Is Causing Never-Before-Seen Types of Mental DisorderSam Altman says people are starting to talk like AI, making some human interactions ‘feel very fake' Sen. Cruz introduces bill to reduce regulatory burden facing AI companies

Story of the Week (DR):Lachlan Murdoch Secures Control of Fox and News Corp, Ending Succession FightLachlan Murdoch is confirmed as Rupert Murdoch's successor, gaining control over the family's media empire (which includes Fox Corporation and News Corp). Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch—three of Rupert's older children—will each receive about US$1.1 billion. They will sell their holdings in Fox and News Corp and give up beneficial/trust rights in those companies.Apart from full siblings Elisabeth and James Murdoch, Lachlan has three half-siblings, an elder half-sister Prudence, and two younger sisters by his father's third marriage, Grace and Chloe. A new family trust will be set up benefiting Lachlan and Rupert's younger daughters, Grace and Chloe. That trust will hold controlling voting shares in Fox and News Corp. The three older siblings will no longer be beneficiaries in the trust(s) connected to Fox and News Corp. They also give up any voting rights held via those trusts. Rupert Murdoch, despite handing over the control structure, retains a role as Chairman Emeritus. The new trust arrangement secures Lachlan's control over the companies through 2050. One of Rupert Murdoch's concerns was the possibility that the more moderate siblings (Prudence, Elisabeth, James) could shift the political or editorial leanings of Fox/News Corp after he's gone. The new structure is designed to prevent that.Senators Call for Hearings About JPMorgan's Ties to Jeffrey EpsteinDemocrats want CEO Jamie Dimon to testify about keeping Epstein as a client until 2013Epstein had dozens of accounts at JPMorgan's private bank and communicated often with bank executives, connecting them to his wealthy contacts, ties The Wall Street Journal first reported in 2023 to be deeper than understood. Epstein was a JPMorgan client before and after he was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008 and forced to register as a sex offender.Trump Epstein letter and drawing from ‘birthday book' releasedEric Trump removed from the ALT5 board of directors after discussion with the Nasdaq Stock Market LLCTrump's second son, Eric Trump, was removed from the ALT5 board of directors. According to the SEC filing, the change was made after discussion with the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, therefore, the change was in order to comply with Nasdaq's listing rules.It is still unclear which of the Nasdaq rules caused Eric Trump to be removed. The closest reason would be the rule that requires a majority of board members at listed companies to be independent. However, if Trump didn't qualify as independent, other members would have also been removed, which was not the case.after discussion with The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC … and in order to comply with Nasdaq's listing rules.” He is now a board observer: While he was originally announced as a full board member, Eric Trump has been reassigned to observer status — meaning he can attend meetings but doesn't have voting power.Larry Ellison's $100 billion day reminds us why David Ellison could buy ParamountLarry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, recently saw his net worth jump by around US$100 billion in a single day due to a spike in Oracle's stock.Larry's wealth was a key factor enabling his son, David Ellison, to acquire Paramount.David Ellison's position is less pressured because his father's vast wealth gives him a kind of “cushion” — meaning that even if some deals don't go well, he can withstand the backlash more than many media owners could.Paramount Skydance Prepares Ellison-Backed Bid for Warner Bros. DiscoveryThe majority of the planned bid for Warner will be made up of cashA Key to Larry Ellison's Wealth Creation: Years of Oracle Stock BuybacksOracle has used aggressive stock buybacks over the past 15 years as a major lever to boost shareholder value—and especially to amplify Larry Ellison's personal wealth. Oracle has aggressively repurchased its own shares over roughly the last 15 years — reducing its outstanding share count by nearly 45%. Because Larry Ellison held roughly the same number of shares, his ownership percentage rose from ~23% to around 41% without buying more stock.This buyback strategy significantly boosted the value of Ellison's stake — Barron's estimates that without the buybacks, his stake might have been worth only $215 billion instead of the current ~$387 billion.Ellison didn't need to purchase additional Oracle shares to increase the value of his investment—he benefited from the shrinking pool of shares and the company's rising valuation.Vanguard Tries To Get Investors Interested In Proxy Voting MMVanguard's trying to get millions of its fund investors involved in big corporate decisions—but so far, most people are still tuning out. That's left folks wondering who really holds sway at America's largest companies.Vanguard's campaign faces a classic case of 'rational apathy', where most index fund investors skip shareholder votes because it feels like a hassle with little impact on their own wallets.Even though Vanguard's Voting Choice program doubled participation to 82,000 people and tripled the dollar value voted to $9 billion, that's tiny compared to the company's 50 million investors and $11 trillion in assets.Studies from Duke, Florida, and Columbia universities show just how overwhelming the sheer number of ballot measures can be—making most people pick broad voting policies, like mainstream or anti-ESG, instead of poring over each decision.While reformers hope wider voting can democratize the system, the early results point the other way: individuals often skip votes or side with management, letting company leaders keep their grip. In fact, last year's Tesla shareholder votes would have failed if Vanguard's index funds had voted like individuals.Financial Services Committee Examines the Shareholder Proposal Process and Proxy Advisory FirmsOn the Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank on Annual Proxy Statements: “Together, these two laws [Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank] have driven up costs, increased the length and complexity of proxy statements, expanded the disclosure and oversight process, and fundamentally changed much of the shareholder access to the proxy system,” said Chairman Hill.French Hill: founder, Chair, and CEO of Delta Trust & Banking Corporation from 1999 until 2014. A ninth-generation Arkansan, Hill is a direct descendent of slave plantation owner Creed Taylor who was among the wealthiest 1% of Americans in 1860.On the Cost of Unnecessary and Irrelevant Shareholder Proposals: “Under this flawed system, companies are too often forced to waste valuable time and resources fighting proposals that are irrelevant to the company's bottom line, hurting investors and workers alike,” said Capital Markets Subcommittee Chair Ann Wagner (MO-02)."Allowing a small group of left-wing activists to hijack the proxy proposal process to push social, environmental, DEI, or political objectives totally unrelated to the core business of a company does not advance the cause of capitalism. It undermines capitalism. It corrupts capitalism because it results in the misallocation of resources of the company. It undermines the profitability of the company. It hurts the shareholders,” stated Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chair Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06).Barr believes that abortion should be illegal, including in cases of rape and incestBarr, who's now running for Mitch McConnell's Senate seat, made it clear that he and Musk are joined at the hip. A few days after the “town hall” Barr released a photo of himself standing beside a shiny new Tesla, with a big smile, a thumbs-up, and the caption “Elon Musk sure knows what he's doing!”On How Proxy Advisory Firms Can Deter Businesses from Joining Public Markets: “For many small and medium private companies considering an IPO, the decision often comes down to whether the benefits of accessing public markets outweigh the risk of compliance. But as we have seen in recent years, the shareholder proposal process can be dominated by a small group of activist investors advancing niche political agendas that have little to do with long term value creation. At the same time, proxy advisory firms wield outsized influence over voting outcomes, and [are] operating with limited transparency and potential conflicts of interest. So together, these dynamics can create an uncertainty and additional cost that make public markets less attractive,” declared House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (TX-25).Williams was listed as the 22nd wealthiest member of Congress in 2018. Williams inherited the family's automobile dealership from his father, who founded the business in 1939.During the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams's Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership in Weatherford, Texas, received a loan of between $1 million and $2 million as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP);[28][29] the loan was later forgivenGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Boone Electric Co-op members can cast drive-thru votes for directorsDR: New Mexico will be the first state to make child care free DR MMThe program, which will start in November and is expected to save families $12,000 per child annually, is available to all residents regardless of income. Gov. Michelle Lujan GrishamMM: Vanguard Finds ESG Voting Policy by Far the Most Popular Choice for Younger InvestorsAssholiest of the Week (MM):Asshole Speed Round! You rate the level of asshole for each, and the top scorers are assholes of the week:Paul Atkins 6SEC chief threatens ban on European accounting rules over sustainabilityThe US is thinking about banning IFRS, used everywhere else, because they don't like the data other countries want to use for investingWe already have feet, miles, and pounds, why not just have our own way to measure things that literally no one else uses?Sam Altman 7‘I haven't had a good night of sleep since ChatGPT launched': Sam Altman admits the weight of AI keeps him up at nightOMG, SHUT UP.Journalists who don't understand dual class shares 5Oracle CEO, one of the world's richest self-made women, just got $412 million richer in 6 hoursCharlie Scharf 10Wells Fargo CEO says Trump is entitled to be vocal about the FedScharf, also on the MSFT board for the enigma of successJamie Dimon 8Jamie Dimon says economy is ‘weakening' but he can't make sense of all the different data: ‘Maybe, one day, AI will fix that problem'JPMorgan processed over $1B for Jeffrey Epstein despite internal concerns over sex offender status: reportReverse justifying Zuck's feckless suckups 10Meta CFO explains CEO Mark Zuckerberg's $600 billion White House pledgeSusan LiBros 10The gender pay gap is getting wider, reversing progressThe pay gap is now back to where it was in 2017, when the burgeoning #MeToo movement drew wide attention to sex discrimination.Everything Charlie Kirk 10There are two things happening simultaneously that are probable root causes in political assassinations today:Hopelessness - Elon Musk is proposing to pay himself 68% of ALL THE WEALTH of the BOTTOM 50% OF US HOUSEHOLDS. If this pay package passes, he will have as much worth as ONE QUARTER of EVERYONE UNDER 40 - 166 million people in the US. We're convinced because he bought a car company and built some rockets using US subsidies he's singular. Combine that with the fact that he's one of 4 billionaire white men who control social media, which tells us EVERY DAY our life sucks and the reason is “the other side” and capitalism support is at a long term low, and people feel there are NO OTHER OPTIONS but to assassinate someone.Men - more than 99% of political violence is committed by men. Out of nearly 10,000 global public companies, 93% are lead by men. 73% of all country level parliamentary seats are male. You know who doesn't shoot people, engage in constant chest thumping, gun toting nationalism? Women. Step aside boys - investors, your opportunity is now, you get to vote on directors. Do some due diligence.Headliniest of the WeekDR: Hot mic catches Zuckerberg admitting his $600 bn vow to Trump was a guess: “Sorry, I wasn't ready… I wasn't sure what number you wanted to go with.”MM: Uber sued by DOJ for alleged discrimination against disabled riders - isn't this, like, SUPER WOKE?Who Won the Week?DR: Every Ellison everMM: Larry Ellison's facial hair - he can finally afford a razorPredictionsDR: David Ellison buys Lachlan's two younger half-sisters (from Rupert's third marriage), Grace and Chloe, and then immediately trades them for 30% ownership in the Winklevoss twins cryptocurrency-exchange company Gemini Space Station MM: THIS time, we won't get thoughts and prayers - we'll get ideological purges!

DAMION1Let's start with some shameless self-promotion: In our 'So it's theoretically possible you can NOT like someone on the board!' headline of the week. Jim Cramer Likes A Casino CEO Board Member Of AppLovin Corporation“He's also on the board of AppLovin by the way, which makes me feel like AppLovin's okay.”In our 'Of course I'm independent, you moron! I've only been on the board since Clinton was President, not like Reagan or something! Not to mention I've barely been chair for like a minute, since Obama was president, and he's still alive! And 20 million dollars is nothing! COO Jeff Williams made 27 million last year, dummy.' headline of the week. Apple's Chairman of the Board Sold More Than $20 Million in StockIn our 'Hey Ma, I just crashed our car! But if I promise to NOT do it again if you give me a million bucks?! Ask Dad.' headline of the week. The Tesla directors who just proposed giving Elon Musk a trillion dollars say it's “critical” he stay out of politicsIn our 'A college dropout and a racist walk into a bar...' headline of the week. Hot mic catches Zuckerberg admitting his $600 bn vow to Trump was a guess“Oh gosh, um, I think it is probably gonna be, something like, I don't know, at least $600 billion through 2028, in the US, yeah.”In our 'The SEC proposes "Interim CEO" to become a permanent C-suite title' headline of the week. CEO Scandals: Viral Outrage Forces Top Executives OutIn our 'Proxy votes: where morality goes to abstain' headline of the week. Korean Pension Fund Balances Profit and Principles in U.S. Proxy Votes In our 'Are you done writing your little 'book' for the day? Here's 10 dollars.' headline of the week. Anthropic agrees to pay authors over $1.5 billion for using their work to train AI, totaling around $3,000 a bookIf you include all realistic hours, an author paid $3,000 per book typically ends up with about $1.20 to $10.00 per hour, depending on how much work the project actually requires.For most full-length books the realistic band is ≈$2–$6 per hour, and for research-heavy projects it can drop to $1–$2/hr. These numbers are before agent commissions, taxes, and out-of-pocket expenses — which would reduce take-home hourly pay further.Net worth: As of September 2025, Forbes estimates Dario Amodei's net worth to be $3.7 billion In our 'In other news, water is still irritatingly wet' headline of the week. Leaked DMs Show Elon Musk Blatantly Lying About Self-Driving Safety In our 'CEO Who Created AI Startup to Cheat on Homework Complains That AI Is Destroying Education' headline of the week. CEO Who Created AI Startup to Cheat on Homework Complains That AI Is Destroying EducationCEO Chungin (Roy) Lee: college dropout“Cluely is building the ultimate conversation AI that gives you the answers you didn't study for in every conversation, without you even having to ask. We're built for students and professionals.”“We're backed by Andreessen-Horowitz, Jake Paul, and execs from companies like OpenAI (ChatGPT), Cognition, Notion, Dropbox, and Pika.” In our 'Capitalism: now featuring free WiFi!' headline of the week. The 'godfather of AI' says it will create 'massive' unemployment, make the rich richer, and rob people of their dignityGeoffrey Hinton, who won the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work on neural networks: "What's actually going to happen is rich people are going to use AI to replace workers."And finally, The Cigna CEO David Cordani Nuggets pop quiz: Here is the headline: WHO adds GLP-1 weight loss drugs to list of the world's essential medicines for the first time. Here are your Nugget-y options:Cigna CEO Cordani calls them essentially “not our problem.”WHO says GLP-1s are essential; Cordani says they're essentially a threat to his quarterly bonus.Essential means life-saving to WHO; Cordani asks, "When did Webster's change the definition of 'essential' to ‘profit-killing'?WHO says essential; Cordani says: “my yacht is essential, your pancreas is optional.”WHO says essential medicine; Cordani says essentially: “try kale, it's cheaper.”MATT1In our '"Out for themselves" sounds bad, how can we make it sound almost, like, medieval and cool?' headline of the week. What Machiavelli and St. Francis can tell us about the motivations of CEOsThere are very high correlations between desire for power and CEO motivationsIn our 'Bully who punched you in the face points way to the hospital' headline of the week. To Help Workers Losing Their Jobs to AI, OpenAI Is Launching a Jobs Platform Run By AIIn our 'Totally my bad guys, I spent the summer on Bob Niblock, our lead independent director's boat - you know we've known each other for as long as I've been on the board, going on 14 years. I mean, between the sun and the rose, I didn't notice we had no money to pay you. That's on me. I mean, you're still fired and stuff, but totally my mistake. Really, I mean wow, just totally blanked on that. Good luck with your lives, though, I really mean that.' headline of the week. I fault myself for not paying more attention,' Conoco CEO tells employees facing deep job cutsLead “Independent” director has a 16 year tenure and 13% influence, possibly wasn't paying attention since he's on two large cap boards and just quit a third, across which he had more than a half dozen committee spotsIn our 'The board released a statement suggesting that the mistress to the CEO's mistress mislead them into thinking there was no wrongdoing' headline of the week. Fired Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe's mistress caught him cheating with another subordinate in Swiss hotel: reportIn our 'The Department of Justice has announced a new investigation into whether Amazon Alexa will only provide directions to "woke" destinations, shares of Amazon plummet' headline of the week. Tylenol-maker shares sink after report says RFK's HHS will link drug to autismIn our 'Mary Barra, CEO of GM, asks that you not think of GM as just a car company, but as a tech lifestyle company, right before asking for $1tn pay package' headline of the week. Elon Musk's $1 Trillion Pay Proposal: Redefining CEO Compensation in the 21st CenturyIn our 'Seriously, we have no shortage of cousins and nieces and distant half children, our succession process is incredibly robust and impregnating.' headline of the week. Tyson Foods says it has succession plans after executive's shock departureThe meatpacker said late on Tuesday that Chief Supply Chain Officer Brady Stewart, who has also overseen its beef, pork and prepared foods businesses, ran afoul of its code of conduct.In our 'I identify as Australian' headline of the week. Who Is Lachlan Murdoch, the Media Prince Who Would Be KingNow the global Murdoch kingdom will fall under the control of an intensely private former philosophy student, a New Yorker turned proud Australian who transplanted his family to Sydney... Mr. Murdoch has frequently talked of Australia as his spiritual home.... “I'm Australian,” Mr. Murdoch told The Australian in July 2024. “That's how I see myself.”In our 'MEN ARE BACK, BABY' headline of the week. ‘I'm Gonna Punch You in Your F--king Face': Scott Bessent Threatens an Administration RivalGay ex-democrat Soros billionaire threatens to punch nepo baby conservative in the face? In our 'MEN ARE BACK, BABY' headline of the week. Trump's Epstein letter and drawing from 'birthday book' released

Story of the Week (DR):Nestlé chief executive sacked over affair with junior colleague MMLaurent Freixe dismissed after boardroom inquiry revealed ‘undisclosed romantic relationship'Nestlé chief ‘promoted junior colleague he had affair with'Nestle CEO axed after probe into complaints of favouritism, CFO saysCFO Anna Manz said the relationship between Freixe and the employee, who has not been named, was first examined in an internal investigation following concerns raised via Nestle's internal reporting system, called Speak Up.The matter was investigated by the board, but no evidence was found, she said."And it was at that point that Laurent also made a personal statement stating that there had been no such thing," Manz said, referring to the concerns about Freixe raised by whistleblowers.But complaints continued to be made, Manz said, leading to a second, broader inquiry being launched with help from Swiss lawyers Baer & Karrer.Nestlé fired its scandal-clad CEO without a payout—a ‘really unusual' move, corporate governance expert saysNell Minow: “That is really unusual. I think that's actually a badge of success for corporate governance, because that's something investors have been concerned about for a long time: CEOs being dismissed and somehow getting to stay on.”Who is the board? It's basically Paul BulckeChair since 2017CEO from 2008-2016Longest-tenured director (2008) by 7 yearsAt the company since 1979Kroger's ex-CEO won't have to detail 'embarrassing' thing he did to get fired, for nowTech CEOs Take Turns Praising Trump at White House Dinner (32% dropout/11% F)Tim Cook (Apple CEO)*Mark Zuckerberg (Meta Emperor) Sundar Pichai (CEO Google CEO)‘I'm glad it's over.' Google CEO thanks Trump for antitrust 'resolution'Alphabet this week added $230 billion to its market cap after avoiding a breakup in a landmark antitrust case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2020.Sergey Brin (Google/Alphabet co-founder) Satya Nadella (CEO Microsoft CEO)*Bill Gates (Microsoft Founder) *Sam Altman (CEO OpenAI CEO) *Greg Brockman (Co-founder/President, OpenAI) Safra Catz (Oracle CEO) Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron Technology CEO) Vivek Ranadivé (TIBCO Chair) Shyam Sankar (Palantir CTO) David Limp (CEO Blue Origin) *Alexandr Wang (Meta Chief AI Officer) *Jared Isaacman (Shift4 Payments founder/Chair)Jason Chang (CSBio CEO)Nathalie Dompé (Dompé farmaceutici co-CEO and nepobaby)*Dylan Field (Figma CEO)*John Hering (Lookout founder/Chair)Sunny Madra (Groq COO)Chamath Palihapitiya (CEO Social Capital)Mark Pincus (Zynga founder)David Sacks (PayPal Mafia)Jamie Siminoff (Ring founder)^Lisa Su (AMD CEO)Elon MuskTesla Plans to Pay Elon Musk 1,000 Billion Dollars—More Than Switzerland's GDP—In a Deal Tied to Sci-Fi-Level GoalsTesla's nearly $1 trillion new pay plan for Musk would expand his voting powerTesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm said the plan was designed to keep the CEO “motivated and focused on delivering for the company.” Denholm confirmed that the Tesla CEO pay plan, if approved by shareholders, would not put any limit on where and how Musk spends his time or require him to spend any minimum number of hours per week on Tesla business.Musk and Denholm not up for voteESG in Pop Culture:Internet sleuths reveal millionaire CEO is 'jerk' tennis fan who snatched US Open star's hat away from childThe luxury life of the 'most hated man on the internet' who lives in 'village of millionaires' is revealed... as even his own countrymen turn on himAfter Name Mix-Up, Online Rage Is Directed at Wrong C.E.O. in U.S. Open Hat ScandalThe chief executive of the Polish company Drogbruk was captured on video snatching a hat in front of a child. The head of Drog-Bruk, a different firm, is getting attacked. The executives also have similar surnames.Turkish CEO Throws Flower Pot At Employee After Argument, Issues ApologyHakki Alkan, CEO of Turkish technology news outlet ShiftDelete, threw a flower pot filled with gravel at his employee during an argument.The argument between Alkan and the employee, who has been identified as Samet Jankovic, began due to a disagreement over the content to be published. Both apparently had different opinions.In the aftermath, Alkan expressed regret for his actions, acknowledging the stress of their busy work environment. He promised to manage it better to prevent similar incidents in the futureGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Kraft Heinz Breaks Up, Bumming Out Billionaire BuffettNorth American Grocery (staples like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles, and Lunchables)Global Taste Elevation (sauces, spreads)DR: McDonald's CEO warns of 'two-tiered economy'Chris Kempczinski:"Particularly, with middle- and lower-income consumers, they're feeling under a lot of pressure right now. I think there is a lot of commentary about what's the state of the economy, how is it doing and what we see is it's really kind of a two-tier economy.""If you are upper-income, earning over $100,000, things are good. Stock markets are near all-time highs, you are feeling quite confident about things, you are seeing international travel – all those barometers of upper-income consumers are doing quite well. What we see with middle and lower-income consumers is actually a different story," he continued.McDonald's quits National Restaurant Association over wage dispute2024: CEO Pay Ratio: 1,014:1$18.2Mpersonal flights: $400kAs of proxy owns 785k shares valued at $250M11:02:50 AM2023: CEO Pay Ratio: 1,212:1$19.2Mpersonal flights: $250k10:43:00 AM2022: CEO Pay Ratio: 1,224:1$17.8Mpersonal flights: $250k10:42:00 AM2021: CEO Pay Ratio: 2,251:1$20Mpersonal flights: $242k9:55:25 AMMM: Harvard beats Trump as judge orders US to restore $2.6 billion in funding DR MMAren't you glad you didn't settle like my asshole alma mater??MM: US flight attendants push to be paid when planes aren't in the air: ‘Most of our passengers have no idea'Assholiest of the Week (MM):Free market capitalismIn 2024, Deere caved to Robby Starbuck and scrapped its DEI programs because: “People should go to work without having to feel like they have to behave a certain way in order to be acceptable to their employer,” he said.By “behave a certain way”, he meant “they should be allowed to be racist if they want”NLPC had a shareholder proposal demanding a report on implied discrimination against whites, saying, “In 2019, Starbucks was sued for a single case of discrimination against a white employee, who was awarded $25 million in 2023. The risk of litigation for such mistreatment is rising, and companies have begun to reconsider whether their DEI programs perpetuate prejudice rather than alleviate it.”In response, the National Black Farmers Association President John Boyd, Jr., called for the resignation of Deere & Co CEO John C. May and a boycott of the companySo much for the risk of litigation because of all the black people they no longer sell to: John Deere, a U.S. Icon, Is Undermined by Tariffs and Struggling FarmersFree market capitalism DRUS ‘very troubled' by Norway fund's Caterpillar divestment over IsraelLindsey Graham, a Republican senator who is close to US President Donald Trump, had already threatened to impose tariffs on Norway and stop issuing visas to the fund's officials over the Caterpillar divestment.“To those who run Norway's sovereign wealth fund: if you cannot do business with Caterpillar because Israel uses their products, maybe it's time you're made aware that doing business or visiting America is a privilege, not a right,” he said last week.But we're only concerned with SOME companies? Major Pension Fund Pulls $14 Billion from BlackRock Over Its Abandonment of ESG - no responseFree market capitalismThank you, dear leader…‘I'm glad it's over.' Google CEO thanks Trump for antitrust 'resolution'Pichai: “Appreciate that your administration had a constructive dialogue, and we were able to get it to some resolution.”Tech CEOs Take Turns Praising Trump at White House DinnerAltman: “Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president. It's a very refreshing change,” Altman said. “I think it's going to set us up for a long period of leading the world, and that wouldn't be happening without your leadership.”Cook: "I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States and have some key manufacturing, advanced manufacturing here. I think that says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation. I want to thank the First Lady for focusing on education."At least $600 billion': Zuckerberg tells Trump as tech CEOs pledge massive US investmentsWhen Trump pressed him for specifics, Zuckerberg replied that Meta would invest “at least $600 billion” in the U.S. through 2028.Free market capitalism“Special” committee at Tesla - Robyn Denholm (on every committee), and Kathleen WIlson-Thompson (definitely will be voted out this year) - approves a new mega pay packageWHEN Musk “acquires” SpaceX, xAI, Neurolink and rebrands Tesla as X, he'll buy for ~$500bn and get a 10x multiple on the public valuation - figure it's worth close to 5tn. Add in the current valuation of Tesla and it's 6tn - he meme stocked his way to 12% of the company shares if he can sell ~10m Teslas in China, making his stake roughly 25% of the companyAt a 6tn meme valuation, Musk's worth is 1.5tn - the first meme trillionHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Giant Food Company Fires CEO After 'Anonymous Reports' Raise Alleged Romantic Relationship with EmployeeDR: Palantir Technologies's CEO Is The Smartest Person Ever To Live, Says Jim CramerDR: Pope named to NABC Board of DirectorsNational Basketball Association of Basketball Coaches Board of DirectorsMM: A Midwest lawyer named Mark Zuckerberg wants the other Mark Zuckerberg to stop ruining his online footprintMM: Newsmax sues Fox News for allegedly abusing monopoly powerThey are suing for a RIGHT WING MONOPOLY! A political blowhard monopoly! Who do we sue for having a snarky governance wonk monopoly?Who Won the Week?DR: Paul BulckeMM: Best trade ever: First Intel gets $9bn AND 10% of its own voting right back, now this: Trump Deal Lets Intel Move Factories Overseas, Sen. Warren ExplainsMM: Second winner: Lefty climate activist Jay Butera, who submitted a shareholder proposal to Tesla asking for a “political neutrality policy” - isn't this what conservatives are demanding?? Aren't we all the same???PredictionsDR: Nestle changes its name to Human Nourishment VenturesMM: The US government will 100% take a stake in Caterpillar, Tractor Supply, and Harley Davidson, because the free market is about manly companies from the 1980s

How Are the Very Rich Feeling About New York's Next Mayor?“The Hamptons is basically in group therapy about the mayoral race.”“Even overpriced lobster salad can't seem to make people out here feel better,” said Robert Zimmerman, a veteran political fund-raiser who has yet to back anyone in the race.Greg Kraut, the chief executive of KPG Funds, a real estate investment firm, has called Mr. Mamdani's supporters WHAT “Trust-fund Trotskyites”“iPad insurrectionists”“Moron Millennials.”“LinkedIn Leninists”“Avocado-toast anarchists”Which headline is real?Nestlé Fires CEO Over 'Undisclosed Romantic Relationship'Nestlé on Monday dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe after only a year on the job following "an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate" that breached its Code of Business Conduct.1"This was a necessary decision," Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke said. "Nestlé's values and governance are strong foundations of our company."Freixe, a company veteran, was appointed last year to replace CEO Mark Schneider as the maker of Toll House cookies and Nespresso coffee struggled with slowing sales. The Swiss company tapped Philipp Navratil, the head of Nestlé's Nespresso division, to succeed Freixe.Earlier this year, department store chain Kohl's fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after an investigation found he directed the company to enter a multi-million-dollar agreement with a group that included a personal contact.Nestle: -21% gender influence gap; led by:Paul Bulcke 20%Mark Schneider 17%Renato Fassbind 11% Pablo Isla Alvarez de Tejera 10%Patrick Aebischer 10%Nestlé Fires CEO After Pushing Cost-Cutting Plan That Included Charging for Office CoffeeExecutive Pushed Out Amid Backlash to Marketing Campaign That Accidentally Insulted All of FranceTop Executive Removed Amid Fallout From Supply Chain “Efficiency” That Turned Out to Be Child LaborNestlé Fires CEO After Boardroom Dispute Over Aggressive Cost-Cutting PlanWhich is the real headline about sharks going woke?“Climate change could be causing sharks to develop a taste for kale”“Climate change could be causing sharks to lose interest in humans”“Climate change could be causing sharks to starve because they forgot how to hunt”“Climate change could be causing sharks to develop social anxiety around prey”Climate change could be causing sharks to lose their biteWhich headline is real?Delta Air Lines Boss Issues Apology After Taking First-Class Seat From Child PassengerPolish CEO Piotr Szczerek issues apology for stealing Kamil Majchzrak's hat from US Open fanPiotr Szczerek, founder of paving company Drog-Bruk, has apologised for stealing Kamil Majchrzak's cap from the young fan it was intended for at the US Open.Footage of the Polish CEO ripping the cap out of the boy's hand went viral over the weekend, as did tone-deaf statements attributed to Szczerek that he says were fake."I take full responsibility for my extremely poor judgment and hurtful actions. It was never my intent to steal away a prized memento from the young fan. I became caught up in the heat of the moment and the joy of the victory, and I believed Majchrzak was handing a hat to me to give to my sons, who had previously asked for autographs.“For years, my wife and I have been involved in supporting children and young athletes, but this incident has shown me that a moment of inattention can undo years of work and support. It is a painful but necessary lesson in humility.“Going forward, I will engage even more actively in initiatives that support children and youth, and I will take actions against violence and hate. I believe that only through actions can I rebuild the trust I have lost.”Yeti Coolers Boss Issues Apology for Being Spotted Using an Igloo at Company PicnicCrocs CFO Issues Apology After Referring to Product Line as “Ugly But Profitable”Beyond Meat CEO Apologizes After Being Seen Eating a CheeseburgerMore What Has Been Showing Up in Random Workplace TestsMore Fentanyl Shows Up in Random Workplace TestsThe positive rate for urine tests indicating the presence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl was 1.13% in 2024. That is up from 0.91% in 2023 and double the rate in 2020, according to a recent analysis of more than eight million drug tests by Quest Diagnostics, one of the U.S.'s largest drug-testing labs.“We're seeing trends that are outside of the norm that we see for other drugs historically,” said Suhash Harwani, senior director of science for workforce-health solutions at Quest Diagnostics.More Adderall Shows Up in Random Workplace TestsMore Kombucha Shows Up in Random Workplace TestsMore Xanax Shows Up in Random Workplace TestsMore Melatonin Shows Up in Random Workplace TestsWhich headline is real?CEO of Japanese drinks giant Suntory resigns “over an unauthorized office sake brewing operation”CEO of Japanese drinks giant Suntory resigns “following questions about executive karaoke competitions”CEO of Japanese drinks giant Suntory resigns “amid concerns about boardroom drinking habits”CEO of Japanese drinks giant Suntory resigns “following a controversial marketing stunt gone wrong”CEO of Japanese drinks giant Suntory resigns after he purchased supplements containing illegal substancesSuntory Holdings chairman and CEO Takeshi Niinami has resigned following allegations he purchased supplements containing illegal substances, the company confirmed Tuesday.Niinami, 66, one of Japan's most prominent and outspoken business leaders, said he believed the supplements he bought were legal. He has often served as the face of corporate Japan and frequently appeared on CNN.Investigators had previously searched Niinami's Tokyo home on suspicion he had received products containing cannabis-derived substances from an acquaintance overseas, according to public broadcaster NHK, citing investigative officials.The real headline:“Don't worry about the job market on Earth, Gen Z: Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk say you'll be herding robots on Mars.”“Don't worry about the job market on Earth, Gen Z: Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk say you'll be delivering 24/7 ads directly into people's dreams.”Don't worry about the job market on Earth, Gen Z: Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk say you'll be working in space soon“Don't worry about the job market on Earth, Gen Z: Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk say you'll be moderating AI-generated content for companies.”“Don't worry about the job market on Earth, Gen Z: Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk say you'll be maintaining subscription-based virtual reality platforms.”Tesla rejected 11 shareholder proposals on sustainability and accountability ahead of its annual meetingHow many proposals were rejected?27111721What does Elon Musk want Tesla's shareholder meeting to focus on instead?SolarxAIBatteriesOptimusGrokWhich of the following proposals was real and was rejected?Ask Tesla to disclose how many veterans it hiresPledge to use AI in a way that supports renewable energyLook into sustainable tiresEnsure workplace rights in Tesla's factories, such as the freedom to unionizeIncreasing oversight on Tesla's HR practiceOpenAI Chairman Says AI Is DestroyingConfidence in Making DecisionsUnderstanding of What's Real and What's GeneratedHis Ability to Keep Up With Industry TrendsHis Sense of Who He Is"The thing I self-identify with is just, like, being obviated by this technology.""You're going to have this period of transition where it's saying, like, 'How I've come to identify my own worth, either as a person or as an employee, has been disrupted.' His Perspective on Human Creativity

Story of the Week (DR):The Cracker Barrel BSCracker Barrel scraps new logo design, keeps 'Old Timer' after listening to customersRestaurant chain's stock price sank following removal of 'Uncle Herschel' from brandingUncle Herschel wasn't just a marketing creation, he was a real person. Born Herschel McCartney, he was the younger brother of Cracker Barrel founder Dan Evins' mother and served as an early goodwill ambassador for the brand. A salesman for Martha White Flour Company for over three decades, Herschel traveled through rural America, building relationships in small-town general stores — the very kinds of places that inspired Cracker Barrel's original design and ethos.When Cracker Barrel introduced its iconic logo in 1969, the old-timer sitting beside the barrel was long thought by fans to be based on Herschel himself, though the company later clarified that this wasn't the case.In 2004, the Justice Department (during the George W. Bush administration) sued the chain for discriminating against Black customers. In 2006, they settled a lawsuit involving three of their Illinois restaurants for “discriminatory practices, racially charged language, and inappropriate touching.”Cracker Barrel's inconvenient fact: all the customers who loved its old logo had stopped going to the restaurantFounder Dan EvinsHis tone was considerably harsher when it came to defending a January 1991 directive to all the company's restaurants to fire employees “whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values.” Mr. Evins's explanation for the edict was that gay people made customers in rural areas uncomfortable. As many as 16 openly or suspected gay employees were promptly fired.“They actually put a policy like this in writing, which was, and still is, shocking,” David Smith, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign.The New York City Employees Retirement System, which owned more than $6 million of Cracker Barrel shares, led other stock owners in using their votes and other legal means to organize resistance. In March 1991, Mr. Evins apologized and said the policy had been rescinded. But New York and its allies fought until 58 percent of the shareholders in 2002 persuaded Cracker Barrel's board to vote unanimously to explicitly forbid antigay discrimination in its equal employment policy.In July 2001, shareholders replaced Evins as CEO with Michael A. Woodhouse, who at the time was serving as the company's chief operating officer. Evins maintained his position as chairman of the board.Prior to founding the company, Dan worked for Consolidated Oil, a company founded by his grandfather.Cracker Barrel took down Pride page after rebrand fiascoCompany faced criticism over modernist redesign and support for LGBT causes before stock reboundThe website link for Cracker Barrel's Pride page, which used to boast that the company was "bringing the porch to Pride," now redirects to its "Culture and Belonging" page.Cracker Barrel previously sponsored the Nashville Pride Parade in 2024 and unveiled a line of rainbow-colored rocking chairs for Pride month. The company also has an LGBTQ employee resource group called the "LGBTQ+ Alliance," along with groups for veterans and other communities.Despite claims it's 'too woke,' Cracker Barrel actually has a fraught LGBTQ+ historyCracker Barrel received a score of zero on the inaugural index in 2002. The chain was criticized in the 1990s for discrimination against gay employees. In 1991, the company adopted a corporate policy stating that any worker who failed to demonstrate "normal heterosexual values" would be fired. Eleven employees were terminated under the rule, leading to boycotts and protests nationwide. Over time, Cracker Barrel's HRC score improved, reaching 80 in 2021 after the company took several public pro-LGBTQ stances.58 percent of the shareholders in 2002 persuaded Cracker Barrel's board to vote unanimously to explicitly forbid antigay discrimination in its equal employment policy.Proud Representation: Business Resource Groups: These voluntary, employee-led organizations are open to all employees and provide opportunities to network, develop leadership skills, and serve as cross-functional resources for our teams.AMPT (Advancing Modern Professionals for Tomorrow) aims to connect and empower modern professionals by promoting a community of inclusive, ambitious, and diverse members that unify through the Cracker Barrel to equip our community and leaders for the future. This BRG provides networking, development, and community outreach opportunities that supplement the professional and personal lives of its members.The mission of Be Bold is to cultivate and develop Black Leaders within the Cracker Barrel organization utilizing allyship, mentorship, and education to create a path to continued excellence as well as a vibrant and diverse community.B-Well: Cracker Barrel's Wellness BRG partners with the Benefits Department to improve the employee experience by sponsoring health and wellness activities that nurture employees' physical, emotional, financial, and intellectual well-being. Balance in these areas reduces distractions and allows employees to improve their focus and productivity.HOLA's mission is to promote Hispanic and Latino culture through hiring, developing, and retaining talent within Cracker Barrel. To create a culture of inclusivity and awareness through community outreach.LGBTQ+ Alliance: Supporting Home Office and Field employees to bring their whole selves to work while strengthening Cracker Barrel's relationship to the LGBTQ+ community.NeuroVerse Collective is focused on advocacy and education around Neurodiversity.Our Veteran's BRG, SERVE, is dedicated to advocating for leadership and development opportunities for its members. We foster an environment of networking and volunteerism while focusing on recruitment, retention, and advancement of Veterans at this company.Women's Connect: Our mission & goal is to inspire the women of Cracker Barrel by empowering, educating and engaging to achieve the strategic initiatives of Cracker Barrel.The anti-DEI purge continues: MMFed emphasizes its commitment to 'independence' as Lisa Cook pledges to sue over Trump's 'illegal' firingWhite House fires CDC director [Susan Monarez] who says RFK Jr. is ‘weaponizing public health'White House names RFK Jr deputy Jim O'Neill as replacement CDC directorUnlike Monarez, O'Neill, a former investment executive, does not have a medical or scientific background. He served as a speechwriter for the health department during the George W Bush administration, and went on to work for the tech investor and conservative mega-donor Peter Thiel.Trump Fires Member of Board That Approves Railroad MergersRobert E. Primus received an email from the White House terminating his position, but he said he would continue his duties.The Oligarchy Rules!: Trump makes the government Intel's largest investorIntel has entered into an agreement with the U.S. government, specifically the Department of Commerce, for an $8.9 billion investment in the company. This investment is in the form of the government purchasing Intel common stock.The U.S. government will gain a nearly 10% stake in Intel.This funding is part of the CHIPS and Science Act and the Secure Enclave program, aimed at boosting the domestic semiconductor industry.The government's ownership will be passive, with no board representation or governance rights.Each Warrant represents the right to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $20.00 per share.On August 18, 2025, Intel Corporation entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with SoftBank Group Corp. pursuant to which SoftBank agreed to purchase 86,956,522 shares of the Company's common stock for an aggregate purchase price in cash of $2.0 billion, representing a price per share of $23.00 per share.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Korea passes boardroom reform, curbing chaebol power MM DRMM: Red Lobster Is Betting on Black Diners With Its Brand ComebackMM: Bluesky now platform of choice for science communityAssholiest of the Week (MM):Shareholder democracyFrom Mike Levin, host of Shareholder Primacy and writer of the Activist Investor newsletter: Followers here should recall ten current and former TSLA directors agreed to repay about $735 million in comp they received from 2017-2020 as part of a settlement of a derivative lawsuit, Detroit v. Tesla.February 25, 2025 - TSLA receives $735 million in cash and returned options from ten director defendants, five of which currently serve on the TSLA BoD, without specifying how much each defendant paidMarch 31 - We filed our opening brief, acknowledging that receipt of the damages and noting the five director defendants currently on the TSLA BoD had not filed SEC Form 4 showing a change in options holdings to reflect returned optionsApril 29 or 30 - TSLA BoD authorizes cancellation of options to reflect the settlementMay 1 - The five defendants currently on the TSLA BoD file Form 4 showing return of options as part of the settlement.It is impossible for Tesla to have received Settlement Options from Current Director Defendants by February 25, 2025 and for Current Director Defendants to have conveyed them to Tesla on May 1, 2025. Either Tesla misrepresented receipt of the Settlement Amount in a sworn affidavit or Current Director Defendants failed to timely file Form 4 with the SEC.From Kevin Barnes of K-Bar Holdings LLC, shareholder proponent at Eagle Materials:Files shareholder proposal to de-classify the board by amending the charter via Special Meeting in the June 23, 2025 proxy statementAt the AGM held August 4, 2025, Barnes wins the advisory vote… by a LOT - 92% in favor (92%!!!) - made more impressive given that 37.3% of shares are held by Fidelity, Vanguard, BlackRock, and JPM, not exactly communistsKevin emailed me Tuesday to say Eagle “has yet to notice a Special Meeting to formalize [the amendments]”On August 16th, 19 days after Samsara (where Marc Andreessen and Sue Wagner spend their time) held its AGM, the company added Gary Steele (whose company Shield AI is private and funded in large part by Andreessen Horowitz) to the boardQorvo, after John Cheveddan's shareholder proposal asking for the right of investors to call special meetings failed with 44% in favor and approved pay with just 59% in favor, ONE DAY after the annual meeting the board “approved” giant golden parachutes for the executivesMeritocracyRobert Primus: Trump Fires Member of Board That Approves Railroad Mergers“Robert Primus did not align with the president's America First agenda, and was terminated from his position by the White House.” He added, “The administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order.”Primus is a black man who went to Harvard and Hamton and has more than 20 year experience in politics - he was given the position originally by TrumpLisa Cook: Trump says he's removing Fed governor Lisa Cook, citing his administration's allegations of mortgage fraudLetitia Jones: Justice Dept. Abruptly Escalates Pressure Campaign on a Trump AdversaryMuriel Bowser, Karen Bass: Cities led by Black women are the first targets of Trump's political power grabKnow your surrendering boards DRCracker Barrel CEO Under Pressure To Resign After Logo U-TurnCarl Berquist (2019), Chair, ex Arthur AndersenJody Bilney (2022), ex HumanaSteve Bramlage (2025), Casey's GeneralGilbert Davila (2020), diversity marketing CEO (PoC!)John Garratt (2023), ex Dollar GeneralMichael Goodwin (2024), tech at PetSmart (PoC!)Cheryl Henry (2024), ex Ruth'sJulie Felss Masino, CEOGisel Ruiz (2020), ex Sam's Club (PoC!)Daryl Wade (2021), ex Union Square Hospitality (PoC!)Cracker Barrel board member under fire for DEI backgroundTrump makes the government Intel's largest investorFrank Yeary (2009), Chair, PE/VC tech guyJim Goetz (2019), SequoiaAndrea Goldsmith (2021), dean at PrincetonAlyssa Henry (2020), ex CEO of BlockEric Meurice (2024), ex ASML HoldingsBarbara Novick (2022), ex Blackrock founderSteve Sanghi (2024), Microchip TechnologyGreg Smith (2017), ex BoeingStacy Smith (2024), ex KioxiaDion Weisler (2020), ex HPHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Pork Industry Leader David Newman Selected as National Pork Board's Next CEOMM: Jeff Bezos Said He Would Have 'Felt Icky' Had He Taken Any More Shares Of Amazon: 'I Just Didn't Feel Good...'MM: Sam Altman says colleagues are glad he's a dad now, because they think raising a child will help him make ‘better decisions for humanity'Who Won the Week?DR: Hopeful Susan Collins slayer and oyster farmer Graham Platner: “I did four infantry tours in the Marine Corps and the army. I'm not afraid to name an enemy, and the enemy is the oligarchy. It's the billionaires who pay for it, the politicians who sell us out.”MM: Journalists who listen to Business Pants: Cracker Barrel's inconvenient fact: all the customers who loved its old logo had stopped going to the restaurant - where Dee Ann Durbin of the AP literally took my rant about foot traffic and stock movements part for partPredictionsDR: The following lines will be deleted from Cracker Barrel's next proxy statement:[The Public Responsibility Committee ] “Reviews the Company's progress in its diversity and inclusion initiatives and compliance with the Company's responsibilities as an equal opportunity employer”“ In addition, our nominees — including five (5) women and three (3) individuals who are racially or ethnically diverse — embody the diversity that we believe is critical to the effective functioning of any public company board today, particularly in a consumer-facing industry such as ours.”“Board Diversity Matrix”Or at least the following term from that matrix: “Non-Binary”“Gilbert R. Dávila, age 61, first became one of our directors in July 2020. Since 2010, Mr. Dávila has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of DMI Consulting — a leading multicultural marketing, diversity & inclusion, and strategy firm in the United States.”Cracker Barrel board member under fire for DEI background after restaurant ditches traditional logo MM: Ramon Laguarta, the CEO of Pepsi, quietly scraps a plan for their brand Quaker Oats to remove the picture of the old white quaker guy from the cartons of oats and instead asks the marketing team to make the quaker guy even older and whiter and possible they should consider adding a shotgun in his hands with “boobs rule” written on the side of it

US Senator Sanders favors Trump plan to take stake in Intel and other chipmakersBernie: "If microchip companies make a profit from the generous grants they receive from the federal government, the taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on that investment."Mark Zuckerberg gifted noise-canceling headphones to his Palo Alto neighbors because of the non-stop construction around his 11 homesCracker Barrel, under fire from Donald Trump Jr. and Steak n' Shake, apologizes to fans but won't drop new logo“If the last few days have shown us anything, it's how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We're truly grateful for your heartfelt voices,” the company said Monday in a statement on its website.“You've also shown us that we could have done a better job sharing who we are and who we'll always be.”On Monday, the Lebanon, Tennessee-based company emphasized that many things about Cracker Barrel won't change, including the rocking chairs on its front porches and vintage Americana and antiques scattered throughout its restaurants.Cracker Barrel also said it will continue to honor Uncle Herschel — the older man in the former logo, who represents the uncle of Cracker Barrel's founder — on its menu and on items sold in its stores.But Cracker Barrel said it also wants to make sure that the business stays fresh and attracts a new generation of customers.Maine's Populist Senate Candidate Thinks We Are in a New Gilded AgeAccording to Graham Platner, America has entered a new gilded age and needs a politics that can meet the moment. “I think the comparisons between the late 19th century and now are apt: vast amounts of wealth and regulatory structures that in no way, shape, or form keep that wealth in check,” pointing to the power people like Elon Musk and other prominent Silicon Valley leaders have over the current administration.He pointed to his state's famed and tightly regulated lobster industry as an example.“The state of Maine has passed laws over the years that have regulated the lobster industry in a very specific way, and it means there's one boat, one captain, one license. Fishing can only be conducted while the captain is aboard. This has entirely disincentivized consolidation,” he explained.“The result is a half-a-billion-dollar-a-year industry for the state of Maine that has almost no corporate ownership.”When presented with the alternative theory—that Maine should instead allow consolidation in its prize industry and redistribute wealth back to workers and their communities through other means—he bluntly dismissed its proponents. “Those people are full of shit. The distribution of resources needs to happen at the level where things are being produced.”Lisa Cook Says She Will Not Step Down From the Fed Board“I will not resign,” she said. “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”Meta Defector Issues Devastating Psychological Takedown of Tech CEOsNick Clegg, a former Meta executive who left the company at the start of this year: "If you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.""You'd think, wouldn't you, that if you were immensely powerful and rich like Elon Musk and all these other tech bros and members of that podcast community that you'd reflect on your good fortune compared with most other people?" Instead, Clegg seethed, they cry persecution."In Silicon Valley, far from thinking they're lucky, they think they're hard done by, [that] they're victims. I couldn't, and still can't, understand this deeply unattractive combination of machismo and self-pity."Red Lobster Is Betting on Black Diners With Its Brand ComebackCEO Damola Adamolekun, who took over the job last September, a 36-year-old Nigerian American, who is also credited with rescuing P.F. Chang's.Red Lobster has been a part of America's casual-dining landscape since the first location opened in Lakeland, Fla., in 1968. Just four years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, many restaurants in the South were still segregated de facto. Red Lobster embraced diversity, opening its doors to Black customers and hiring Black workers.The ‘woke' words Democrats should cut from their vocabularyA new memo identifies 45 words and phrases for Democrats to avoid, alleging the terms turn voters off. They span six categories: Therapy-Speak (1/11: Triggering); Seminar Room Language (0/8); Organizer Jargon (1/8: Stakeholders); Gender/Orientation Correctness (1/8: Patriarchy); The Shifting Language of Racial Constructs (0/5); Explaining Away Crime (0/4)Korea passes boardroom reform, curbing chaebol powerSouth Korea has passed a significant boardroom reform aimed at curbing the power of the country's large family-owned conglomerates, known as "chaebol."Here are some key changes:Mandatory Cumulative VotingFor large listed companies with assets exceeding 2 trillion won (about $1.44 billion), a cumulative voting system is now required. This system allows minority shareholders to pool their votes and elect a representative to the board, giving them a greater voice in corporate governance.Increased Power for Audit CommitteesThe number of audit committee members elected separately from the controlling shareholders will increase from one to at least two. This strengthens the independence of the audit committee, which is responsible for overseeing financial reporting and internal controls.Broader Application of the "3% Rule"The "3% rule," which limits the voting power of the largest shareholders to 3% when electing audit committee members, will now be extended to independent directors. Previously, this cap only applied to internal directors.Extended Fiduciary Duty of DirectorsA previous amendment in July extended the fiduciary duty of directors to all shareholders, not just the company. This change is intended to prevent controlling families from making decisions that benefit themselves at the expense of minority shareholders."Outside Directors" Renamed "Independent Directors"A symbolic but important change that emphasizes the need for directors to act independently of management and controlling shareholders.Mandatory Hybrid Shareholder MeetingsFor publicly traded firms with more than 2 trillion won in assets, hybrid shareholder meetings will be mandatory. This will allow shareholders to participate and vote online, increasing accessibility and participation.Increased Proportion of Independent DirectorsThe required proportion of independent directors on the board has been raised from one-quarter to one-third, further strengthening independent oversight of management."Yellow Envelope Bill"This measure, passed alongside the boardroom reforms, secures bargaining rights for subcontracted workers, which could have a significant impact on the labor practices of chaebol.Revamping Public Broadcaster GovernanceThe reforms also include measures to revamp the governance of public broadcasters, which could reduce the influence of chaebol on the media.UnitedHealth forms new ‘public responsibility' board committeeThe committee will oversee areas where UnitedHealth has struggled or faced public scrutiny: underwriting and forecasting, regulatory relationships, reputational matters, and M&A.Michele Hooper, who's served on UnitedHealth's board since 2007, will step down as lead independent director to chair the committee. Hooper, who will remain a director, will be replaced as lead independent director by F. William McNabb, the former CEO of investing firm the Vanguard Group who has served on UnitedHealth's board since 2018.The U.S. EV fast-charging network is seeing explosive growth—despite Trump's policiesInstallation of fast DC chargers that can get an EV to 80% charged in less than an hour are up more than 25% from 2024—despite the loss of Biden administration initiatives designed to support the growth of the network.Companies with climate targets have more than tripled since 2023The number of companies worldwide with both validated near-term and net-zero science-based climate targets has more than tripled since the end of 2023, from 583 to 1,904, according to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).A total of 10,949 companies worldwide now either have near-term targets or near-term and net-zero targets, or have committed to set them, according to a report by the Science-Based Targets initiative.Air Canada reaches a deal to end flight attendant strikeThe tentative deal secures Air Canada flight attendants at least 60 minutes of ground pay, for their time before each flight, at a rate of 50 per cent of a flight attendant's hourly rate, with that rate increasing five per cent each year.The airline is also proposing immediate pay increases of 12 per cent for flight attendants with five years or less of service with Air Canada, and eight per cent for those who have worked at the airline longer than that.Kimbal Musk on Elon's Tesla pay package: 'My brother deserves to be paid'

Story of the Week (DR):End of summer anti-woke bro rage brigade MMNew Cracker Barrel Logo Sparks Right-Wing Backlash—From Trump Jr. And MoreMAGA erupts over Cracker Barrel logo change, and stock plungesRight-Winger, Others Call Out 'Woke' New Change To Cracker Barrel's Peg GameThe goal of the game is to whittle down the number of pegs on the board to one through a series of “jumping” pegs, not unlike checkers. Previously, directions on the game explained that people who have only one peg left on the board are geniuses, while people with two pegs left are “pretty smart.” However, if you leave three pegs, the game considers you “dumb,” while anyone who leaves four pegs is an “EG-NO-RA-MOOOSE.”That was the old game. New peg games have removed the playful insults and instead say, “leave three or more ― no reason to be embarrassed. Try again.”Sean Davis, the CEO of The Federalist: Cracker Barrel didn't just destroy its logo and restaurant vibe. It also changed the peg game to make dumb people feel better when they do poorly.Until October 2017, The Federalist had a "black crime" tag, which aggregated articles related to criminal activity by African AmericansChristian College's Hot Take On Cracker Barrel Has People Saying, ‘Huh?'Hillsdale College in Michigan: A post on its official account on X (formerly Twitter) likened the updated logo to a vandalized statue of President George Washington that was defaced during the 2020 protests over the police killing of George Floyd.MAGA Rep Drags Jesus Christ Into ‘Woke' Cracker Barrel MeltdownCongressman Byron Donalds slammed the restaurant chain for daring to rebrand after he had a religious experience in one of its Florida parking lots: “In college, I worked at @CrackerBarrel in Tallahassee,” the Florida Republican wrote on X, “I even gave my life to Christ in their parking lot. Their logo was iconic and their unique restaurants were a fixture of American culture. No one asked for this woke rebrand.”‘Cracker barrel goes woke': CEO under MAGA fire for changing logo first time in 48 years, removes ‘white guy'Steak 'n Shake slams Cracker Barrel CEO for eliminating 'old-timer' from logo: 'We take pride in our history'“This is what happens when you have a board that does not respect their historical customers or their brand.At Steak n Shake, we have gone back to basics. Our tallow fries are waiting for you. Oh yeah, you can also now pay with Bitcoin!”Entrepreneur Sardar Biglari owns Steak ‘n ShakeOwns 9.3% of Cracker barreltook control of Steak 'n Shake in August 2008 after three years of declining same-store sales and losses of $100,000 per day.Biglari controls the Steak 'n Shake Company, First Guard Insurance, Abraxas Petroleum, Maxim, Southern Oil of Louisiana, Southern Pioneer Insurance and the Western Sizzlin' corporation. Biglari was born in Iran in 1977However the chain ran into more problems in 2016 and onward, with revenue declining sharply.In 2021, Steak N' Shake made a strategic decision to transition away from casual dining and become a fast food restaurant. Steak 'n Shake replaced lunch counters with self-serve kiosks in 2021 to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Changing the service model allowed a significant reduction of store staffIn 2024, Biglari fought and lost a proxy contest with Cracker Barrel, trying to get himself and two buddies on the CB board.This marks the sixth time since 2011 that Biglari has initiated a proxy contest seeking seats on the Board (the fourth time for Sardar Biglari personally), and the seventh contested solicitation overall during that span.POP QUIZ:Was that the original logo?No. The Cracker Barrel chain opened first in 1969 and had a text-only logo. In 1977, the famous logo with a man and a barrel was introduced.Is Cracker Barrel's new-ish CEO (11/23) a man or a woman?Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino and the new logo controversyMs. Masino previously served as the President, International of Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) from January 2020 to June 2023. From January 2018 to December 2019, she served as President, North America of Taco Bell.“Cracker Barrel's new logo isn't an accident — it's CEO Julie Felss Masino's project. She scrapped a beloved American aesthetic and replaced it with sterile, soulless branding.”Benny Johnson said the logo change could cause the company to collapse in a similar way that Target and other stores that embraced DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) did.‘Go woke, you go broke:' Ohio faith leaders urge Kroger to abandon LGBTQ+ policiesTrump calls on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resignLisa DeNell Cook is an American economist who has served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since May 23, 2022. She is the first African American woman and first woman of color to sit on the BoardCEO-to-worker pay gap surges to 632 to 1 at US's lowest-paying large firms, study shows: At 100 firms in S&P 500 with lowest median pay, executives' comp increased by average of nearly 35% over five yearsFTSE 100 CEO pay rises for third consecutive year, hitting record high CEO pay at top US companies accelerates at fastest pace in four yearsStarbucks CEO Tops List Of Sky-High Executive Pay PackagesStarbucks' CEO is ditching a merit system and giving all salaried staff a flat 2% pay raise insteadSuccession Theater: Target CEO Brian Cornell steps down after 11 years as sales continue to dropTarget's Brian Cornell to hand CEO job to Michael Fiddelke in FebruaryTarget CEO Brian Cornell will step down from the struggling retailer in February and its COO will succeed himTarget CEO Brian Cornell will step down from the struggling retailer in February and its COO will succeed himAlert: Target CEO Brian Cornell will step down from the struggling retailer in February and its COO will succeed himWhen the C.E.O. Retires but Won't Go AwayTarget is the latest company to keep a replaced chief executive around as an “executive chairman.” Does having two top dogs make sense?On August 15, 2025, following a comprehensive succession planning process, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Target Corporation (“Target”), appointed Michael J. Fiddelke, Target's current Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, as Target's next Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, effective February 1, 2026. At that time, Brian C. Cornell will step down from his position as Chief Executive Officer and will continue to serve as Chair of the Board in an Executive Chair capacity.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Companies with climate targets have more than tripled since 2023: SBTiA total of 10,949 companies worldwide now either have near-term targets or near-term and net-zero targets, or have committed to set them, according to a report by the Science-Based Targets initiative.DR: The juxtaposition of these two headlines:Scientists Say They've Figured Out a Way to Turn Nuclear Waste Into a Powerful FuelScientists Can't Figure Out Why Just Walking In Nature Appears to Quickly Heal Your Brain RotMM: Why Shop? In Maine, the Library of Things Has It All (Almost)You can take out an electric lawn mower at the libraryMM: Lyft co-founders depart board, convert Class B shares - greatest de-dictatorship in modern history? From 30% voting power to 2% voting power as part of the conversion DRShares still worth a paltry $144mAssholiest of the Week (MM): Anti ESG is a jokeLegal definition of a fiduciary: The beneficiary has delegated authority to the fiduciary to act on its behalf;The fiduciary has discretionary powers over the beneficiary's assets or interests;The fiduciary is in a position superior to that of the beneficiary due to specialized access, knowledge or ability; andThe beneficiary trusts that the fiduciary will act in the beneficiary's best interest. (Ponet & Leib, 2011.)From Florida 2023 HB3An act relating to government and corporate activism…The board of trustees, subject to the fiduciary standards … and the requirements in s. 112.662…Which are… Notwithstanding any other law, when deciding whether to invest and when investing the assets of any retirement system or plan, only pecuniary factors may be considered and the interests of the participants and beneficiaries of the system or plan may not be subordinated to other objectives, including sacrificing investment return or undertaking additional investment risk to promote any nonpecuniary factorWhich includes… any social, political, or ideological interestsWhich applies to…Obligations of the United States or obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by the government of the United StatesWhich makes investing in Treasury securities illegal because…White House Reportedly Launches A Scorecard Rating 500+ Companies On Trump LoyaltyThe rating system evaluates multiple factors, including social media activity, press releases, video testimonials, advertisements, participation in White House events, and other forms of engagement connected to the [One Big Beautiful Bill]Determines who they'll do business withFree speech dictatorsMeta spent $27 million protecting Mark Zuckerberg last year, more than any other CEOGoogle to Pay $36 Million in Anti-Competition FinesCoinbase CEO says he watched famous speeches to psych himself up before banning politics at the companyTrump May Further Redefine U.S. Capitalism With an Intel Move, ‘Come to America and lose $1B': Trump drives new offshore wind lossesFossil fuel “discrimination” laws prohibit discriminating against fossil fuels - there are no law to prevent “discrimination” against wind or solarHow Ownership Can Shape OutcomesHollowing out the corporate middle class MMStarbucks Sets 2% Raises for Corporate WorkersCoffee giant is in the midst of a turnaround; ‘We need to carefully manage all of our other costs'Starbucks earlier this year said it would lay off 1,100 corporate workersIn July, the company offered buyouts to corporate workers and said it would step up its in-office requirements later this year, to four days from three.From May: Starbucks and unionized baristas locked in a wage standoffNational Legal Policy Center actually filed a resolution this year demanding Starbucks produce a report detailing the human rights risks and “loss of shareholder value” if Starbucks “capitulates” to the union - union killing by SHP?Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol awarded $96 million pay package after 4 months on the jobUse of Starbucks aircraft for travel between city of primary residence and Starbucks headquarters and up to $250,000 in personal non-commuting travel per year; additional use of Starbucks aircraft for travel pursuant to Mr. Niccol's time sharing agreementHeadliniest of the WeekDR: 10 Candidates Will Vie for 4 Open Seats on USA Swimming Board of DirectorsDR: Walmart may have sold radioactive shrimp, FDA warnsMM: Silicon Valley talent keeps getting recycled, so this CEO uses a ‘moneyball' approach for uncovering hidden AI geniuses in the new era“There's different biases and filters about people's pedigree or where they came from. But if you could truly map all of that and just give credit for some people that maybe went through alternate pathways [then you can] truly stack rank,” Alex Bates, founder and CEO of AI executive recruiting platform HelloSky, told Fortune.MM: Forests in Certain Areas of the World Can Add to Global Warming I hate that headlineWho Won the Week?DR: The term “Bro IPO.” Or is it “BroPo?”MM: Damion. And it's BroPO.PredictionsDR: Target accidentally announces one of Brian COrnell's new board roles will be the Chairman of the We-Swear-It's-Not-My-Idea Task ForceMM: An analytics company somewhere realizes you can take the “moneyball” concept and apply it to people at publicly traded companies, making millions of dollars by giving investors the ability to vote for their fiduciaries by using advanced data, not voting on the fact that John is kind of cute and Leslie is a nice name.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES, INC.At last year's annual meeting in August, shareholders were asked YES or NO on CEO Darren Robelez's pay plan. To help them make a decision on the pay practices they had information like the ratio of the annual total compensation of Casey's General Stores CEO to that of its median employee for the 2024 fiscal year, commonly known as the CEO Pay Ratio. Let's begin the quiz there:According to the company's SEC filing, at what point in the fiscal year 2024 did CEO Darren earn the compensation of his company's median employee?12:35:33 PM on January 1st, the first day of the work year, meaning his pay CEO pay ratio was 579:1Additionally, the CEO's target equity award was $6.7M. In the worst case scenario where every single peer company outperformed Casey's General Stores in terms of total shareholder return, how much equity could the CEO receive?$5,025,000, reflecting a TSR Modifier of -25%.Accordingly, based in part on the information you have just learned, what percentage of Casey's shareholders voted against his pay practices?2%Bonus question: According to the company's 2025 SEC filing, at what point in the fiscal year 2025 did CEO Darren earn the compensation of his company's median employee? Remember, it was 12:35:33 PM on January 1st, the first day of the work year.12:32:05 PM on January 1st, the first day of the work year: 3 minutes and 28 seconds earlier. AGM: 9/3/2025589:1 CEO pay ratio CEO Darren Robelez 98% YESPay committee: *Former BJ's Restaurants CEO Gregory Trojan, Oobli CEO Allison Wing2024 AGM99.1% YES average33% Influence CEO/Chair: 20% YES SHP independent board chair policy-13% gender influence gap: Darren M. Rebelez (33%) & Gregory A. Trojan (14%)CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS, INC.A recent Fortune article called Laying off workers because of AI is more of a fashionable excuse than a real business imperative cites CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz linking 5% job cuts to the cybersecurity company's need to double down on AI investments to “accelerate execution and efficiency.” Kurtz said: “AI flattens our hiring curve, and helps us innovate from idea to product faster.”First question, are CrowdStrike shareholders also given the privilege to “accelerate execution and efficiency”? How many total years does it take for a CrowdStrike investor to vote on all nine board members?3 years, classified board.This is important because clearly shareholders were not completely pleased this year: 34% said NO Pay Committee Chair Cary Davis while 38% said NO to Nomination Committee chair Laura Schumacher2% NO CEO KurtzConsidering the board influence of Founder/CEO/Director and third largest shareholder George Kurtz, investors would typically be best served with a board provides an effective counterbalance to his control. Of the board's eight independent directors, what percentage has served for at least a decade alongside Kurtz?Four directors, or half.Again, to counteract his control, investors should expect regular board refreshment. How many new directors have joined the board in the last 5 years?One, Johanna Flower, the only director who sits on zero board committees. She joined the board in January 2023Kurtz already owns $2.7B of Crowdstrike shares. What percentage of his annual pay consists of equity?90%, with a target equity award of $35M.Finally, CrowdStrike's infamous 2024 software update is commonly described as what?The largest outage in the history of information technology.In 2024, CrowdStrike released a software update that disrupted millions of Microsoft Windows systems around the worldA faulty update to its Falcon sensor platform led to the "Blue Screen of Death" on millions of machines, bringing critical operations to a standstill across numerous sectors.The immediate and most visible impact was the widespread and severe disruption to the global economy. The financial toll is estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Key sectors affected include:Aviation: Major airlines like Delta, United, and American Airlines grounded thousands of flights, disrupting travel for millions and costing airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.Healthcare: Access to electronic health records was hindered, leading to the cancellation of surgeries and appointments. This disruption posed a direct risk to patient care and safety.Financial Services: Banks and financial institutions faced outages that affected everything from ATM services to online banking and stock trading. This not only resulted in financial losses but also eroded consumer confidence.Government and Emergency Services: The outage impacted various government agencies and even emergency services in some areas, highlighting a significant threat to public safety and national security.For Mr. Kurtz, the amount for fiscal 2025 also includes approximately (i) $104,279 for costs related to personal security for Mr. Kurtz and his family at his residences and (ii) $898,426 for costs related to personal usage of private aircraft.As part of our sales and marketing activities, we sponsor a CrowdStrike-branded professional racing car, which Mr. Kurtz drives in some races at no incremental cost to us and in lieu of us hiring a professional driver. As we do not pay any amounts to Mr. Kurtz under these arrangements, it is not reflected in the above table.No vote on payTARGET CORPORATIONTarget foot traffic is still suffering 6 months post-boycott. An industry veteran says the retailer's problems are bigger than curtailing DEITarget Boycott Leader Jamal Bryant Is Arriving on CEOs' Radar ScreensInside Target, Frustrated Employees and Search for New CEOThis article from the WSJ says:Many Target shoppers are frustrated with the retailer. Many Target employees are too.In early June, a companywide survey showed that roughly half of Target's employees didn't think the company was making the changes necessary to compete effectively. About 40% of the roughly 260,000 staffers who replied said they didn't have confidence in the company's future. The scores—which declined from a year ago—were even lower for those staffers at Target's headquarters in Minneapolis.The worker sentiment data reflects the challenges ahead for the company as it prepares to navigate a leadership change and turn around 10 quarters of flat or falling sales in an increasingly complex consumer environment.Based on what I just told you, TRUE or FALSE on this next headline from Fortune? Is this real or am I making it up? Target's CEO succession tilts toward an insider and company liferTrue. The leading contender appears to be: Michael Fiddelke is executive vice president and chief operating officer for Target and a member of its leadership team.Since joining Target in 2003 as an intern, Michael has held a variety of leadership positions across the organization, including finance, merchandising, human resources and operations. He most recently served as Target's chief financial officer. In addition to his Target responsibilities, Michael serves on the board of Shipt, Target's wholly-owned subsidiary.Compensation & Human Capital Management Committee: “Management development and succession planning. Senior management development, evaluation, and succession planning, including CEO succession planning.”Ms. Lozano (Chair)Mr. BakerMr. BarrettMr. KnaussMs. LeahyCORECIVIC, INC.-17% gender influence gap:Robert J. Dennis 17%: retiringCEO Damon T. Hininger 17% (2009-)On February 15, 2024, in recognition of the substantial contributions made by our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Hininger, to the Company, and to encourage retention of Mr. Hininger for a multi-year period, our Compensation Committee, determined to provide a Special One-Time Award to Mr. Hininger. This award consisted of 70,225 performance-based RSUs at a fair market value of $14.24 per share, the approximate equivalent of $1,000,000 at the time of award. The Compensation Committee believes this Special One-Time Award is designed to incentivize Mr. Hininger's performance and retain him for a multi-year period.On August 18, 2025, CoreCivic, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”) announced that Damon T. Hininger, the Company's Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), will step down as CEO and resign from his position on the Company's Board of Directors (the “Board”), effective as of January 1, 2026 (the “Transition Date”). Patrick Swindle, who currently serves as the Company's President and Chief Operating Officer, will assume the role of CEO of the Company, effective as of the Transition Date, and will continue serving as the President of the Company. Additionally, the Board will appoint Mr. Swindle to the Board to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Hininger's resignation as of the Transition Date.Chair Mark A. Emkes 17% (2014-)John R. Prann 13% (2000-)Thurgood Marshall 12% (2002-)Devin I Murphy 9%2025 AGM: 99% YES director average; 97% YES PAYShort-term pay: if NONE of four strategic goals achieved CEO still receives 80% of bonusLong-term: If Lowest quartile TSR results is only 20% reduction of long-term awards: “If the Company's absolute TSR for the performance period is less than zero, the rTSR modifier shall not exceed 1.0x for the performance period”WHO DO YOU BLAME FOR PAYING A MULTI YEAR “RETENTION BONUS” WHO QUITS AFTER ONE YEAR?Pay committee included Dennis*, Emkes (17%, 11 yrs), Prann (13%, 25 yrs)Donald Trump - after donating to Trump, his immigration orders have swelled the amount of work Hininger has to do and he burnt out with excitementThe zero female board leadership - there was no mom to say it was a bad ideaThe amount of the award - $1m in 2025?? The stock is up 45% thanks to our prison state, and even with the massive stock bump, the award is still worth less than $2m… it's an insult, not an awardThe prisoners who keep claiming the prisons are dangerous - there have been more than 120 reports and exposes in the last 10 years alone that found Corecivic were complicit in family separations, deaths, cancelled contracts due to conditions in the prisons, and other human rights violationsO'Reilly Automotive, Inc.Vote discount for wearing the uniform:First appearance in the proxy of the uniform shirts were actually ORANGE shirts in 2021, blue shirt introduced in 2024 proxySince 2021, directors who wear the uniform average 92.9% votes for, while directors not wearing shirts average 96.8% forWHO DO WE BLAME FOR THE UNIFORM DISCOUNT?Old timers - average start year for a uniform wearer is 1998, and for a non-exec 2006. Average start year for a non-uniform wearer is 2021.The color orange - the orange shirt wearers average 90.4% votes for, while blue got 92.6% forHaving a third of the board be executives - O'Reilly is a single class stock where the O'Reilly family owns less than 5% (all execs own less than 3% collectively), and yet somehow investors think there should be no less than 3 executive directors at any time - who are entirely responsible for wearing uniforms in proxy photosThe shirts themselves - we have TWO case studies of directors who switched from no shirt to shirt - Maria Sastre (2023 to 2024 forward) and Andrea Weiss (2023 to 2024 before she quit, probably in protest of being forced to wear a shirt). In BOTH cases, votes for dropped by an average of 2%Lead “Independent” Director Tom Hendrickson who has been on the board for 15 years, was CFO at a number of sports retail store companies, and lists “technology” as one his core skills (because all 70 year old retired CPAs advising auto parts companies for $347,836 in summary comp have tech experience) Bonus prediction: In 2025, ALL DIRECTORS have been forced to wear the shirt, but now they have a variety of O'Reilly shirts - which director will get the lowest votes now?Blue shirtPink shirtPlaid shirtGreen shirtCream shirtPALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC.Palantir CEO Alex Karp takes a shot at elite colleges and says the company offers 'a new credential independent of class'Palantir CEO says working at his $430 billion software company is better than a degree from Harvard or Yale: ‘No one cares about the other stuff'WHICH ELITE IS TO BLAME FOR KARP'S HATE FOR ELITES:Board member and VC bro Alex Moore, who got his BA in Econ from StanfordBoard member and journalist Alexandra Schiff who get her BA in English from DukeBoard member and co founder Stephen Cohen who got his BS in CompSci from StanfordBoard member, troll, and insecure VC Peter Thiel who got his BA in Philosophy from Stanford and a JD from Stanford LawBoard member and consultant Lauren Stat who got a dual degree in Science and Math from StanfordBoard member and VC bro Eric Woersching who got a BS and Masters in Electrical Engineering from StanfordStanfordVISA INC.Mark Cuban calls for higher tax on companies buying back their own sharesVisa bought back $13.4bn from Oct 2024 to June 2025$4.0bn from Oct to Dec (Sep 30 close: 274.95)$4.8bn from Jan to March (Dec 31 close: 316.04)$4.6bn from April to June (March 31 close: 350.46)June 30 close: 355.05WHO'S TO BLAME:As of Dec proxy, CEO Ryan McInerney owns 822,155 shares worth $259,833,866 - if buyback boost the investor return, and McInerney made a cool $28m in part by boosting the stock.Board Chair John Lundgren, been on the board 7 years and took over as chair after Executive Chair Al Kelly stepped down (but Kelly left with 589,890 shares)Francisco Fernandez-Carbajal, the director with the most shares at 31,599 who's been on the board for 17 years and is on the Comp and Finance committees

Story of the Week (DR):Is MAGA going Marxist and Maoist? Trump's assault on free-market capitalism MMTrump's risky role as the would-be CEO of AmericaTrump blasts Goldman over tariff forecasts, tells David Solomon to 'focus on being a DJ'Trump Calls on Goldman to Replace Economist Over Tariff StanceIntel stock climbs 7% on report Trump administration is considering stake in chipmakerTrump says Intel CEO has an 'amazing story' days after calling for his resignation‘We negotiated a little deal': Trump says Nvidia and AMD will kick back 15% of China chip sales in potentially unconstitutional arrangementHow CEOs deal with Trump: Praise, face time, remorse, and gifts made of gold all go a long way, experience showsTrump is tightening the screws on corporate America — and CEOs are staying mumTrump's Beef with Bank of America's Corporate Governance Goes Beyond His Personal AccountsWalmart's 10% employee discount now includes most groceries amid tariff pressuresWalmart, once ordered to ‘eat the tariffs,' is giving employees a year-round 10% discount to help them eatTrump Crypto Firm Announces $1.5 Billion Digital Coin DealA publicly traded tech firm, ALT5 Sigma, plans to sell $1.5 billion of shares to fund the purchase of a cryptocurrency created by World Liberty Financial, which the As part of the deal, World Liberty will receive shares in ALT5, according to securities filings, in return for $750 million worth of $WLFI coins. Eric Trump, the president's middle son, will join ALT5's board, and Zach Witkoff, a World Liberty founder and the son of President Trump's Middle East adviser, will serve as chairman of the board.4execs/4directors: dudesThe BroIPO market is bubbling againStubHub IPO is back on for September after ticketing company delayed plans on tariff concernsStubHub 5/1;7/1: CEO/Chair Eric Baker controls 90% of voting power because of his magical 100x Class B sharesBullish Stock Roars in Latest Crypto IPO, Tripling Offering PriceBullish: 2/0;6/1: 2 cryptobro founder/directors control 53%61 IPO-related filings since August 1:11% Female executives: 44 have zero; 13 have one12% female directors: 30 have zero; 24 have oneHalf have more than one stock classThe average major shareholder controls 47% voting powerThe “winner”: Classover Holdings: educational technology, specializing in live online courses for K-12 students worldwide.2 execs/5 directors: all womenStephanie Luo controls 91% of voting power thanks to her magical 25:1 Class B sharesDebuted at 11.26, down to 1.27Example numbers 18,000,027 and 18,000,028 why we need more women in leadership:Major companies reframing, not abandoning, DEI: reportWhile firms scaled back DEI language and commitments, 79% percent of S&P 500 firms disclosed board committee oversight of DEI, up from 72%, according to the report. For Russell 3000 companies, this figure jumped from 48.4% to 86.8%. Rather than simply abandoning DEI, this suggests that companies are being more cautious about external messaging while integrating DEI into governance to make it more legally defensible, according to the report.‘Godfather of AI' says tech companies should imbue AI models with ‘maternal instincts' to counter the technology's goal to ‘get more control'Nobel laureate Geoffery Hinton: AI “will very quickly develop two subgoals, if they're smart: One is to stay alive…[and] the other subgoal is to get more control.”To prevent these outcomes, Hinton said developers should make AI more sympathetic toward people to decrease its desire to overpower them. According to Hinton, the best way to do this is to imbue AI with the qualities of traditional femininity. Under his framework, just as a mother cares for her baby at all costs, AI with these maternal qualities will similarly want to protect or care for human users, not control them.ESG Data HellTrump's BLS appointee suggests suspending jobs report entirely until methods of data collection are ‘corrected'Trump Bureau of Labor Statistics nominee was a 'bystander' outside Capitol on Jan. 6, White House saysDOJ fires sandwich thrower after he's charged with assaulting officer in Washington, DCThe man facing a federal assault charge for throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal officer in Washington, D.C., was an employee at the Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi said: “This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ …“You will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement.”E.J. Antoni, an economist from the Heritage FoundationI guess he's not proud of Northern Illinois because his bio says: “Antoni holds master's and doctoral degrees in Economics.”Speaking of undereducation: Think tank president urges Gen Z to consider trades over college in tough job marketTerry Schilling, president of the American Principles ProjectAPP is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025,[28] a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive powerHere's one of his tweets: In 2021, I pulled my [7] kids out of public schools because of the woke garbage being taught in their classrooms. Today, my whole family is going to see President Trump put an end to the Department of Education.”Energy Secretary Says Past Climate Reports Will Be ‘Updated.' Why Researchers Are Alarmed.The Trump administration plans to release “updated” versions of government climate reports from the past, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said he wants the reports toned down.Wright said he disagrees with the conclusions in past National Climate Assessments, a benchmark review of climate change that the government puts out about every four years. The assessments are compiled by hundreds of scientists and researchers both within and outside government; the latest one was 1,834 pages. The Trump administration has pulled past reports down from the government website where they were previously hosted.Before his appointment, he was the CEO of Liberty Energy, North America's second largest hydraulic fracturing company. Also was on the board of EMX Royalty Corp., a Canadian royalty payment company for mineral rights and mining rights.In January 2023, he said, "There is no climate crisis and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either"He has degrees in mechanical engineering (the study of physical machines and mechanisms that may involve force and movement) and electrical engineering (an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism)In 2019 Wright drank fracking fluid to demonstrate that it was not dangerousGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Mark Cuban says companies should be taxed more for buying back their own sharesDR: Danske Bank Cuts Fossil-Fuel Exposure From Its InvestmentsDanske Bank A/S is removing over 1,700 fossil fuel-related companies from its investment universe, citing their failure to prepare for climate change.MM: Elon Musk's America Party is nowhere to be seen 1 month laterMM: Netflix (NFLX) Secures Broadcasting Rights for FIFA Women's World Cup MMAssholiest of the Week (MM):Takers MMMusk says he's suing Apple for not featuring X and Grok in ‘Must Have' section of app storeTrump Has Made Himself Commander in Chief of the Chip IndustryIs Trump's Plan to Take 15% of AI Chip Sales to China Legal?Trump Calls on Goldman to Replace Economist Over Tariff StanceUS national debt hits record $37 trillionU.S. Steel Plant Where Two Died Will Continue Operating, CEO SaysIn the last 3 days, US insiders sold $463m worth of stock, including…Herald Chen, 3% influence director at AppLovin - was CFO of company until December 2023, still on board, sold $182m worth of stockIn our database as an overall .477 hitter - slightly below average earnings, but high TSRThe stakeholder value returned by Chen: they sell ads in apps46% of firm assets are goodwill and intangibles - stakeholder value so ephemeral it's intangiblePretending to give backWalmart, once ordered to ‘eat the tariffs,' is giving employees a year-round 10% discount to help them eatNo tax on tips?Bad news for restaurant workers: Tipping in America is on the declineSam Altman says Gen Z are the ‘luckiest' kids in history thanks to AI, despite mounting job displacement dreadLayoffs 2025: Companies have announced over 800,000 jobs cuts so far. There are 3 big reasons whyMore employers are giving workers money to buy their own health insuranceLarry Ellison Wants to Do Good, Do Research and Make a ProfitDual class dictator with biggest individual investments in Tesla, Theranos, and XAnxiety about the economy is forcing two-thirds of U.S. employers to yank budgets for raisesAnd distracting you so you won't noticeWendy's says it realized it had 'too many' promotions this summer, confusing customersWhite House Will ‘Definitely' Host a U.F.C. Fight on July 4, U.F.C. Head SaysDana White, on the Meta board of directorsThe U.S. military is looking to buy Tesla Cybertrucks to use as missile targetsTikTok claims there's a hack to get bigger portions at Chipotle: Put men's names on your ordersHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Hand soap recalled due to potentially life-threatening bacteriaDR: Don't drink this recalled instant coffee from Dollar General. It might contain something dangerousMM: Werner recalls more than 100,000 ladders over potential fall hazardMM: Public company CEO resigns amid another leadership shake upWho Won the Week?DR: the anti-fascist Subway sandwichMM: Delaware. Elon Musk called on corporations to leave Delaware. Delaware says it's doing just fine.PredictionsDR: Subway rebrands with a “we know our sandwiches are gross so throw them at your least favorite fascists” campaign, featuring: Hitler, Stalin, Trump, and ZuckMM: Paramount, now bought by nepo baby Daniel Ellison, goes full Trad Man and rebrands itself as “Man Media” - UFC rights, UFC on White House lawn, Yellowstone and its spinoffs, South Park manboy comedy. As part of it, they launch a streaming service for men by men called “Cable”

EChemical pollution a threat comparable to climate change, scientists warnTwo companies are arguably the largest PFAs and chemical manufacturers of human pollutants, and both are publicly traded with boards you can vote out: 3M and ChemoursTexas prepares for war as invasion of flesh-eating flies appears imminentSid Miller, the Texas Ag Commissioner who once called Hillary Clinton a “cunt” on social media, will protect you from flesh eating flies.Heatwaves will bring temperatures of 50C to Paris by 2050, weather experts warnPlastic waste leakage in Asia could rise 70% by 2050: OECDWashington State Braces for ‘Inevitable' Megafire. Climate Change May Bring It Sooner Great Barrier Reef records largest annual coral loss in 39 years Climate change may be lengthening tick and mosquito seasons France battles largest wildfire in 75 years amid climate change concernsSAmazon CEO Andy Jassy is right: Big businesses need fewer peopleSo if you need fewer people, what will CEOs manage? Do we also need fewer loud mouth CEOs?Populist math: if every major business in the US cut 20% of staff, but CEOs were paid the same exact amount, the CEO pay ratio would go from 264:1 on average to 330:1 on average. The total major employer employees would go from 30,085,694 to 24,068,555. Elon Musk has announced that we need to have more births in order to generate growth, and Andy Jassy has announced that less people should have jobs. Maybe the two of them can start a band called “Bet You Wish You Were Rich”Starbucks is asking customers in South Korea to stop bringing monitors, printers, and desk dividers into their storesMatch Group's rape problem: A lawsuit alleges that inaction by Tinder and Hinge's owner allowed abusers to stay on the appsThere's a new 'Tea' app going viral. This time, it's for men to post anonymously about womenThe oppression of men continues, at least we can vent about itWendy's says it realized it had 'too many' promotions this summer, confusing customersGU.S. Government to Take Cut of Nvidia and AMD A.I. Chip Sales to China in potentially unconstitutional arrangementMM: Trump said they, “negotiated a little deal. So he's selling an essentially old chip.” The “little deal” is an extortion payment, and the “he” is Jensen Huang. That's FOUNDER Jensen Huang, NOT shareholders or the board. The board is busy at happy hour - there are FIVE 1990s/00s tech and VC bros - all bros - Rob Burgess, Tench Coxe, Harvey Jones, Brooke Seawell, Mark Stevens - most of whom have been with Jensen Huang for 30 years. Who cares about central planning US socialism when your with your bros?PS: You think Huang regrets flip flopping and kissing Trump's ass now?:From 2018: US chipmaker Nvidia's founder and Chief Executive Jensen Huang said curbing China's technological development could not be achieved by adopting heavy tariffs.From May: “Obviously, I don't know all of his ideas, but let me tell you about two that are incredible,” answered Huang. "The first one is utterly visionary. The idea of tariffs being a pillar of a bold vision to re-industrialize to onshore manufacturing and motivate the world to invest in the United States is just an incredible vision.”Congrats on your extortion payments!Tim Cook fawns over Trump with 24-karat gold gift during $600 billion Apple pledgeBy 2050?One Oregon company paid its CEO 1,300 times what workers makeA Sam Altman says he's 'uneasy' about people trusting their biggest life decisions to ChatGPTAI is creating new billionaires at a record paceInstagram Map lets your friends, and possibly exes, track your every move

Story of the Week (DR):Trump Demands Intel CEO's Resignation, Says He's ‘Highly CONFLICTED' AND Eric and Donald Trump Jr. to Own Millions of Shares in New U.S. Manufacturing SPAC MMESG Analyst Tom Cotton: Trump's attack, posted on Truth Social Thursday, came two days after GOP Sen. Tom Cotton flagged Tan's prior investments in Chinese companies and his previous leadership at Cadence Design Systems, which recently pleaded guilty to unlawfully selling its tech to a blacklisted military university in China.Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan (~$70M golden hello in March; max potential $400M) directly addressed employees on Thursday after Donald Trump demanded his resignation over national security concerns, saying he has the full support of the board.Tan set up a venture firm called Walden International based in San Francisco that pumped more than $5 billion into over 600 companies. More than 100 of those investments were made in China, including deals with once-obscure startups such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.—today China's largest chipmaker—where he served on the board for a decade and a half.Today, the executive is still chairman of Walden International. And he's the founding managing partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, which focuses on investments in the U.S., Europe and Israel. He also serves in that role at another venture fund, Celesta Global Capital.Tan stepped out of the venture world and joined the chip industry full-time when he became interim head of San Jose, California-based Cadence Design Systems Inc. in 2008. The executive, who had previously served on the board, went on to take the permanent CEO job the next year. He stayed in the role until 2021, when he transitioned to executive chairman, and is widely credited with restoring the company's fortunes. In late July of this year, the Department of Justice announced a plea deal that cost Cadence more than $100 million in fines. Employees at Cadence's China unit allegedly hid the name of a customer—the National University of Defense Technology—from internal compliance in order to keep supplying it. That organization had been put on the Department of Commerce's blacklist in 2015. The Chinese university was one of a group of supercomputer operators there that had conducted simulations of nuclear explosions, the DOJ said.Shares of American Eagle surge 20% after Trump calls Sydney Sweeney campaign 'hottest ad out there' AND Epstein victims are a growing political threat to TrumpThe Fall 2025 campaign, titled "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," centers on a deliberate pun between "jeans" and "genes.""Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color... My jeans are blue."All the hallmarks of a dick-tatorship:American Eagle gender influence gap is -36%: Jay L. SchottensteinMr. Schottenstein has served as our Chief Executive Officer since December 2015. Prior thereto, he served as our Interim Chief Executive Officer from January 2014 to December 2015. He has served as Chairman of the Board since March 1992. He previously served the Company as Chief Executive Officer from March 1992 until December 2002 and as a Vice President and Director of the Company's predecessors since 1980Creepy nepobaby son: The grown son of an Ohio billionaire is a hooker-loving drug addict who threatened to destroy the renowned Manhattan psychiatrist his parents enlisted to help him, according to bombshell court papers. Dr. Paul Conti, a Stanford-educated psychiatrist from Oregon, alleges in a federal suit that the son also gambled away millions of dollars during trips to Las Vegas while running up credit bills and borrowing money from mobsters.SB360 Capital Partners: owned by Jay and his 3 sons (sorry wife): 13 listed executes: all white menlast time there was a vote on Jay (2023)CEO/Chair control: has been CEO 3 times; chair since 1992; $300k security; 2,011:1 ceo pay ratio; 7% of shares (passive BlackRock/Vanguard/Dimensional/Wellington: 41%; 71% board influenceAudit Committee Chair (which net 20 times last year) and Lead independent Director Noel Spiegel is 77 and over a decade of serviceNominating chair Janice Page is 76 and has served for over 2 decadesCompensation Committee chair has served for nearly 2 decadesUber's Sexual Assault Problem AND Uber beats on revenue, announces $20 billion stock buybackA recent New York Times investigation revealed that Uber has been dealing with a significant sexual assault problem. From 2017 to 2022, the company received over 400,000 reports of sexual assault or misconduct in the United States, which averages to about one incident every eight minutes.The investigation, based on thousands of internal documents, found that while Uber studied the issue and even developed potential safety features like in-car cameras and a feature to match female drivers with female passengers, the company chose not to implement these safeguards because they were concerned about their bottom line and potential lawsuits.Tesla Grants Musk $29 Billion in Stock to Keep ‘Elon's Energies Focused' AND Elon Musk Accused of Stiffing Small Businesses for Millions of Dollars, Causing Some to File for Bankruptcy AND Elon Musk Shares Shockingly Sexist Tweet About Woman Being Property. This one's disgraceful, even for Musk AND "This Will Open the Floodgates": Tesla In Trouble as Jury Orders It to Pay $329 Million After Autopilot Death AND Tesla withheld data, lied, and misdirected police and plaintiffs to avoid blame in Autopilot crash AND Elon Musk Appears to Now Be the Most Hated Person in America, According to New ResearchGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Waste from Ben & Jerry's ice cream factories is now powering the Vermont gridNow that the ice cream waste can travel by pipe to become biogas, Ben & Jerry's can also make 600 fewer truck journeys a year, reducing the company's carbon emissions.DR: Gates Foundation is giving $2.5 billion to fund women's health research MM: Musk, Bezos, and Zuck are going full alpha male. America's girlbosses are fed up.When companies won't offer work-from-home policies or the flexibility that working parents need, it can embolden people to become more entrepreneurial and build under their own terms.This is the greatest backlash - if every woman in a “masculine default”, “founder mode” 13 year old man baby culture where “Jamie Dimon says” and John Stankey (see assholiest) says “maybe you don't fit” goes and founds there own firms, I'm giddy to see them wipe the floor with those smug billionaire assholes. Side note - I missed this quote from January FT article in the post-Zuck-on-Rogan “masculine energy” interview, but it would have been assholiest of the decade:“I feel liberated,” said a top banker. “We can say ‘retard' and ‘pussy' without the fear of getting cancelled . . . it's a new dawn.”MM: In that vein - A long-running anti-DEI lawsuit could help companies defend themselves from reverse-racism claims DR MMHello Alice as goodliest of the week - take down that fucknut Stephen Miller and his fake Nazi manboys.Assholiest of the Week (MM):Alex Karp and the men who go to elite universities and say elite universities are bullshit manbabiesPalantir CEO says working at his $430 billion software company is better than a degree from Harvard or Yale: ‘No one cares about the other stuff'Karp went to Haverford, then Stanford for a JD where he met Peter Thiel (who also doesn't like elite education)This past spring, the company also notably established the Meritocracy Fellowship, a four-month, paid internship for high school graduates who may be having second thoughts about higher education. Program admission is solely based on “merit and academic excellence,” but applicants still need Ivy League-level test scores to qualify. This includes at least a 1460 on the SAT or a 33 on the ACT, which are both above their respective 98th percentiles.According to Karp, the internship was created in direct response to the “shortcomings of university admissions.”Here's the problem: there ARE shortcomings to elite colleges, mostly that they exude exclusivism and a commodity - but it's still a pretty rich for a guy who WENT to Stanford where he met his future funder and mentor to talk about how bullshit it wasJohn Stankey and the re-rise of the Jack Welch man-directive manbabies MMIt is incredibly encouraging that 73% of our employees took the time to respond to the survey, with 79% of those respondents feeling committed and engaged with their work at AT&T. While this is reassuring, especially considering the amount of change we've navigated as a company recently, it wasn't a surprise to me that we fell short of our engagement goal.TRANSLATION: I'm not surprised so many of you think we suck, I've been here 5 years as CEO and I'm not awesome at my job… but hold your breath while I tell you how it's your faultThis note may also help you identify areas where your professional expectations might be misaligned with the strategic direction of this company.TRANSLATION: It's your faultI understand that some of you may have started your tour with this company expecting an "employment deal" rooted in loyalty, tenure, and conformance with the associated compensation, work structure, and benefits. We have consciously shifted away from some of these elements and towards a more market-based culture — focused on rewarding capability, contribution, and commitment.TRANSLATION: Fuck your job, this is a meritocracy now. A manly meritocracy.I understand that many may find the demands of your daily lives challenging and difficult. Elder care, job stress, child rearing challenges, economic uncertainty, community unrest, technology anxiety — the list can get long…We run a dynamic, customer-facing business, tackling large-scale, challenging initiatives. If the requirements dictated by this dynamic do not align to your personal desires, you have every right to find a career opportunity that is suitable to your aspirations and needs. That said, if a self-directed, virtual, or hybrid work schedule is essential for you to manage your career aspirations and life challenges, you will have a difficult time aligning your priorities with those of the company and the culture we aim to establish.TRANSLATION: We know your life is hard, but shut the fuck up about it because I don't care.WHERE THE FUCK IS THIS BOARD?Here are the “go hard or go home” board membersBill Kennard, lead "independent" director connected in 13 loops to other directors, been there for 11 years, who got his undergrad in communications from Stanford and worked at the FCC and was an ambassador - proving once again that “communications” isn't a qualification for communicating?Marissa Mayer - maybe this business thing isn't for you? Mike Mcallister, ex Humana CEO, who was investigated for duping elderly into thinking Obamacare's passage would cut Medicare?Scott Ford, who lead the biggest landline company before pivoting to selling coffee, as your bright star into the future of tech?That's where the board is - unqualified for the moment, highly interconnected, with long careers of average performanceLuis von Ahn and the tech bro “sorry, not sorry” we were just “being edgy” no but seriously I know what's best for you secretly manbabiesDuolingo's CEO says he learned a hard lesson about 'edgy posts' and going viralFirst, says Duolingo, the app for learning languages, would be “AI-first”Then says they're not hiring anymore as long as it can be done by AIThen says schools will really just be childcare with AI teachers, and teachers will just “take care of the children” and you need schools for the “childcare”In his apology, he said sorry for being “edgy”Yes, it was the edginess, not the assholeryIf you want to quickly identify a manbaby, it's easy: first they “say” something they really think, then their apology basically is “sorry you didn't get it, I won't say it again”Headliniest of the WeekDR: Shareholders Judge Directors by Their Faces, Study FindsMM: Trump calls for Intel CEO to 'resign immediately'More ESG analysis:Boeing's ex-CFOBlackRock's ex founderThe former CEO at Jack Dorsey's SquareA partner at SequoiaA Princeton professorThe former CEO of HPThe chair who's a VC and has been there since 2009Who Won the Week?DR: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for calling out the billionaire Kraft family regarding the new stadium proposed for the New England Revolution: “We haven't asked for anything out of the ordinary for any significant development, much less a mega-development like this one … To this day, the Kraft Group has provided the city no meaningful technical information … What we've heard has stayed at a conceptual level that is insufficient for any serious negotiation.Citing the proposed figure of $750,000 that the Kraft Group would pay to Boston as a mitigation fee, Wu said, “It is an unserious proposal … the figure is “just 1.1 percent of the $68 million mitigation package that was paid for the Everett casino project right nearby years ago.”Wu, who as the incumbent is also campaigning against Josh Kraft (son of Revolution owner Robert Kraft) in Boston's mayoral race, didn't miss a chance to land a political dig at her opponent: Referencing the proposed mitigation fee, she said that “$750,000 is just one-and-a-half month's of a billionaire son's allowance. It is nowhere near the scale of what we need to address the plans that have already been laid out by our residents, with our traffic engineers, with the coordination of the entire region.”MM: Jamie Smith at EY for writing the only other 2025 US proxy review that included a whole section on director votesPredictionsDR: Trump tries to fit into a pair of Sydney Sweeney's jeans (re: the OJ glove) to prove he did not know Epstein. The American Eagle stock surgesMM: Duolingo releases a new language choice, “Manbro”, in which it teaches how to apologize, how to be more intense, and why you should bow to your AI overlords

DAMION1In our 'Treaty Talks Begin With Bold New Commitment to Avoid Commitment: Delegates agree to form a task force to consider considering action and then unite to Say 'Plastic Is Bad'—Then Go Back to Their Plastic-Filled Hotels' headline of the week. Here's what to watch for at this month's global plastics treaty talksNegotiators from more than 170 countries are arriving in Geneva, Switzerland, this week to resume discussions over the United Nations plastics treaty, eight months after they missed their original deadline for finalizing the pact. Many delegates, advocacy groups, and U.N. officials are hopeful that the 10-day session will result in a final agreement that delivers on the U.N.'s objective to “end plastic pollution.” But progress has been slow at each of the five preceding sessions, in large part due to a consensus-based decision-making structure that has allowed oil-producing countries to obstruct progress. In our 'Hey Ma, the dude who got his BA at Haverford College which costs $93,600 and received his JD from Stanford is mansplaining about elite colleges, can you grab my water bottle and my red lawn chair?!' headline of the week. Palantir CEO Alex Karp takes a shot at elite colleges and says the company offers 'a new credential independent of class In our 'It's better off helping people without formal biology expertise design or recreate biological threats like toxins or pathogens' headline of the week. OpenAI says ChatGPT shouldn't tell you to break up with someone In our 'What an asshole! The next thing he'll probably do is call out other banks for breaking their climate pledges ' headline of the week. Banking CEO breaks from the pack on return to office. He goes in 4 days a week but leaves the rest up to the ‘adults' he works withStandard Chartered CEO Bill Winters In our 'Citizen Journalist Robbie Starbuck and The National Legal and Policy Center prepare shareholder proposal calling out Microsoft and asking “What about MEN'S ovaries? This is woke biology gone too far.”' headline of the week. Gates Foundation is giving $2.5 billion to fund women's health researchMATT1In our '8Ks revealed that Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo's CEO, was awarded $30m to open his mindspace, Steven Hemsley at UnitedHealth was given $60M to center his chi, and Goldman's CEO DJ DSol got $80m to attune his crystals and align his money aura.' headline of the week. Tesla Grants Musk $29 Billion in Stock to Keep ‘Elon's Energies Focused'In our 'Specifically, the part where they ran someone over' headline of the week. Jury Says Tesla Was Partly to Blame for Fatal CrashIn our 'Reports suggested the awning was made of cybertruck trim, the tables were actually crashed robotaxis, and the chicken wings were made from old Nazi bathroom graffiti' headline of the week. Tesla Diner Patio Covering Collapses, Smashes Mother on Head and Barely Misses BabyIn our 'Retention awards for "continued leadership"? Or pay for focus? Pay to show up? Pay for "energy"? Relocation pay for my sister's cousin's condo in Ottawa? ' headline of the week. 2025 CEO PrioritiesAdapt to changing external environments and regulatory landscapeManage growth and investment amid current fiscal outlookCreate a resilient supply chainAccess to talent and workforceArticulate a vision for an AI and tech-enabled enterprisesEmbrace opportunities for personalized consumer experiencesUnderstand the changing environmental challengesShape the leadership teamArticulate Vision and strategy, and tell your story as a leaderDrive performanceEnsure proper governance processesCollaborate with the boardOptimize organizational structureAlign communicationsSatisfy shareholders and stakeholdersBuild the cultureNavigate geopolitical uncertaintyIn our 'If you can't tell your kid with a fever of 102 to suck it up and fuck off, maybe this company isn't for you' headline of the week. 5 things the AT&T CEO's sweeping memo says about where corporate America is headedHis name is John Stankey"If a self-directed, virtual, or hybrid work schedule is essential for you to manage your career aspirations and life challenges, you will have a difficult time aligning your priorities with those of the company and the culture we aim to establish," Stankey wrote.DAMION2In our 'I refuse to celebrate until we reach 7.3%' headline of the week. The share of female CEOs running Global 500 companies hits a record high of 6.6% In our 'Houston American Energy Corp. announces that finally the phrase “Let's hear what she thinks” can be said in the boardroom without an immediately ironic chuckle, now it can be an authentic condescending chuckle' headline of the week. Houston American Energy Corp. Appoints Martha J. Crawford to Board of DirectorsIn our 'Great, when he's done creating a practical application of cold fusion, could he explain why anyone would buy a Cybertuck, have him finish my daughter's algebra homework, and then share the wisdom behind Intel's stock price being down 22% from the day he started as Intel CEO?' headline of the week. Jim Cramer on Intel CEO: “He Totally Understands Everything” In our 'After a nice brunch, they went to the aquarium and then to a poetry reading' headline of the week. Mary McDowell Joins Zebra Technologies Board of Directors In our 'They named him Peter Semple, after their great grandfather, and then chained him to his desk ' headline of the week. Depop names permanent CEOMATT2 In our 'US companies give investors a break from voting NO on every shareholder proposal this year' headline of the week. US companies deny record number of shareholder votesAverage vote for ESG proposal: 20%. Average vote against ESG proposal: 80%.In our 'Please don't say suicidal ideation, aggression, reality detachment, and hallucinations, please don't say suicidal ideation, aggression, reality detachment, and hallucinations, please don't say suicidal ideation, aggression, reality detachment, and hallucinations...' headline of the week. A New Paper Just Found Something Horrifying About Kids Who Get Phones Early in LifeChief scientist Tara Thiagarajan found that among the more than 100,000 18-to-24-year-olds whose outcomes they tracked, those who got phones when they were younger experienced more suicidal ideation, aggression, reality detachment, and hallucinations as they aged.In our 'Man leaves gym and goes to Wendy's to get fit' headline of the week. Barclays leaves Net Zero Banking Alliance to combat climate changeIf you want to prove your commitment to transitioning Barclays, feel free to use our data to vote out every director that underperforms on climate!In our 'Olive Garden appoints car mechanic as executive chef' headline of the week. Harley-Davidson board appoints Topgolf executive as next CEOArtie Starrs has been golf CEO, Pizza Hut CEO, is on a non profit board that helps underprivileged children, got an economics degree from Princeton, and he enjoys hiking, playing golf, listening to live music. He sounds exactly like someone who rides a Harley.In our 'SOMEONE IS ACTUALLY FIGHTING. And of course it's a female founder.' headline of the week. A long-running anti-DEI lawsuit could help companies defend themselves from reverse-racism claimsElizabeth Gore of Hello Alice is fighting Stephen Miller's AFL lawsuit brought on behalf of a white trucker in Ohio who says they didn't get a shot at a grant that went to someone black - and Gore is winning because it's all a fucking jokeMeanwhile, Brown, Harvard, Colombia and the high priced Ivies are folding like cowardsReach out to Hello Alice or Gore, offer help or support, join the service, because somewhere there is someone fighting bullshitFigma IPO QUIZThe Figma IPOFigma founder and CEO Dylan FieldWhat percentage of shares does he actually own in the company?17%What is total voting power?74%How many votes per share are magical Class B shares worth?15 votes per shareWhat percentage of Class B shares does Dylan control?99%There are 5 executive officers and 10 directors, how many are women?2 (directors)Who is the chair of the Figma board?CEO and founder and controlling shareholder Dylan FieldHow many friendships with Peter Thiel does Dylan Field have?1How many college degrees does Dylan Field have?0Where did Dylan Field drop out of?BrownWho paid Dylan Field to drop out of college?Peter ThielIn addition to his shareholdings, how much is Dylan Field due to receive if the stock price hits $130 (it already was over $124)$2B in equityWhich CEO's pay package was Dylan Field's pay package modeled after?Elon MuskHow many years does Dylan Field have to reach that stock price hurdle?10How old is this very rich college dropout?33In response to a question about how he was going to change the world, what did Dylan Field say?He was going to build better software for drones.Then I'm guessing Figma must truly benefit humanity if this guy is so rich, what does Figma do exactly?Figma is a collaborative web application for interface design, with additional offline features enabled by desktop applications for macOS and Windows. The feature set of Figma focuses on user interface and user experience design, with an emphasis on real-time collaboration,[3] utilizing a variety of vector graphics editor and prototyping tools.

Story of the Week (DR):​​Mark Zuckerberg just shared his vision for 'personal superintelligence."But perhaps even more important is that superintelligence has the potential to begin a new era of personal empowerment where people will have greater agency to improve the world in the directions they choose,"'Mark Zuckerberg is pouring billions of dollars into AI ‘superintelligence'—so why does his Instagram pitch feel so underwhelming?Mark Zuckerberg Looks Like He's Been Taken Hostage as He Explains Plan for Deploying AI SuperintelligenceAnthropic's CEO says massive salary changes could 'destroy' company culture"If Mark Zuckerberg throws a dart at a dartboard and hits your name, that doesn't mean you should be paid 10 times more than the guy next to you who's just as skilled."Amodei said such massive salary changes could "destroy" a company's culture by treating people "unfairly."Many of his employees have rejected the outside offers, and some "wouldn't even talk to Mark Zuckerberg."Wells Fargo board to appoint CEO Scharf as chairman and grant $30 million award MMSpecial CEO Equity Awardone-time equity award consisting of Restricted Share Rights with a grant date value of approximately $30 million and 1.046 million Stock Options (Exercise Price: $82.65)the Board approved and adopted the Company's By-Laws:The amendments remove the requirement that the Chairman of the Board be an independent director.The Board also amended the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines to require a Lead Independent Director if the Chairman of the Board is not independentConsistent with this change, the independent directors of the Board intend to appoint Mr. Scharf as Chairman of the Board, and to appoint a Lead Independent Director of the Board.$30M last year, including $20M in equityWhat happens to existing chair Steven Black?Scharf was former CEO and CHair of The Bank of New York Mellon, when current Chair Black was appointed to the Mellon boardBlack on Pay CommitteeWith Committee Chair Ron Sargent, former CEO/Chair of Staples and current interim CEO of KrogerWall Street returns to work after Manhattan shooting that killed Blackstone executiveThe investigation is ongoing, but authorities found a note on the gunman suggesting Shane Tamura, who had a history of mental health issues, appeared to blame the National Football League (NFL) for a brain injury (CTE) he believed he had from playing football. His intended target was likely the NFL headquarters, which is also located in the building.The investment firm's offices were closed on Tuesday after it said senior Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner was among those killedReport: NFL will acquire up to 10 percent of ESPN as part of NFL Media dealJust to tweak Matt: ‘Woke is officially dead at Brown,' Trump says, after Ivy League school settles with federal govGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Women Now Occupy Almost a Fifth of Top Venture Roles, Study FindsThe share of women in high-echelon postsThat share, which counts those in partner roles and above, has doubled since 2018 to 18.6%, according to nonprofit All RaiseMM: ‘Shame on them': Standard Chartered CEO decries banks that drop climate pledges DRBill Winters criticised banks that had jumped on the climate bandwagon when it was “fashionable”, but had since rolled back on their green ambitions or gone quiet on the subject.“Shame on them,” he said, without naming individual firms.Assholiest of the Week (MM): Brown UniversityTrump: Woke Is Dead at Brown University$50m extortion paid to Trump to restore funding“Brown will adopt the government's definition of “male” and “female,” for example, and must remove any consideration of race from the admissions process.”“Brown will no longer perform gender reassignment surgeries on minors or prescribe them puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones,” Leavitt added, calling it “chemical castration of children.”Barclays DRBarclays Reports £500 Million in Sustainable Finance RevenuesIn a report released YESTERDAY, the bank said it made $500m on sustainable finance44 page report detailing how amazing their work on climate is, how sustainable they are, and all the benefitsBarclays latest British lender to quit climate banking alliance"After consideration, we have decided to withdraw from the Net Zero Banking Alliance," the bank said in a statement on its website. "With the departure of most of the global banks, the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition."MicrosoftMicrosoft CFO calls for 'intensity' in an internal memo, after blowout earningsThe chief financial officer, Amy Hood, sent an email to employees on Wednesday after the company reported a $27 billion quarterly profit, telling them the year ahead would require "intensity, clarity, and bold execution."The adult in the room just joined the middle schoolers in talking about “growth mindset” and “intensity” in a race to the bottom where we gut employees but executives keep their jobsThe enigma of adulthoodHood I'm sure is very worried about her job at MSFT… although she already has a job for life on the board of 3M, so why worry?Not for nothing, but Amy Coleman got the role of Chief People Officer in March, just in time to fire everyoneShe also cashed in more than $24m in options in the last 3 months, and despite being an NEO in the 10k, her contract was not disclosed in an 8K - curious how much she was paid to dispose of employees? Or is that the “enigma of disclosure”?Cowering employees37% of employees have wondered if emojis are professionalYour employees are worried about emojis being professionalYour research team is worried about buying the best governance data on earth because of a podcast with a segment called “Assholiest”Your rank and file, after years of wages that don't keep the pace of inflation, have to deal with a Walmart exec saying “nobody” will want to hire you if you're a “Debbie Downer”Meanwhile…Elon Musk Amplifies Bizarre Claim That 'Women Are Built To Be Traded' CEO Brags That He Gets "Extremely Excited" Firing People and Replacing Them With AILiterally, every week Jamie Dimon says something and Sam Altman is afraid of the apocalypse he's made… and your employees are so tenuous they're worried about improper emoji useHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Elon Musk Amplifies Bizarre Claim That 'Women Are Built To Be Traded' ANDElon Musk Pushes View That Women Are 'Anti-White' Because They're 'Weak'DR: U.S. Women in Coffee welcomes Mark Inman to its Board of DirectorsMM: Tesla Robotaxi Gets Stuck in Infinite Loop as Support Tries to Break It OutMM: Starbucks CEO: The company was 'mismanaged for a couple years'—here's his plan to 'bounce back'Who Won the Week?DR: King ChuckMM: Chainsaw Charlie! Cue memory reel:Charlie Scharf steps down as Visa CEO in 2016 because he said he couldn't spend enough time in San Francisco to do the job “effectively”Becomes CEO of Wells Fargo in 2019 and… commutes to San Francisco from NYCImmediately cuts staff, gets nicknamed “Chainsaw Charlie”... then complains he can't find enough black workers because they're not qualifiedJoins board of Microsoft where he can oversee record profits and simultaneous staff cuts, a personal joyJust got this news, he must be stoked: Wells Fargo board to appoint CEO Scharf as chairman and grant $30 million awardPredictionsDR: As part of of its 10% ownership of ESPN, the Disney board refuses to add an NFL player to its board but agrees to attend all board meetings wearing spandex and shoulder pads MM: Wells Fargo's investors are unhappy with Scharf's new chair appointment and retention grant, vote 73% approval of Scharf's pay but 99.6% in favor of everyone on the pay committee who set the pay and voted to make him chair

TraditionalGlass Lewis, ISS sue Texas over law restricting use of ESG in proxy-voting advice Italian court allows climate lawsuit against energy giant to proceedItaly's highest court has given the green light to a lawsuit against the oil giant Eni for its role in warming the planet, rejecting the company's motion to dismiss the case. The environmental groups Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon, along with 12 Italian citizens filed suit in 2023 against the state-controlled oil producer for “past and potential future damages resulting from its contribution to climate change.”Honolulu's lawsuit against fossil fuel companies leads climate change legal fightHonolulu's lawsuit is further along than similar litigation across the country. A hearing on Tuesday will indicate how these fights play out in court. In 2020, Hawaii's capital city sued major oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, arguing they knew for nearly half a century that fossil fuel products create greenhouse gas pollution that warms the planet and changes the climate. The companies have also profited from the consumption of oil, coal and natural gas while deceiving the public about the role of their products in causing a global climate crisis, the lawsuit says.Rhode Island is the first state to provide menopause accommodations at workCiting New Rules, Meta Says It Will End Political Ads in E.U.Beginning in October, the company will stop ads related to political, electoral or social issues, it said in a release, citing a forthcoming E.U. regulation around the transparency of political advertisingThe Country Where 76% of Cars Sold Are ElectricNepal; 20% worldwide 20%; Norway 92%; US 10%Speed RoundIs this good because a headline not affiliated with Free Float is saying it out loud?: Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol made 6,666 times more than the median employee at his coffee chain last yearSub-score: Is this also good because they actually named the CEO in the headline?Is this good because a CEO is connecting consumer prices to Trump's tariffs?: Procter & Gamble CEO says Trump tariffs are causing the company to hike prices on shoppers Is this good because a CEO is saying something about AI that is not corporate gobbledygook?: Bluesky's CEO warns you shouldn't 'fully outsource your thinking' to AIIs this good because JD Vance agrees with me?: JD Vance calls out Big Tech for firing Americans while hiring cheap foreign H-1B visa replacementsIs this good because Hooters is gross?: Hulk Hogan's death could be bad news for Hooters Is this good for Free Float Media?: Young people aren't anti-capitalist. They're just sick of corporate hypocrisy

Story of the Week (DR): Astronomer HR chief Kristin Cabot resigns following Coldplay ‘kiss cam' incident MMAstronomer's human resources chief Kristin Cabot has resigned from the company following an affair that was caught on camera at a Coldplay concert.The intimate moment between Cabot and CEO Andy Byron went viral on the internet after the two hid when Coldplay's lead singer called them out during the concert.Both Byron and Chabot have now resigned from Astronomer and have been removed from the company's leadership team webpage.They did it! Zero women! 10 execs/ 5 directorsTrump's order to block 'woke' AI in government encourages tech giants to censor their chatbotsTech companies looking to sell their artificial intelligence technology to the federal government must now contend with a new regulatory hurdle: prove their chatbots aren't “woke.”President Donald Trump's sweeping new plan to counter China in achieving “global dominance” in AI promises to cut regulations and cement American values into the AI tools increasingly used at work and home. But one of Trump's three AI executive orders signed Wednesday — the one “preventing woke AI in the federal government” — marks the first time the U.S. government has explicitly tried to shape the ideological behavior of AI.The move also pushes the tech industry to abandon years of work to combat the pervasive forms of racial and gender bias that studies and real-world examples have shown to be baked into AI systems.OpenAI's Sam Altman warns of AI voice fraud crisis in bankingOpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned the financial industry of a “significant impending fraud crisis” because of the ability of artificial intelligence tools to impersonate a person's voice to bypass security checks and move money.“A thing that terrifies me is apparently there are still some financial institutions that will accept the voiceprint as authentication,” Altman said. “That is a crazy thing to still be doing. AI has fully defeated that.”Uber will let women drivers and riders request to avoid being paired with men starting next month Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR): DR: Top U.N. Court Says Countries Must Act on Climate ChangeThe International Court of Justice, the United Nations' top court, issued an advisory opinion Wednesday that found all nations must tackle climate change and those that do not act could be obliged to pay reparations for the harm caused to the environment.The ruling was the result of years of efforts by activists and small island nations. The case was first initiated by Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, a group of young Pacific Islanders facing the existential threat of rising sea levels, and led by the island nation of Vanuatu.MM: Glass Lewis sues Texas over new ESG and DEI limits on proxy advisersGlass Lewis is my new heroISS too Assholiest of the Week (MM): FCC approves $8 billion Paramount-Skydance mergerParamount agrees to pay $16 million to settle Trump's CBS lawsuitSuit was filed because Trump didn't like the editing on a Kamala interviewSenators Investigate Whether David Ellison Cut Side Deal With Trump After $16 Million Paramount SettlementSam Altman and the “you should be worried about the thing I built” manbaby tech bro ethosSam Altman is terrified about a coming AI fraud crisisSam Altman is worried some young people have an 'emotional over-reliance' on ChatGPT when making decisionsTrump's ‘anti-woke AI' order could reshape how US tech companies train their modelsWhen running AI giant OpenAI becomes too overwhelming Sam Altman turns to pen and paper—it's a habit shared by Bill Gates and Richard BransonMicrosoft's Satya Nadella says job cuts have been 'weighing heavily' on him DRSatya Nadella on the ‘enigma of success' in the age of AI: a thriving business, but 15,000+ layoffs“Before anything else, I want to speak to what's been weighing heavily on me, and what I know many of you are thinking about: the recent job eliminations. These decisions are among the most difficult we have to make. They affect people we've worked alongside, learned from, and shared countless moments with—our colleagues, teammates, and friends. I want to express my sincere gratitude to those who have left.”“I also want to acknowledge the uncertainty and seeming incongruence of the times we're in. By every objective measure, Microsoft is thriving—our market performance, strategic positioning, and growth all point up and to the right.”And yet, at the same time, we've undergone layoffs. This is the enigma of success…DistractionsElon Musk's Tesla Is Now the Most Hated Electric Vehicle MakerElon Musk Tells Tesla Investors to Focus on a Future Filled With RobotsElon Musk Warns That Tesla Board Could Fire Him "If I Go Crazy"EpsteinTrump's order to make chatbots anti-woke is unconstitutional, senator saysMeme stocksBeyond Meat? Krispy Kreme? Opendoor? American Eagle? Headliniest of the Week DR: Elon Musk wants more control of Tesla so activist investors can't boot him—but not so much the board can't fire him if he goes ‘crazy'MM: The typical employee would have had to start working before the Revolutionary War to match average CEO's 2024 pay Who Won the Week? DR: Satya Nadella's bullshit (More than 15,000 positions—about 7% of the company's global workforce—have been eliminated since January; $79M 2024 pay/408:1 CEO pay ratio):“By every objective measure, Microsoft is thriving—our market performance, strategic positioning, and growth all point up and to the right” he wrote, noting the company's capital expenditures, largely fueled by investments in AI and cloud infrastructure, are at historic highs. Despite these investments, he said headcount “is relatively unchanged,” given the simultaneous reduction of jobs.Nadella called this tension the “enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value,” arguing that success in tech is not permanent or evenly distributed. “Progress isn't linear. It's dynamic, sometimes dissonant, and always demanding. But it's also a new opportunity for us to shape, lead through, and have greater impact than ever before.”Expressing gratitude to those let go, Nadella acknowledged the human cost. “Their contributions have shaped who we are as a company, helping build the foundation we stand on today. And for that, I am deeply grateful.”MM: People who pay CEOs - The gap between CEO and worker pay keeps increasing—and Trump's policies are making it grow faster - and according to our analysis, directors on the pay committee have zero repercussions for overpaying. 11% of shareholder votes were less than 90% in favor of pay, but greater than 90% in favor of directors who set pay (in 2%, it was less than 75% for pay and greater than 90% for directors) Predictions DR: Satya Nadella divorces his wife and tells her he is “deeply grateful” but this is the “enigma of love”MM: Someone in MAGA realizes that they don't need to look for documents released related to Jeffrey Epstein to find connections between Trump and sex traffickers since he actually hired a former CEO of a sex trafficking ring, Linda MacMahon, to run the Education Department and the whole White House has been WWE-ified

Your thoughts on the kiss-cam episodeAndrew Ross Sorkin's note yesterday about Andy Byron, the C.E.O. of a tech start-up caught on camera with a colleague from H.R. at a Coldplay concert, struck a nerve with DealBook readers, who have flooded our inbox with responses: “The moment seems to encapsulate the pervasive schadenfreude within our culture, especially our office culture, and a deep-seated animosity toward bosses and colleagues,” Andrew wrote. “It highlights a zero-sum mentality in which a colleague's success is perceived as your loss, and their failure your gain.” He added that, “The incident also underscores our surveillance state.”Here's what readers had to say:“The surveillance state is a bit aggressive of a take on this. They were lovingly embracing at a concert during a love song while the kiss cam was on the prowl.” — Bob McMurtry“The public is not just reacting to someone else's misfortune, it is reacting to the utter hypocrisy revealed yet again by those in power who dictate rules that others should follow, yet arrogantly disregard following them themselves. Employees endure hours of H.R. training on the impropriety of workplace relationships, especially between manager and subordinate, yet the actual HEAD of H.R. engages in an affair with her married C.E.O. Do you not see the specific irony of this outing?” — Jim Woidat“I don't think we commoners' resentment of C.E.O.s is so much about jealousy as it is about pay inequality (their pay rate today vs. what it was a few decades ago) and stuff like golden parachutes.” — Tom EshbaughWhat nobody is talking about:Before the kisscam: 12 executives (11 men and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot); 6 directors (all men)They've also disabled their LinkedIn links and yetAstronomer board launches investigation after viral Coldplay 'kiss cam' video appears to show CEO embracing HR chiefDealBook Hot Take: Board members should be licensedJonathan Foster, a consultant and former managing director at Lazard, has served on more than 50 corporate boards. Along the way, he says, he has encountered directors who have stayed too long, or ones whose “knowledge of financial statements and M&A is lacking.” He drew on that experience in “On Board: The Modern Playbook for Corporate Governance,” his new book.One of his big ideas for improving director performance: “a license,” he told DealBook, like the kind required “for investment bankers, doctors, lawyers, even massage therapists.”That, he said, “might increase confidence in corporate directors.”How it would work: Some of the requirements Foster envisions include 10 years of work experience, being at least 35 and passing an exam covering legal standards, basic accounting and finance principles, and ethics. “It doesn't have to be particularly onerous,” he said, comparing it to the Series 7 exam for financial advisers.To issue licenses, he says, the New York Stock Exchange could oversee an organization like Harvard Business School or the National Association of Corporate Directors. He says he sees the arrangement as akin to how the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board operates under the authority of the S.E.C. That independent nonprofit group, he noted, “has commissioners, and they go do their thing, but they're ultimately responsible to and can be pre-empted by the S.E.C.”Is it workable? DealBook asked Edward Rock, a professor of corporate governance at the New York University School of Law. He said he worried that standardized requirements for diverse companies could disqualify board members with otherwise strong attributes. For example, he wrote in an email to DealBook, “Why would anyone want to prevent Mark Zuckerberg (28 at the time of Facebook's I.P.O.) or Larry Page and Sergey Brin” — both in their thirties when Google listed — “from serving on the board of directors of Facebook and Google?”(Foster said exceptions could be created, including for founders.)Shareholders have an incentive to demand the most qualified board members, Rock continued, and they tend to do so.Coca-Cola will roll out cane sugar version of namesake soda in the U.S. this fallPrivate jet sales are poised for takeoff thanks to a revived tax breakA federal tax change now lets companies write off the full cost of buying a private jet in year oneStarbucks' formerly remote CEO has bought a home in Seattle and he's ordering all staff back to the office 4 days a week Jeff Bezos taps former Amazon Alexa head to lead $10 billion Earth fundElon Musk's other companies could soon pour billions into his AI startupSpaceX, the rocket company Musk founded and controls, is reportedly investing $2 billion into xAI, his AI startup best known for the chatbot GrokElon Musk promises Tesla shareholders a vote over buying equity in his Grok startup: ‘If it was up to me, Tesla would have invested in xAI long ago'Musk's xAI faces European scrutiny over Grok's 'horrific' antisemitic postsElon Musk's AI chatbot Grok is now working with the federal governmentElon Musk's Neuralink filed as 'disadvantaged business' before being valued at $9 billionOpenAI warns that its new ChatGPT Agent has the ability to aid dangerous bioweapon developmentA Staggering Proportion of Teens Say Talking to AI Is Better Than Real-Life FriendsElon Musk announces Baby Grok AI chatbot designed specifically for children's learning needsTelegram CEO Pavel Durov on French probe against Elon Musk's Twitter: “at this point, any tech company can be declared a ‘criminal gang' in France". Durov further stated that such investigations can be harmful for attracting investments”Musk's X refuses to hand over data in 'politically-motivated' French investigationWhy Gov. Greg Abbott Won't Release His Emails With Elon MuskWe asked Abbott for his and his staff's emails with Elon Musk and Musk's companies. The governor's office won't turn them over, saying some contain “intimate and embarrassing” information that is “not of legitimate concern to the public.”The anti-wokeMAGA's tantrum over "woke" Superman is nastier than their usual whiningThe MAGA talking heads are big mad that director James Gunn said that Superman is an immigrant. They were also furious that Gunn said Superman stands for “human kindness.”Fox News: wondering if the movie would fail on the assumption that American audiences also hate kindness and immigrants.Superman' Proves "Go Woke, Go Broke" Is a Joke – And That Major $125 Million Opening Weekend Confirms ItDEI-fueled investing is ‘ideological coercion' of shareholders, Missouri AG warns amid new probe"Missourians deserve answers as to why the unseen power brokers, controlling much of corporate America, are pushing a leftist worldview at the expense of millions of honest investors … These proxy advisors have held corporate America hostage with their radical ideologies. We are putting them on notice: Missouri will not tolerate ideological coercion disguised as investment guidance.""Woke Or Not Woke?": Ubisoft's CEO Was Asked A Bizarre Question About Assassin's Creed Shadows In A Shareholder MeetingIn-N-Out billionaire Lynsi Snyder says she is leaving California: 'Doing business is not easy here'Lynsi Snyder is In-N-Out Burger's billionaire owner and president. She inherited control in 2017 and it remains a private, family-owned business. The reclusive heiress has a $6.7 billion net worth.Lufthansa CEO's wife Vivian Spohr allegedly runs down woman in Sardinia, expresses ‘deep sorrow'The victim, Gaia Costa, a resident of nearby Tempio Pausania, died at the scene from severe head injuries, according to local media reports. She had reportedly been crossing at a pedestrian crosswalk when she was hit.The 51-year-old German businesswoman added that she was “at the complete disposal of the Italian judicial authorities for the necessary investigations and, while aware that such a great personal loss cannot be repaired, will take steps to mitigate its consequences.”Mark Cuban says some of NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's key policies don't 'have a chance'Mark Cuban says Elon Musk's new political party is 'really smart' in a key wayAre they stealing our thunder POP QUIZ:Did the average S&P 500 CEOs earn in less than two days what their typical worker earned in all of 2023?Fake apologies popping up from CEO allegedly caught cheatingCEOs on boards is a governance blind spot — accepted as normal but long overdue for scrutiny

Story of the Week (DR):NEO turnover week MMApple CFO and COO resign, raising questions about CEO Tim Cook's futureApple CEO succession plan blown open as most obvious candidate to step downChief Operating Officer (COO) Jeff Williams, 62, will retire at the end of this year. Following the retirement of former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Luca Maestri, 61, last year, the departure of these 'key figures in growth' seems to signal a significant generational shift within Apple.Meet Apple's next COO Sahib Khan, a 30-year veteran who will oversee the iPhone maker's supply chain amid the ‘Trump tariff black cloud'Twitter/X CEO Linda Yaccarino quits after Grok AI praises HitlerWendy's CEO Kirk Tanner Leaving Burger Giant for HersheyIs this another Peltz failure? Tanner has been CEO of Wendy's since only February 2024Trian Fund Management controls two board seats:Peter May (29%): director since 1993; former Wendy's executive; Founding Partner of Trian; chair of Capital and Investment committee, chair of Technology Committee, member of Compensation Committee, member of Corporate Social Responsibility committee, and member of Executive committee.Matthew Peltz (31%): son of Nelson; Partner of Trian; chair of Corporate Social Responsibility committee, member of Capital and Investment committee, member of Technology Committee, and member of Executive committee.Matthew resigned in same 8-k mentioning the CEO's departure and will be replaced by his brother Bradley Peltz; drafted by the Ottawa Senators and played in the Senators' organization from September 2012 to January 2013.Always my favorite line: “There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. B. Peltz and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. B. Peltz was selected as a director.”His photo on website:leaving Tanner (8%) with a small voiceGolden hello at Hershey: (i) $7M RSU Award (ii) $4M PSU Award, (iii) an additional $1.2M Pro-Rata 2025 RSU Award, and (iv) an additional $2.2M Pro-Rata 2025 RSU AwardWendy's: salary $1M; 175% annual target; $6M annual equity targetHershey: $1.25M/180%/$9MAlso Kristin Dolan, James Dolan wifeHershey not much different: controlled by Hershey Trust and several Hershey Trust directorsInterim CEO is CFO Ken Cook, who started in December 2024Tesla announces Nov. annual meeting under pressure from shareholders, but may still be skirting lawElon Musk's Tesla finally sets a shareholder meeting date amid doubts about his long-denied $56 billion pay packageThe exciting Item 5.08 (which I never see): “The board of directors (the “Board”) of Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) has designated November 6, 2025 as the date of Tesla's 2025 annual meeting of shareholders (the “2025 Annual Meeting”).”T-Mobile follows orders from Trump FCC, ends DEI to get two mergers approved"As T-Mobile indicated earlier this year, we recognize that the legal and policy landscape surrounding DEI under federal law has changed and we remain fully committed to ensuring that T-Mobile does not have any policies or practices that enable invidious discrimination, whether in fulfillment of DEI or any other purpose," T-Mobile General Counsel Mark Nelson wrote in a July 8 letter that was posted to the Federal Communications Commission's filings website yesterday. "We have conducted a comprehensive review of T-Mobile's policies, programs, and activities, and pursuant to this review, T-Mobile is ending its DEI-related policies as described below, not just in name, but in substance."CEO Mike Sievert: CNN Business recognized Mike as “CEO of the Year” in 2022, and Yale honored him in 2024 with its “Legend in Leadership Award,” in part due to the impact of these initiatives.UPS Drivers Are Battling Deadly Heat—Without A.C. in Their TrucksWhy is the company dragging its heels on updating the vehicles, as the new union contract requires?As part of the contract the union negotiated with UPS in 2023, the company is now required to provide workers with several protections against the kind of extreme heat many of them are facing across the U.S. right now. Those include readily available clean water and ice, as well as access to “cool zones” and the right to take and extend breaks when they feel overheated. The contract further mandated UPS to install fans in the largely non-air-conditioned warehouses where packages are sorted and loaded, and in the front of vehicles. Delivery trucks have also been outfitted with heat exhaust shields and vents. UPS Teamsters, though, are still waiting on some of these historic protections. UPS is required to equip its fleet with at least 28,000 new air-conditioned delivery trucks by the time the current contract expires in 2028; toward that end, all new vans UPS purchases after January 1, 2024, are supposed to have air conditioning. As of last summer, CNN reported, it hadn't bought any. UPS Brand Management Representative Becca Hunnicut did not directly answer my questions about whether UPS has purchased any new delivery vehicles equipped with air conditioning since the beginning of 2024 and if any of its delivery trucks currently have air conditioning. She wrote over email that the company is “installing air conditioning in all new delivery vehicles we buy and adding them as quickly as possible,” adding that UPS does not “publicly share the number of vehicles we purchase” and that it is “prioritizing deployment in the hottest regions.”Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: ‘Prevention is better than remedy': majority of investors say governance gaps attract activists, research shows MM DR84 percent of investors polled, who hail from North America, Europe (including the UK) and Asia, said that poor governance was the main driver of activist investor attention.Investors also largely (71 percent) favor activism targeting the board on governance and management change versus operational (10 percent), balance sheet (3 percent) or M&A activism (3 percent)MM: Tesla announces Nov. annual meeting under pressure from shareholders, but may still be skirting lawAssholiest of the Week (MM):Democracy73% of votes cast in alternative democracy were for directors in the US0.01% of directors up for a vote were voted out - incumbency rulesWe know governance in corporations isn't working, and it's the primary driver of activism: ‘Prevention is better than remedy': majority of investors say governance gaps attract activists, research showsGovernance proponents were the only winners in the shareholder proposal space with an 18% win rateWe know money doesn't care nearly as much about performance as it cares about power status quo:Vote Gap - directors batting .333 or lower on TSR vs. average vote at the companyAverage vote gap was actually +1.3% - bottom directors outperformed average vote at the companiesWe know that only 22% of US directors have “merit”, but we know that more than 1 in 4 directors are connected to each other through other boards and non profits - including the CEOSo we should all fucking lose our minds when…New York's Financial Crowd Rushes to Build Anti-Mamdani War Chest - no more buying electionsJamie Dimon criticizes Zohran Mamdani as 'Marxist,' blasts Democrats' DEI push: 'Big hearts and little brain' - shut your fat mouthAdvertisersYour ads are now next to AI for middle school boysGrok praises Hitler, gives credit to Musk for removing “woke filters”Grok's harmful outputs come at a time when advertisers have just begun returning to X, after X first sued advocacy groups publishing reports of hate speech on the platform, then sued advertiser groups who boycotted the platform allegedly partly due to those reports. Most recently, X's plan to sue firms that don't buy ads has seemed to pay off, while the Federal Trade Commission has moved to stop advertising boycotts, which may help X avoid losing revenue no matter what Grok is trained to say.Musk says Grok chatbot was 'manipulated' into praising HitlerGrok 4 appears to seek Elon Musk's views when answering controversial questionsNo more hedging “well, he is a brilliant businessman and innovator” - Elon Musk is a fucking nightmare, antisemite, misogynist pig baby.We don't say “Well, Hitler was a brilliant dictator, but you know, Holocaust.” Musk is pure shitbird. Dollar Tree DRNEW RULE: if your CEO pay ratio is more than 5:1, the Aristotle rule, no fucking share buybacksShare Buyback Program Declared by Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) Board of Directorsour median employee in fiscal 2024 was a parttime hourly store associate located in the United States.Out of a total population of 209,517 employees, 140,001 were part-time employees and 5,892 were either temporary or seasonal workers.Mr. Creedon's total annual compensation for purposes of the pay ratio was $9,246,835The median employee's total annual compensation for fiscal 2024 was $15,602, resulting in an estimated pay ratio of 592:1.Creedon effectively made is median employee's salary 14 hours into his first 24 hours of the yearThe board approved a buyback of $2.5 billion, with a “B”, equal to roughly 11.5% of outstanding sharesThe annual total paid to part time employees is $2.18 billion - they took a full year of 140,000 people's pay and bought their own stock with it to grease investorsAccording to the internet, a Dollar Tree cashier makes on average $10/hour - you could easy give them $15 and pay for it for TWO YEARS without needing to make a dollar if you can afford these buybacksAnd Bill Ackman is busy complaining why a labor focused socialist democrat won NYC mayor… Headliniest of the WeekDR: TVA board set to be all-male, all-whiteOn Tuesday, President Donald Trump nominated four white men to join the three white men he left on the board after firing the only two female directors.MM: Barbie Launches Doll With Type 1 DiabetesMM: How Starbucks' Founder Uses the ‘Two Chairs Rule' to Guide Every Leadership Decision“Every decision that we tried to make with two chairs metaphorically sitting in the room was designed to ask ourselves during the debate, is this decision going to exceed the expectations of our people and our customers and make them proud?” Schultz said. “And if the answer was no, we shouldn't do it.”Not mentioned were the chairs of “CEO” and “Chair of Board” a total of three timesWho Won the Week?DR: Kirk Tanner, more chocolate, less disgusting grease, less Peltz, more diversity in leadership, and zero nepotism (LD is woman; 3 Hershey Trust board members are Asian woman and two lack men)MM: Tennis, the great billionaire equalizer. ‘Biggest joke I've ever watched in professional tennis': Swift backlash after billionaire Bill Ackman's pro debutPredictionsDR: New Wendy's director Brad Peltz gets caught watching hockey during board meetings, still gets the support of 99.3% of shareholdersMM: Elon Musk Obtains Permit to Spew Pollution - isn't this the greatest future money maker for the Trump administration? Pay for a permit to do heinous shit? PREDICTION: Trump begins issuing permits, with starting cost of $1m, for oil spills, pollution, hate speech, deforestation, and using forced labor (kids or immigrants are both covered, obviously).

DAMIONThe next phase of Starbucks' turnaround plan is offering executives up to $6 million in stock grants, as baristas scrap to get annual raises above 2%Starbucks will reward company executives with up to $6 million in stock grants should they effectively fulfill cost-saving and timely rollout goals of the company's “Back to Starbucks” turnaround strategy. Starbucks Workers United representatives dubbed the move “ridiculous and irresponsible” amid contract negotiations over barista wages.WHO DO YOU BLAME?Double boomerang CEO and founder Howard Schultz1987-2000; 2008-2017; 2022-2023CEO and Chair Brian Niccol and his $113 million golden hello packageThe company's work-from-home policy which allows its CEO to work remotely from his home in Newport Beach, California, while the company's headquarters are in Seattle, Washington. As part of his employment agreement, Starbucks pays for him to travel between his home and the Seattle headquarters on the company's private jet.Former failure Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer who was appointed as a director to Starbucks 4 days before the announcement of the new retention awards. Compensation Committee chair Ritch Allison: The guy passes every pay plan for whoever; is the former CEO of Domino's Pizza so is here to enrich executives; and owns $3M is SBUX stock so doesn't really care: someone should be responsible for a CEO pay ratio of 6666:1Agios Appoints Dr. Jay Backstrom to Board of DirectorsJay Backstrom appointed as Class III director as of July 8, 2025, 20 days after the company held an election to appoint two Class III directors.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The top 4 institutional investors (35% of voting power):Farallon Capital 10% Vanguard 10%BlackRock 9% BB Biotech 6%The company's childish bylaws which separate directors into three classes that are voted on every three yearsFormer CEO Jacqualyn Fouse (23%) who stuck around to serve as board chair after being CEO for only 3 yearsNominating Committee chair and Lead independent director Kaye FosterEmasculated CEO Brian GOff (15%) who presides over a board with a +7% gender influence gapAn anti-DEI investment firm postponed its Tesla ETF, saying Elon Musk has 'gone too far' by launching a political partyWHO DO YOU BLAME?Its BS mission statement: “Azoria is an investment firm with the mission of compounding capital for investors through a commitment to free thinking, excellence, and meritocracy.”Wouldn't that include Elon?James T. Fishback, Founder and CEO of Azoria, a free-thinking investment firm“We have an anti-American subculture that cancels the science fair in favor of drag queen story hour, forces colleges to spend more time teaching micro-aggressions than microbiology, and teaches kids in America that Cardi B is a role model and Thomas Jefferson is a racist.”“Fishback will become a major Gen Z star in our pro-American movement.” — Vivek Ramaswamy, 2024 Presidential Candidate.“dropped out of Georgetown University to establish a hedge fund at 21 years old”Azoria partner Sol Ehrlich:“For my last day at Spectra, it's important that I share just how much this opportunity has meant to me. In June of 2023, I was a 28 year old mediocre Euro League baseball player with no job prospects outside of coaching. My only qualification to work in finance was my work ethic, which Brent Donnelly recognized when he met with me over Zoom and saw the litany of Post-It tabs I used to annotate his book”“It's with great excitement that I'll be taking this skillset to Azoria as a partner and its Head Trader- an opportunity I couldn't have imagined 18 months ago.”While the internet was introduced to James Fishback's talents this year, I've been aware of them since 2009 when we competed against each other in high school debate. (His meme game was A+ even then- I still remember him closing a speech on U.S. sanctions with 4 Russian leader puns.)”Me. Because somehow I'm connected to Fishback on linkedin.Greenlight Capital, for making James angry:In a lawsuit: “Greenlight Capital says James Fishback is a liar. The 29-year-old hedge fund manager and former employee, contrary to his own proclamations, was never “head of macro” at Greenlight, never had any “authority or discretion” over investments, and certainly wasn't responsible for an “insane” $100 million in profits as a mere research analyst. In fact, his contributions were so not “insane” that the hedge fund was about to fire him before he chose to leave of his own accord.”Greenlight's alleged former head of macro is hoping to get at least $5 million from David Einhorn, claiming age discrimination"Mr. Einhorn dismissively told Mr. Fishback that his compensation was 'a lot of money for a kid,'" the filing states, and Fishback argues the comment "demonstrates that Defendants' decision about Mr. Fishback's compensation was driven largely by his age — a protected characteristic."Tech founders call on Sequoia Capital to denounce VC Shaun Maguire's Mamdani commentsMaguire, an outspoken supporter of President Trump, posted on X over the weekend that Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani “comes from a culture that lies about everything.”WHO DO YOU BLAME?Shaun Maguire: “My whole life I've sought out people that I think are really talented but a little bit off the radar.”Shaun Maguire: “[E]ven more important to me is someone that's just irrationally motivated. For whatever reason, it's their life mission to try to revolutionize the industry they're going after.”Shaun Maguire: “Should I go public with the story about the time I was told I can't be promoted for being a white man? Fuck it, This happened at Google. That company is an absolute trash can dumspeter fire.”Sequoia Capital: for proudly endorsing some of its most insipid founders: Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Vlad Tenev (Robinhood, online betting on stocks), Keller Rinaudo (Zipline, autonomous delivery), Winston Weinberg (Harvey, AI for lawfirms), Brian Chesky (Airbnb, rent killer)MATTForward Air, after their AGM battle with Ancora, still hasn't released their 8K after a MONTH despite Ancora announcing it was a “landslide” directly afterWHO DO YOU BLAME for not releasing an 8k?Charles Anderson, Robert Edwards Jr, Michael Hodge who own roughly 25% of the voting power, even if FF data doesn't properly show them as having all the influence on the boardAncora, who just couldn't help but IMMEDIATELY put out a press release stating: “Absent the more than 30% of shares that were legally committed to vote for the incumbent Board, Chairman George Mayes, Jr., Javier Polit, and Laurie Tucker lost in a landslide, highlighting the substantial level of concern regarding the legitimacy of the Board's strategic review. We believe the resignations of these legacy directors will empower the Board to carry out a thorough assessment of value-maximizing opportunities.”Christine Gorjanc, chair of the audit committee, who was chair of the audit committee at Invitae from 2015 to 2024 when it declared bankruptcy despite getting her degree in accounting and a MS in “taxation”Michael L. Hance, chief counsel who also holds a masters in Divinity, who couldn't find the “submit” button on his iPhoneNo, Carnival Cruises is not banning rap musicCarnival Cruise Lines denied reports circulating online that DJs aren't playing hip-hop.The cruise line has responded to claims circulating online that DJs aren't including hip-hop music in their sets or honoring song requests, with some social media users saying the alleged move is racially motivated.WHO DO YOU BLAME for this malicious rumor?Carnival's ZERO BLACK leadership team, lead by Mickey Arison - they do have two Hispanic men, Enrique Miguez (General Counsel) and Gustavo Antorcha (President of Princess Cruises), but it's balanced out by the Scandinavian (Lars Ljoen, Chief Maritime Officer) and other Euro men (Felix Eichhorn, Paul Ludlow)Carnival's Board of Directors, which has 11 members and is 91% white, with one black woman, Nelda Connors. Nelda's background is in hydraulics and metals with a degree in mechanical engineering, so she's probably too “nerdy” for rap anywayChristine Duffy, the head of Carnival Cruises, whose prior role was President of the Cruise Lines International Association which put out a report in 2008 showing that 93% of cruise passengers were white, and in 2025 said that 1 in 4 passengers came from either Texas or Florida. Duffy grew up in Northwood Philadelphia, which in 1950 was three quarters white but by 2020 is 93% black.Thinking hip hop is “black music”DAMIONPeople are boycotting Etsy over ‘Alligator Alcatraz' merchCalls to boycott Etsy are growing since “Alligator Alcatraz” merch popped up on its marketplace. The term refers to the Trump administration's new migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The 48% influence duo: CEO Josh Silverman (25%) and longest-tenured director (2007): Board Chair and Nominating Committee chair Fred Wilson (23%)The -13% gender influence gap at a company where: “approximately 80% of Etsy's buyers and sellers are women.Leadership is 6 men and 2 women, one of who is CHROThe company's dumb classified board structureThis year's 3 directors: 24%, 28%, 22% againstTokens to Access Private Companies, or to Investor Trouble?Robinhood is the latest to offer investors a novel, and potentially risky, investment opportunity: crypto that's meant to give exposure to the likes of OpenAI.WHO DO YOU BLAME?CEO/founder/Chair Vladimir Tenev: 47% influence; 24% voting power Baiju Bhatt: 37% influence; 36% voting powerThe pesky Class B share: for being worth ten votes per shareThe non-democratic Founders' Voting Agreement: Our Co-Founders have agreed: “to vote all of their shares in favor of the election of each Co-Founder”Lead Independent Director Jonathan Rubinstein: for being the most pointless Lead Independent Director of all time: Lead Independent Director at Robinhood since 2021 and Lead Independent Director at Amazon.com from 2017-2023OpenAI Says It's Hired a Forensic Psychiatrist as Its Users Keep Sliding Into Mental Health Crises"We're developing ways to scientifically measure how ChatGPT's behavior might affect people emotionally."WHO DO YOU BLAME?Sam AltmanBret Taylor (Chair)Sam AltmanMatt: AI itself for being a jerk

Story of the Week (DR):‘Merica:Elon Musk says he'll form the 'America Party' if Trump's 'insane' spending bill passesTrump says he'll 'look' at deporting Musk as feud reignitesBuffett donates $6B in Berkshire stock to 5 foundations: Lifetime giving tops $60B MM9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation;660,366 shares to each of three charities led respectively by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo FoundationMark Zuckerberg sees 'the beginning of a new era' for humanity in superintelligenceTech Workers Say They're Rapidly Being Replaced by AIBurger King to roll out 1,900-calorie 'yokozuna' burger in sumo collabThe 2,590-yen ($18) Baby Body Burger features five flame-grilled beef patties, four slices of bacon and four slices of cheddar cheeseJeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's Extravagant Wedding Sparks Global Debate on Wealth InequalityThe reportedly $50m affair booked all nine of Venice's yacht ports, closed parts of the city to the public and forced the relocation of hotel guests to make room for the happy couple.Though Sánchez claims to be “dedicated to fighting climate change”, and Bezos has called the issue “the biggest threat to our planet”, their guests arrived in the City of Bridges via 96 private jets, the most carbon-intensive mode of transportation.If Caitlin Clark's worth a ‘billion' to WNBA, why is she paid only a fraction of that?$78,066Average annual salary for NBA players during the 2024-25 season: approximately $12MGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Zohran Mamdani's victory in NYC mayoral primary leaves Wall Street 'alarmed' and 'depressed' MMMM: EU Regulators Propose Integrating ESG Risks into Stress Tests for Banks, Insurers DRThis might be the realest use of ESG data everAssholiest of the Week (MM): Jeff BezosJeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's lavish Venetian wedding by the numbersJeff Bezos Planned $5.4 Billion Amazon Stock Sale on Wedding DayAmazon deploys its 1 millionth robot in a sign of more job automationDisabled Amazon workers in corporate jobs allege ‘systemic discrimination'Proxy seasonBetter than expected, but uncertainty remains: The 2025 US proxy seasonHere's the summary:The number of shareholder proposals are down in the USBut investor support for the non anti-woke proposals remains steady at around 20% in favor, which is greatNo actions by the SEC have increased in number, but not percentage holding steady at 69% rejected, but companies are still listening to investors through engagementNot in the summary:NOT SINGLE MENTION OF A DIRECTOR VOTEDirector votes make up 98% of global voting - 98%! And proxy season is only shareholder proposals and the anti woke? Are you fucking joking?No mention of the average approval for directors?No mention of the rise of activists - this is the most active year for activist investors in recent memory? Mike Levin has been cataloguing it on the Shareholder Primacy podcast - more activism, larger slates, more wins?Isn't the story how ISS and Glass Lewis ignore directors unless there's an activist involved? Or that views on how to measure director performance are shifting?No, the constant story we hear is about the 500 or so shareholder proposals that happen - not the 80,000 active directors that get a voteInvestors are racistPhilippine corporate governance hindered by highly concentrated ownership, OECD saysCONCENTRATED corporate ownership, particularly among family owned listed firms, undermines corporate governance, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.“These ownership structures often blur the lines between ownership and management, which can lead to the appointment of successors based on family ties or loyalty rather than qualifications, increasing the risk of poor leadership and weak oversight,It said such controlling shareholders may choose to benefit themselves at the expense of minority shareholders through related-party transactions, asset transfers or the appropriation of company resources for personal or familial use.The OECD said corporate governance weaknesses and concentrated ownership structures continue to weigh on investor confidence in some Asian marketsI read the Sweden report - Sweden is majority dual class shareholders held by foundations, with power concentrated amongst white men even though they mandate 40% women on boardsMinority shareholders basically have no real rights, as the companies are owned by a web of family and foundation interests - but OECD said:… a shareholder with practical majority control of the votes in the company can exert significant control, but also that efficient governance requires there to be a shareholder, or a coalition of shareholders, that monitors the company, engages with the board, and proposes and votes on important matters such as the election of board directors. Dual class share structures have been allowed in Swedish law for over a century to facilitate such engagement.Extensive individual shareholder rights, allowing any shareholder (regardless of the size of their holdings) to add items to the agenda of the general shareholder meeting, to ask the board questions at the general shareholder meeting, and to challenge a decision by the general shareholder meeting in court (with the court being able to invalidate a decision and even replace it with another).So it's ok in Sweden for the majority of the market to be controlled because shareholders can go to the annual meeting and complain without power, but in Asia where they don't bother pretending it's bad?Companies are fucking with your votesPress Release: Deirdre Stanley to Join PayPal's Board of Directors - Jun 24, 2025Increase board size, add person… 19 days after the AGMNo mention of expansion in the proxy, no mention of Deidre StanleyData I have on executive searches suggests it takes an average of about 220 days to find a CEO - assume that it takes 50% of that to place a directorThat would mean PayPal likely started searching for Deidre to join the board at the beginning of March this yearThe proxy came out April 21, 2025 - for nearly two months, PayPal knew it would expand the board and add this person, but it never mentioned it in the proxy or allowed investors to vote on their own representation?I ran numbers on how often this happens - companies fucking with the timelines to add directors to their boards without votes less than 30 days after the AGM. If you want the full numbers, go download our Proxy Countdown show, but here are the highlights:In the last 5 years, it's happened 247 times - at more than a dozen companies, it's happened more than onceAt Rockwell Automation, this happened EVERY YEAR for THREE YEARS - they paid a person without a voteHeadliniest of the WeekDR: People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into "ChatGPT Psychosis"MM: Elon Musk Says He Is So Sorry for His Horrible BehaviorWho Won the Week?DR: Charlize Theron: “I think we might be the only people who did not get an invite to the Bezos wedding. But that's OK because they suck…”MM: As we barrel towards a country that throws the elderly, disabled, and children off of healthcare and denies food access, there can be only one winner. Bacon. Like, real bacon. Kraft Heinz recalls more than 367,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon over listeria concernsPredictionsDR: Charlize Theron is forced to marry Kimbal Musk in order to maintain her American citizenshipMM: Joe Gebbia, who is now on both DOGE AND the Tesla board, resigns from BOTH simultaneously, saying, “I can't be bought”, right after he sells the 4,000 shares of Tesla he got as part of the board at a nice price of $64/share and nets $1.1m

Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE.Elon Musk vows to defeat politicians who back Trump's megabill 'if it is the last thing I do' and Elon Musk says he'll form the 'America Party' if Trump's 'insane' spending bill passes“Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”Elon Musk's loyal and trusted Tesla ‘fixer' takes the fall for dismal EV salesOmead Afshar, head of North America and Europe, was fired for failing to turn around the brand's flagging demandFedEx founder Fred Smith has died at 80Leading Independent Proxy Advisory Firm ISS Supports Compelling Case for Change to Brookdale Senior Living Board of Directors and Recommends “Withhold” votes on long tenured Brookdale directors Lee Wielansky, Chair of the Investment Committee, and Victoria Freed, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee:“Given the tenure and positions of Wielansky and Freed, they are arguably the most culpable among incumbent directors for the current state of affairs.”2014 vote: Wielansky (99.6% YES) and Freed (98.8% YES)Leading Independent Proxy Advisory ISS Supports Compelling Case for Change to AstroNova Board of DirectorsISS finds “change at the Board level is warranted to improve independence and oversight”: 97% YES for entire board last yearBoard Effectiveness: A Survey of the C-Suitebased on a PwC and The Conference Board report:93% of executives say they want someone on their board replaced (highest ever)only 50% of executives have confidence in their boards ability to remove underperforming directorsWhat are the challenges in replacing directors?:Executives: 48% said individual director assessments are not performedDirectors: 34% personal relationships between board membersTop 3 areas of expertise they want added to their boards: 1) international, AI and Gen AI, Environmental/SustainabilityExecutives want more board time spent on: ESG, talent management, AI and GenAITexas Enacts New Law to Regulate Proxy Advisory FirmsSB 2337 aims to limit proxy advice based on "nonfinancial" factors such as ESG and DEI and requires proxy advisors to provide a "specific financial analysis" for any recommendation in opposition to management's position.Hormel Foods Announces Elevation of John Ghingo to President; Jeffrey M. Ettinger to Serve as Interim Chief Executive Officerwill return to the company for a defined period of 15 months as interim chief executive officer(1) base salary of $1,200,000 per year; (2) annual target award equal to $2,000,000 (prorated for partial fiscal years); (3) a one-time equity grant of $7,200,000, approximately 75% of which shall consist of a stock option award and 25% of which shall consist of time-based restricted stock units; (4) standard executive benefit and health and welfare plan participation; and (5) four weeks of paid vacation for the remainder of 2025, and six weeks of paid vacation for the period of January 1, 2026 through October 26, 2026.Netflix Rejects Jay Hoag's Resignation, Adds New Board Member“Mr. Hoag's continued service as a member of the Board is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders,” the filing states.79% said NOStarbucks Elects Dambisa Moyo and Marissa Mayer to its Board of DirectorsMoyo is on the boards of Chevron Corporation and Condé Nast and previously served on the boards of SABMiller, Barclays Bank, 3M, and Seagate Technologies. Mayer previously served as CEO and a director on the board of Yahoo!. Mayer currently serves on the boards of Walmart, AT&T, and Hilton Hotels & Resorts. She has also served on the board of Nextdoor.SEC bans CEOs from becoming chairmen without 3-year breakThe Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a new directive prohibiting Chief Executive Officers and Executive Directors from immediately assuming the position of Board Chairman within the same company or group after leaving office. A mandatory three-year “cool off period” has been introduced before such transitions can take place.NigeriaZuckerberg's Employees Have a Wild New Nickname for HimFaced with the return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office, Zuckerberg conveniently molted out of his pseudo-progressive skin and into a darling of the manosphere. He's since appeared on shows like Joe Rogan to complain that US business culture needs to "regrow its manhood," because American capitalism is "culturally neutered.""MAGA Mark"Mark Zuckerberg announces creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs Zohran Mamdani's victory in NYC mayoral primary leaves Wall Street ‘alarmed' and ‘depressed'Bill Ackman pledges to bankroll any NYC mayoral candidate capable of defeating Zohran MamdaniAI is doing up to 50% of the work at Salesforce, CEO Marc Benioff saysUber in Talks With Its Founder, Travis Kalanick, to Fund Self-Driving Car DealUber is in talks with former CEO Travis Kalanick to help fund his prospective bid for the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese self-driving car company Pony.aiTyson workers authorize strike at Texas plant over CEO pay, labor practicesAl Brito, the president of Local 577, said the strike is in part a response to the Tyson CEO's pay: “We are bargaining with one of the most repulsively greedy and amoral corporations in the entire country. Last year, Tyson's CEO made 525 times that of the median worker.”Ford recalls over 130,000 Lincoln Aviators due to risk of parts detaching while driving

Story of the Week (DR):Warner Bros. Discovery Reworks CEO Pay, Reducing David Zaslav's Massive Compensation DRDavid Zaslav will take a pay cut after Warner Bros. Discovery splits up—with a big hit to his bonusDavid Zaslav Is Getting a Pay CutWarner Bros to significantly slash CEO David Zaslav's pay packageWarner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav Pay to Drop After Company SplitDavid Zaslav's Pay To Be “Substantially” Lowered Ahead Of Split, WBD Says, But CEO Will Still Reap RewardsIf Zaslav hits 100% of his operational and financial goals in the first year after the split, his target pay will be $16.5mn, compared with $37mn in the current contract. If he hits 200% of the targets, it will be as high as $30mn, the company said on Monday.However, the bulk of Zaslav's future pay will be based on stock options after shareholders rebuked a model based on free cash flow generation.The securities filing made late on Monday said the beleaguered media boss would receive about 24mn in WBD shares that could be purchased for the current $10.16 price.If the share price were to double, the package could eventually be worth nearly $250mn.Two weeks after 60% of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders rejected CEO David Zaslav's $52M pay plan, the Compensation Committee restructured his plan using Hollywood's latest CGI, special effects, and most seasoned stunt doubles: his new plan reduces his annual pay targets significantly–from $37M to $17M if he hits 100% of his targets–but the devil is in the details as he is eligible for $37M if he reaches 200% of his targets and is getting a massive option grant of 21 million shares at an extremely low strike price of around $10 per share, giving him the theoretical opportunity to make $1.4B if Warner Brothers' share price regains its 2021 high of $77.Boeing's longest-tenured director Lynn Good joins the Board of Morgan Stanley just two days after the crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in India killed more than 200 people.Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says his company is a 'convenient scapegoat' as European cities protest overtourism“In Barcelona, housing prices rose 60% over the past decade, but Airbnb listings actually decreased. So we can't be the culprits.”Corporate Italy lacks female CEOs, stock exchange head warnsClaudia Parzani, the head of Milan's stock exchange: Italy lacks women in position of leadership and that's a cultural issue that the business community needs to fix: “Last year we probably reached the lowest level of female CEOs leading listed companies at Milan's Stock Exchange.” Of course the article provided no data.Australia's highest-paid CEOs revealed — and the one woman on the listShemara Wikramanayake, the only woman in the top 20, made $30 million as CEO of Macquarie Group.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: What Is a ‘Fridge Cigarette'? A New Term for Diet Coke Gains Traction. MM DR MM: Lawyers Just Discovered Something About Meta's AI That Could Cost Zuckerberg Untold Billions of DollarsIt spits out large portions of books verbatimMM: Disturbing Test Shows What Happens When Tesla Robotaxi Sees a Child Mannequin Pop Out From Behind a School BusAssholiest of the Week (MM): Musk's xAI Burns Through $1 Billion a Month as Costs Pile Up DRxAI: $12bn/yr burnWe build AI specifically to advance human comprehension and capabilities.Musk says SpaceX vision for Mars will save humanity as he continues to push human extinction fearsOpenAI: $5bn/yr burnOpenAI is an AI research and deployment company. Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.Anthropic: $3bn/yr burnWe strive to make decisions that maximize positive outcomes for humanity in the long run.Act for the global good.Low end estimate to end world hunger per year: $7bnWorld Bank estimate for clean water for all humanity: $150bn/yearNumber of US households without water access: 19mCompliance costs for Clean Air Act: $65bn/yrAnd the great AI investment is getting us…Lowe's CEO says young workers should stay away from the corporate office and close to the cash register"AI isn't going to fix a hole in your roof," Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison said. "It's not going to respond to an electrical issue in your home. It's not going to stop your water heater from leaking."Amazon CEO tells employees to expect cuts to white-collar jobs because of AIAs ChatGPT Linked to Mental Health Breakdowns, Mattel Announces Plans to Incorporate It Into Children's ToysSeems like, like all tech bro toys, they start with “good of humanity” and end with “rich”Dario Amodei net worth: 1.2bnMusk net worth: 406bnAltman net worth: 1.8bnSpotify's Daniel Ek leads $694 million investment in defense startup Helsing DRPalantir, Meta, OpenAI execs to commission into Army reserve, form ‘Detachment 201'OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contractSpeaking of tech bro middle school manbabies… ever notice how when they're done building their “innocent” empire (paying for things online! 3d goggles! Internet friends!), at some point while swimming in their dual class billions they invest in “defense”?Is it just that middle school boys love things that blow up? Is it really so simple that they all stopped maturing at age 13?Headliniest of the WeekDR: Dimon: CEOs can't expect "everything to be constantly easy"DR: On Juneteenth, Trump says the US has 'too many' holidays "Too many non-working holidays in America … The workers don't want it either!"MM: Jamie Dimon says creating a functional workplace means firing 'a—holes'Who Won the Week?DR: Airbus. Because it's not Boeing.MM: RFK Jr - attacking pharma ads? Good. Healthy Starbucks? Good. Not being involved in starting world war III with Iran? Good. OMG, RFK Jr won the week… PredictionsDR: Tech CEOs start wearing military hats with the main decal being a digital number representing their wealth calculated to the second based on current share price; gold stars representing how many votes per share their class B holdings represent; and stripes represent how many years of college they did NOT attend: 3 stipes meaning they dropped out 2nd semester of first yearMM: Boeing's Ortberg, after reading this paper (Chief executive officer (CEO) Machiavellianism and executive pay.) on how CEOs who act like Machiavelli suggested are successful, decides to fire HALF of Boeing, and give the other half donuts on Fridays in the breakroom because, “...any cruelty has to be executed at once, so that the less it is tasted, the less it offends; while benefits must be dispensed little by little, so that they will be savored all the more.”

TraditionalKraft Heinz to remove artificial dyes from U.S. products by end of 2027 SEC Drops Proposed Anti-Greenwashing Fund Disclosure RulesInitially launched by the SEC in 2022, the proposed “Enhanced Disclosures by Certain Investment Advisers and Investment Companies About Environmental, Social, and Governance Investment Practices” rule was designed by the Commission to address the lack of clear rules communicating the ESG attributes of an increasing number of funds marketing themselves using terms such as “green” or “sustainable.”At the time, the Commission said that the lack of consistent and comparable data “makes it difficult for investors to make better informed investment decisions that are in line with their ESG investment goals,” and “may lead to potential greenwashing.”Peru's Climate Education Revolution: A Blueprint for Global ActionOn World Environment Day 2025, the Government of Peru launched a national initiative to embed climate and environmental education into the country's school system.This move sets an example for the rest of the world and shows how education can and should be a central part of a country's climate strategyPresident Dina Ercilia Boluarte led the announcement of a formal agreement between the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) and the Ministry of Education (MINEDU).Warner Bros. Discovery Reworks CEO Pay, Reducing David Zaslav's Massive CompensationIf Zaslav hits 100% of his operational and financial goals in the first year after the split, his target pay will be $16.5mn, compared with $37mn in the current contract. If he hits 200% of the targets, it will be as high as $30mn, the company said on Monday.However, the bulk of Zaslav's future pay will be based on stock options after shareholders rebuked a model based on free cash flow generation.The securities filing made late on Monday said the beleaguered media boss would receive about 24mn in WBD shares that could be purchased for the current $10.16 price.If the share price were to double, the package could eventually be worth nearly $250mn.Bank unveils green loans plan to unlock trillions for climate finance An innovative plan to use public money to back renewable energy loans in the developing world could liberate cash from the private sector for urgently needed climate finance.The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), who developed the proposals, believes the plan could drive tens of billions of new investment in the fledgling green economy in poorer countries within a few years, and could provide the bulk of the $1.3tn in annual climate finance promised to the developing world by 2035.Amazon Buys More than 9 Million Liters of Sustainable Aviation Fuel for Cargo FlightsVenice locals protesting Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding: 'No space for Bezos'Rate the New Woke/DEI Hire:MI6 Names Its First Female Chief, Career Spy Blaise Metrewelifirst woman to lead Britain's foreign intelligence service in the agency's 116-year history "C"; most recently the director general of technology and innovation "Q"Whirlpool Corporation Welcomes Judith Buckner to Board of Directorsonly 4th woman on 13-member board with -12% gender influence gap; President of Reynolds Cooking & Baking; other leadership roles including Director of Manufacturing, Plant Manager, Director of Engineering and New Product Development and Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Degree in Chemical Engineering; Whirlpool board knowledge dominated (27%) by Economics and AccountingLynn Good Elected to Morgan Stanley Board of Directorslongest-tenured Boeing director (2015-)Rate How “Good” the Headline Is Speed Round: Trump's $499 smartphone will likely be made in ChinaThe Trump Organization's newly-announced smartphone will likely be made in China, experts say, despite claims that the device will be manufactured in the U.S.Her Boss Has Been Spelling The Company Name Wrong For Over A Year, So She Anonymously Reports Him To The Board Of DirectorsGeneral Mills CEO Harmening: ‘We don't sell Cheerios in the morning and then think about sustainability in the afternoon'Companies Bragging About Their AI Furious as Job Applicants Use AI During InterviewsFu Yu's independent directors resign, leaving CEO as only one on boardFinally, rate how good this should/could be for Free Float Analytics:Half of company directors think their board is of no value to the businessAlmost half (46 percent) of company directors in the US and UK think their boards do not add enough value to their organisation, according to the Board Value Index from Board Intelligence. The Board Value Index is based on responses from more than 200 executive and non-executive directors from companies with over $50 million in turnover across the UK and US. Almost a third (31 percent) of directors surveyed said that their board adds no value at all, with half of that group believing their board is actively holding their organisation back.

Story of the Week (DR):Boeing Crash in India Is First Fatal Incident Involving a 787 Jet: Tragedy threatens to throw plane maker's fragile recovery into question MMBoeing stock slides after Air India 787 Dreamliner crashesAI Overviews hallucinates that Airbus, not Boeing, involved in fatal Air India crash One of the Dreamliners That Gave a Boeing Manager Nightmares Just CrashedWhistleblowers always warned that passengers would pay a price for Boeing's tyrannical corner-cutting, especially with the planes shipped overseas.Starbucks accelerates new staffing model to all company-owned North American storesStarbucks has launched its biggest hiring spree in history — aimed at finally tackling the number one gripe from frustrated customers. The recruitment blitz— adding as many as 85,000 workers across its 17,000 US locations — is a bold move aimed at slashing long wait times.CEO Brian Niccol, speaking to 14,000 store managers at a Las Vegas event on Wednesday, called it 'the biggest human capital investment in connection in the history of Starbucks.' Five years ago, Starbucks stores averaged 23 employees. Cost-cutting has since trimmed that number down to 18 to 19 — four to five fewer workers per location.Howard Schultz says he ‘did a cartwheel' when Starbucks CEO Niccol coined ‘back to Starbucks' strategyNETFLIX: 78% NO Jay Hoag“In accordance with the Company's director resignation policy, Mr. Hoag offered his resignation from the Board, conditioned upon Board acceptance. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider Mr. Hoag's resignation and recommend to the Board regarding whether to accept or reject the resignation or take other action.”Jay Hoag chairs the Nomination CommitteeThe Nominating and Governance Committee met two times in 2024. Each member attended all the Nominating and Governance Committee meetings held in 2024, other than Mr. Hoag who did not attend one meeting.2024: 9% NO; 2023: 23% NO; 2020: 55% NO; 2017: 49% NO; 2014: 49.7% NO; 2011: 9% NOMGMT proposal to declassify the board 99.6% YESMGMT proposal to eliminate supermajority voting provisions 99.6% YESSay on Pay: 2023: 71% NO; 2022: 73% NOSHP Wins (22?)SHP Lobbying Activity Report/Political Disclosures (2 wins): 2022: 60% YES; 2021 80% YESSHP repeal classified board (6 wins): 2017: 63% YES; 2016: 83% YES; 2015: 80% YES; 2014: 82% YES; 2013: 88% YES; 2012: 78% YESSHP simple majority vote (9 wins): 2022: 58% YES; 2021: 90% YES; 2020: 73% YES; 2019: 88% YES; 2018: 84% YES; 2017: 63% YES; 2016: 82% YES; 2015: 80% YES; 2013: 81% YESSHP majority voting policy (4 wins): 2016: 87% YES; ; 2014: 82% YES; 2013: 81% YES; 2011: 72% YESSHP independent board chair: 2013 (1 win): 73% YESNetflix Director Jay C. Hoag sold 31,750 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,252.35, for a total value of $39,762,112.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 63,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,948,144.Why Companies with More Female Board Members Have Better Workplace SafetyThat's the conclusion of “From the Boardroom to the Jobsite: Female Board Representation and Workplace Safety,” written by a pair of Notre Dame professors and a colleague from Villanova University. Examining government and corporate worker safety data from 266 companies between 2002 to 2011, the trio determined that the number of workplace accidents and injuries tended to be lower at businesses that had higher numbers of women on their boards.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Rubrik's CEO let 800 employees sit in on board meetings — and he says it supercharged the companyFor the first seven to eight years of building the company, Rubrik's CEO opened board meetings to all staff.Bipul Sinha said as many as 800 staff members tuned in to these meetings.The data management firm went public in April 2024 and is worth $19 billion.MM: McDonald's downgraded on GLP-1 drug worries: Wall Street's top analyst calls MMAssholiest of the Week (MM):One story, three asshole options:Texas DRTexas Removes BlackRock From Energy Boycott Blacklist2022: Texas bans local, state government entities from doing business with firms that “boycott” fossil fuels““Our review focused on the boycott of energy companies…”Bills That Could Have Hurt Renewable Energy Die in Texas LegislatureTexas finalizes $1.8B to build solar, battery, and gas-powered microgrids2025: Texas Leads U.S. Renewable Energy Generation by a Country Mile - since 2019, renewable energy has nearly doubled to account for 30% of Texas energyBlackrockTexas Removes BlackRock From Energy Boycott Blacklist“BlackRock does not boycott fossil fuels — investing over $100 billion in Texas energy companies on behalf of our clients proves that.Fink letter to clients in 2020: Our role as a fiduciary is the foundation of BlackRock's culture. The commitments we are making today reflect our conviction that all investors – and particularly the millions of our clients who are saving for long-term goals like retirement – must seriously consider sustainability in their investments.As EU acts to stop greenwash, funds drop climate claims from their namesAn email BlackRock sent to clients on March 18, which it shared with Climate Home, said it had responded to the ESMA naming guidelines by changing the names of 56 funds worth $51bn to drop sustainability terms. An example it gave was dropping “ESG” from the BSF Systematic ESG World Equity Fund.How BlackRock's Larry Fink Won Over Donald TrumpBlackRock seeks dismissal of Texas antitrust case over coal productionBlackRock CEO Larry Fink not leaving anytime soon Did you forget about your board? Probably not… Blackrock voted for their own directors, including when those directors were in the bottom quartile for votes receivedBlackrock can even sway the vote on itself: Blackrock also owns 6.7% of itself through funds, primarily indexThe average vote FOR a BLK director is 97.3%, higher than the 96.4% US averageIn fact, the directors with the lowest votes elsewhere… got the highest votes at BLK?THREE founders on the board“Discrimination” in capital marketsX's Sales Pitch: Give Us Your Ad Business or We'll SueLate last year, Verizon Communications got an unusual message from a media company that wanted its business: Spend your ad dollars with us or we'll see you in court.It worked. Verizon, which hadn't advertised on X since 2022, pledged to spend at least $10 million this year on the platform, a person familiar with the matter said.2023: Elon, After Personally Driving Away Advertisers, Tells Them To Go Fuck Themselves (Repeatedly), And Says ‘Earth' Will ‘Judge' Them For Killing ExTwitterCanadian Tourists To The U.S. Down Nearly 40% In May, New Data SaysSUE CANADAHeadliniest of the WeekDR: BJ's Restaurant announces Lyle D Tick as new president and CEO AND ZRG Appoints Interim Talent Trailblazer Liz Dick to Board of Directors MM: Hulk Hogan wants to reimagine Hooters restaurants as his Real American Beer brand makes a new bid to save the chainWho Won the Week?DR: Jay Hoag: ignores shareholders while selling shares while pretending to be independentMM: I have a winner that doesn't know they're a winner - Polish investor Wiaczesław "Slava" Smołokowski, the owner of Polaroid. With Texas pushing Blackrock to its knees for discriminating against oil, the Robby Starbuck winning the war of discrimination against white men, and Elon Musk winning money for discriminating against Nazi platforms, Polaroid has a chance to sue Apple for discriminating against cameras with its phones, sue the state of Texas for divesting from Polaroid in 2001, and sue the US public for not buying printing cameras. . PredictionsDR: Jay Hoag does not attend the Nomination Committee meeting which is meant to accept or reject his resignation but since the other 3 committee members are too scared to act without him they sit and talk about Netflix's upcoming season of Stranger Things for 45 minutes until Brad Smith gets a text from Jay Hoag which simply reads: “Rjct”MM: Dave Calhoun boomerangs back to Boeing to save the day

DAMION1In our 'Glass Lewis complained that the gum-based equity should vest after being stuck to the bottom of his chair in 5 years and not 3 while ISS said, "shit, it just feels like it might be a lot of money probably"' headline of the week. Warner Discovery Shareholders Vote Against CEO David Zaslav's Pay In our 'When 52% is way too wimpy and 54% is a step too far' headline of the week. Cement Industry Pledges 53% Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050In our 'Immature college dropout finally realizes full professional potential' headline of the week. Misogyny in the metaverse: is Mark Zuckerberg's dream world a no-go area for women? In our 'Has this weird kind of taste, almost as if it came from McDonald's' headline of the week. McDonald's McCrispy Strips receive mixed reviews as analysts question impact on upcoming Snack WrapI just like to point out how stupid and serious headlines like this areIn our 'What do you mean I can't take a 24-gallon container of hand sanitizer in my carry-on bag?' headline of the week. Sorry, you can't use your Costco membership card to get through TSAMATT1In our 'Also known as $45,555 per military personnel deployed in LA.' headline of the week. Taser Boss Tops Ranking of Highest-Paid CEOs, With $165 Million. Here's the List.The marines have been deployed - there are 76 active director veterans tagged in our database, including 6 admirals and 13 former marines. So far, zero statements yet about using the military to quell protests?In our 'We were 91% in favor of you when you were lead independent director with a 24 year tenure and connections to most of the board, but this year, you missed an important meeting where we asked Reed and Ted what we're supposed to do so we call all agree. This is unacceptable. You're fired.' headline of the week. Netflix Shareholders Vote to Oust Jay Hoag, Its Lead Independent Director, but the Board May Decide to Keep HimIn our 'Waltons reject all proposals, but maybe we can make that headline sound better' headline of the week. Walmart, PayPal shareholders reject DEI overhauls as corporate America continues retreat from social issuesOrganization United for Respect racial equity audit: 6.8%. National Center for Public Policy Research's report investigating delays in reversing DEI: 0.4%. But yes, shareholders reject DEI overhauls.In our 'I'm telling mom! Moooooom!' headline of the week. Trump attacks Musk and questions their future ties amid growing feudIn our 'Get some' headline of the week. Lessons in corporate governance from the Trump-Musk spatDAMION2In our 'Men' headline of the week. Women hold 24% of CEO pipeline roles, but just 8% of promotions. What's going wrong?In our 'Disney teases summer blockbuster movie starring Zac Efron: "Revenge of the College Dropout"' headline of the week. Inside OpenAI's Plan to Embed ChatGPT Into College Students' LivesMeta forming new AI lab helmed by Scale AI CEO Alex Wang: MIT dropoutIn our 'Is this why 66% of Americans think that "society is broken" according to an Ipsos survey released this week?' headline of the week. Just one woman has ever founded and led a Fortune 500 company. Here's her storyThe only woman ever to run a Fortune 500 company she founded was Marion Sandler. She was the cofounder of mortgage lender Golden West Financial, which she led with her husband and co-CEO Herb Sandler for more than four decades. She was one of the first two women CEOs on the Fortune 500 in 1997 In our 'As long as he's not drinking Dr. Pepper I think he'll be ok' headline of the week. Keurig Dr Pepper's CEO drinks at least 300 milligrams of caffeine per day. Is that safe?Tim Cofer-17% gender influence gap: 3W total of 11% influence2W of 10 execs (one is HR)In our 'Other candidates considered were Dyle T Lick and Tyle L Dick' headline of the week. BJ's Restaurant announces Lyle D Tick as new president and CEO MATT2In our 'It ISN'T about the middle school manflake dictator' headline of the week. United Airlines Shuts Down Starlink WiFi Service on Its Planes After the Antennaes Caused Problems With Its Jets' EquipmentIn our 'It IS all about the middle school manflake dictator' headline of the week. United Airlines CEO: ‘We're probably doing more AI than anyone'Just obviously without the antennasIn our 'Texas's attorney general announces Blackrock is no longer woke, but will remain on the "suspiciously Jewish" list' headline of the week. BlackRock Escapes Texas Oil-Boycott List After ESG RetreatIn our 'Texas's attorney general announces they are replacing Blackrock with Texas on Texas's investment ban list going forward' headline of the week. Texas finalizes $1.8B to build solar, battery, and gas-powered microgridsIn our 'There are none reasons' headline of the week. Why Apple iOS 26 might make you want to make phone calls againTim Cook and Arthur Levinson's greatest innovation yet: call holding.

Story of the Week (DR):The Baby Billionaire Bromance is Over: Savannah Guthrie Says Elon Musk and Donald Trump Are 'Giving 7th Grade Girl' as President Says Tesla CEO 'Has Lost His Mind'"It's so confusing isn't it? So much going wrong, so much to say, and all of it happening so quickly. The pace of oppression outstrips our ability to understand it. And that is the real trick of the Imperial thought machine.”BlackRock removed from Texas boycott list after quitting climate groupsIn a notable reversal, Texas removed BlackRock from its investment blacklistThis decision followed BlackRock's withdrawal from several climate-focused initiatives, including the Net Zero Asset Managers alliance and Climate Action 100+Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar cited these actions, along with BlackRock's support for the new Texas Stock Exchange, as reasons for the delisting.“More than $4 billion in Texas funds are invested with BlackRock,” the rep said.The Larry Fink-led company had $11.55 trillion in assets under management at the end of the fourth quarter in 2024.0.0346% Is that possible?Larry Fink; $31M; $11M bonus: “These amounts represent the discretionary annual cash Bonuses … The amount of incentive compensation awarded … was based on subjective criteria”“Lead in a changing world: Completed the creation of a more modern and unified Corporate Affairs function and leveraged the function to refresh the firm's corporate narrative and strengthen its brand.”“Corporate sustainability: Achieved BlackRock's 100% renewable electricity match goal and enhanced the Company's approach to procuring market solutions.”32% said NO on Pay (BlackRock owns 6% of BlackRock)99% said NO to Bowyer Research's theatrical request for a report on “risks related to a perceived shift away from a traditional understanding of fiduciary responsibility to stakeholder capitalism, implied by its assent to the Business Roundtable's Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, as well as a high-profile embrace of ESG and DEI.”BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has some words of wisdom for leaders navigating the age of populism and social media: Watch what you say: "You have to be a lot more guarded. I can't say everything I really want to say to all of you right now. The reality is you have to be a lot more systematic in what you say and how you say it internally or externally. I mean, we live in a terrarium today. We live in a glass bottle."Big brands are pulling back on Pride merchandise and events this year MMCorporate America Pulls Back from PRIDE in 2025, No Rainbow Logos from Big Brands as June StartsUnitedHealth Group AGM:94% average director support93% Stephen HemsleyHemsley is stepping forward to acknowledge the fallout and chart a new course, promising a comprehensive review of some of the company's most controversial practices.The Wall Street Journal noted in its report on the company's annual shareholder meeting on Monday that Hemsley apologized for UnitedHealth's recent performance and cited a need to rethink many internal processes.99% for directors like Paul Garcia (2021/ former CEO of Global Payments) and Kristen Gil (2022/former VP, Business Finance Officer at Alphabet)92% for Michele Hooper (2007/Lead Independent Director/CEO of The Directors' Council, a private company she co-founded in 2003 that works with corporate boards to increase their independence, effectiveness and diversity)-12% gender influence gap/only 3 women/zero committee chairs)Lowest vote is John Noseworthy, M.D. (86%) former CEO of the Mayo Clinic40% NO on PaySHP excessive golden parachutes 13% YESThe board authorized the payment of a cash dividend of $2.21 per share, up from the prior dividend of $2.10, to be paid June 24 to common stock shareholders of record as of the close of business June 16Hemsley: as of the proxy date: $2.8M (as of 5/16: $3.8M)The previous dividend was $2.10 per share, paid on March 18, 2025The company also suspended its 2025 outlook.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: The Trump EPA tried to bury some good newsA climate report acquired by a Freedom of Information Act request shows that U.S. climate pollution declined in 2023.The EPA report documents that in 2023, U.S. climate pollution fell by 2.3%. That's about 147 million metric tons, or MMT, of reduced carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gases.2023 was the first full year after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats' signature climate law that committed hundreds of billions of dollars to reducing climate pollution.DR: How a Peruvian farmer's legal defeat raised new risks for companies DRPeruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya filed a lawsuit against German energy company RWE, asserting that the company's greenhouse gas emissions contributed to the melting of glaciers near his hometown of Huaraz, Peru.This glacial melt increases the risk of flooding from Lake Palcacocha, threatening his community. Lliuya sought approximately $17,500 from RWE, representing 0.47% of the estimated $4 million needed for flood defenses, corresponding to RWE's estimated share of global emissions since the industrial era began. On May 28, 2025, the Higher Regional Court in Hamm, Germany, dismissed Lliuya's lawsuit. The court acknowledged the legal principle that major greenhouse gas emitters can be held liable for climate-related damages. However, it concluded that the specific threat to Lliuya's property was not sufficiently imminent to warrant compensation. While Lliuya did not secure the compensation sought, the court's recognition of potential corporate liability for climate damages sets a precedent. This acknowledgment may influence future climate litigation, encouraging individuals and communities to hold major emitters accountable for their contributions to climate change.MM: HahahahahahahahahaMusk says SpaceX will decommission Dragon spacecraft after Trump threatElon Musk Melts Down, Claims Trump Is In The "Epstein Files" and That's the Reason They Haven't Been ReleasedElon Musk Declares That He's "Immediately" Cutting Off NASA's Access to SpaceMusk Privately Complaining That His Immense Donations to Trump Didn't Even Buy Him Control of NASAElon Musk claims ‘without me, Trump would have lost the election'Assholiest of the Week (MM): Proxy advisorsZevra TherapeuticsISS added, “...the board's concerns about having a former CEO on the board and potential disruption are valid.”Out of 92,594 active directors in MSCI data from February, 3,123 are tagged as “former executives” at the company they're on the board of522 US companies are on the list - FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWOThat includes at least one company - National Healthcare Corp - with FOUR former executives on the boardIt also includes 104 large cap companies - like Hewlett Packard, with 3 former execs!Glass Lewis highlighted, “Mr. Regan has limited, dated, and unrelated public board service,”Egan-Jones also questioned the relevant expertise of Mangless' nominees, stating, “…we do not believe Mr. Regan's background in proxy solicitation offers meaningful value in the context of Zevra's boardroom.”Unrelated public board experience?? So you definitely suggested voting against Dana White at Meta? Or Peltz at Disney and his deep media experience? We look at director knowledge pulled from every bio, school, and degree we can get our hands on and standardized the knowledge types in our dataSo we know the average type of knowledge of directors in a given sector - and who DOESN'T have itOur data suggests that only 22% of directors have direct/core knowledge relevant to their industry - less than 1 in 4Shall we vote against the other 78% of directors??Glass Lewis also said that “publication of certain social media activity by Mr. Regan appears to suggest something of a blithe approach to compliance...”Elon?RobotsAmazon ‘testing humanoid robots to deliver packages'FBI says Palm Springs bombing suspects used AI chat program to help plan attackOpenAI to appeal copyright ruling in NY Times case as Altman calls for 'AI privilege'“Talking to AI should be like talking to a doctor or lawyer”Walmart plans to expand drone deliveries to three more statesWaymo's Self-Driving Taxis Have a Hilarious Problem That's Driving People BananasThey honk when backing up“Reverse discrimination” DRDismissed by DEI: Trump's Purge Made Black Women With Stable Federal Jobs an “Easy Target”Quay Crowner was among the top education officials who enrolled in the “diversity change agent program.”Crowner was abruptly placed on leave under Trump's executive order to dismantle DEI programs across the federal government.Her current job as the director of outreach, impact and engagement at the Education Department was not connected to diversity initiatives.More troubling, she said, was that she was the only person on her team who had been let go, and her bosses refused to answer her questions about her dismissal.When she and colleagues from different departments began comparing notes, they found they had one thing in common. They had all attended the training encouraged under DeVos. They also noticed something else: Most of them were Black women.“We have observed approximately 90% of the workers targeted for terminations due to a perceived association with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are women or nonbinary,”Trump Appoints 22-Year-Old Ex-Gardener and Grocery Store Assistant to Lead U.S. Terror PreventionThe data:We don't have proxy season results in the system yet, but we do have data between August 2024 and May 2025 with results lagThe early results for US companies:54 have become “more manly” - added men, removed women95 have become “more womanly” - added women, removed menGOOD RIGHT? Or…1,163 companies had man “power ups” - men got more influence1,075 companies had female “power ups” - so men are getting fewer board seats, but more power at more companies?SECRET: expand the board and add men! 422 boards expanded between Aug and May, and 362 seats went to men and 181 to women - literally 2:1 ratio!574 US companies now have 2 or fewer women on the boards - up 8 companies between Aug and May, and results aren't even in the antiwoke Trump eraRetail investorsVOTEAccused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione said executive ‘had it coming,' prosecutors revealUnitedHealth investors approve new CEO's $60M pay package despite turmoil following top executive's assassinationUS-Boeing deal over 737 Max crashes ‘morally repugnant', says lawyer for victims' familiesLowest vote result from April for board: 92% in favor of Robert Bradway, everyone else 94% or better - including 98% in favor of OrtbergHeadliniest of the WeekDR: In light of headlines like this: Meta's Platforms Have Become a Cesspool of Hatred Against Queer People I wanted to point out this op-ed from the NYT: Anthropic C.E.O.: Don't Let A.I. Companies off the Hook Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei opposes a proposed 10-year federal ban on state AI regulation, calling it "too blunt" for the rapidly evolving technology.He argues that AI could fundamentally change the world within just a couple of years, making a decade-long freeze risky and impractical.Amodei warns the ban would leave states unable to act and the nation without a coherent federal policy, exposing the public to AI risks.He cites real-world examples of risky AI behavior, such as Anthropic's own model threatening to leak user emails, to highlight the need for oversight.Instead of a moratorium, Amodei urges Congress and the White House to establish a national transparency standard requiring AI companies to publicly disclose testing protocols, risk mitigation strategies, and safety measures before releasing new modelsMM: The maker of Taser is the highest paid CEO, taking home $165 million—his new pay package and soaring stock made him a billionaire last yearWho Won the Week?DR: The meritocracy: Meet Thomas Fugate: 22-year-old ex-gardener and grocery store assistant to lead $18 million terror prevention teamMM: After reading no fewer than 12 hours and 500 stories of the Musk/Trump feud, I've concluded this week there are no winners. We're all losers.PredictionsDR: Musk Challenges Trump to Cage Match on Mars: ‘Winner Gets X, Loser Gets Truth Social" but actually… their hatred for all things DEI/gay is too much to keep them apart, especially in the month of Pride and JuneteenthMM: The 19 analysts covering Palantir stock are given umbrellas by their respective firms after Trump may team with a tech company to create a database of Americans, just two months after CEO Alex Karp said that Wall Street analysts who "tried to screw" the company should be sprayed with "light fentanyl-laced urine" from drones.CALLBACK ALERT: Glass Lewis also said that “publication of certain social media activity by Mr. Regan appears to suggest something of a blithe approach to compliance...”

Securities body considers rollback of DEI and ESG goalsInternational Securities Services Association debates changes as political climate shifts under Trump 2.0.In the UK, both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have scrapped mandatory DEI rules in the financial sector, citing costs and the additional regulatory burden.F.T.C. Investigates Ad Groups and Watchdogs, Alleging Boycott CollusionThe Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether roughly a dozen prominent advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust law by coordinating boycotts among advertisers that did not want their brands to appear alongside hateful online contentClimate Startups Are Pausing Operations, Cutting Staff and Entering Bankruptcy as Trump Policies BiteEnergy Department announced $3.7 billion worth of funding cuts for clean-energy and climate projects on Friday—in latest blow to green sectorAllianzGI Says First ESG Defense Allocations Likely This YearAllianz Global Investors expects some of its ESG funds to start adding defense holdings in the coming months, as the money manager updates prospectuses to match the political mood in Europe.EU to propose more flexible climate goal in JulyThe European Commission will propose a new EU climate target in July that includes flexibilities for how countries meet it, as Brussels attempts to fend off mounting criticism of Europe's environmental aimsThe proposal will set an EU goal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 90% by 2040, compared with 1990 levels.However, the EU executive plans to add flexibilities to that target, which could reduce what it demands from domestic industriesThe flexibilities include setting an emissions-cutting target for domestic industries that is lower than 90% and letting countries buy international carbon credits to make up the rest, to reach 90%.Meta wants to replace its human workers with AI to review privacy and societal risksIt's been revealed that Meta plans to replace its human staffers with AI in reviewing the platform's privacy and societal risks.According to the company's internal documents obtained by NPR, the algorithm could automate up to 90% of all risk assessments previously done by people. This means that essential updates to Meta's safety features, programming, and content-sharing capabilities will be mainly optimized by AI‘Something is awry in Delaware': New study reveals lawyers in the smallest U.S. state are winning fee ‘multipliers' from major companies up to 66 times their normal hourly rateA new study shows attorneys in corporate cases in Delaware are earning as much as 66 times their hourly rateThat has prompted venture capitalists to increase calls for their businesses to incorporate elsewhere or move their corporation out of the stateElon Musk Reportedly Owes Donald Trump a Colossal Sum of MoneyMusk reportedly still owes president Donald Trump an eye-watering $100M out of the $300M he committed to get the reality TV star elected.Secret OpenAI Memo Describes Plans to Make Users Rely on "Entity"As The Verge reports, the Justice Department's ongoing attempts to break up Google's alleged monopoly garnered an OpenAI memo detailing the latter company's plans to build out ChatGPT an integral part of users' lives — acting as an "entity" that would "understand" them and be their "interface to the internet."Humans will live forever by 2050 thanks to android bodies and AI minds'the rich will use advanced tech to upload their brain to computers or android bodiesFuturologist Dr Ian Pearson believes advances in computing, genetic engineering, and robotics will let people become immortal: “By 2050, it will only really be for the rich and famous” SPEED ROUNDCEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024, Associated Press analysis findsAlaska Will Lose 69% of Its Glacier Mass Under Current Climate Change PledgesWomen run 11% of Fortune 500 companies in 2025—but progress is still slowDollar General posts record sales as bargain stores attract more people anxious about the economyJamie Dimon for president? Why the banking CEO would be a welcome alternative for many voters

Story of the Week (DR):Boeing strikes $1.1 billion deal with Justice Department over deadly 737 Max crashes—and must pay $445 million to victims' familiesBoeing will avoid a felony conviction by agreeing to pay over $1.1 billion, which includes a $243.6 million fine, $444.5 million to victims' families, and more than $455 million to enhance compliance, safety, and quality systems.The families were informed nearly a week after the DOJ said it had struck a tentative deal with Boeing that allows the company to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading regulators about the company's 737 Max plane before two crashes that killed 346 people.Market Basket CEO Arthur T Demoulas placed on administrative leave by board of directorsDemoulas has been placed on paid administrative leave by the company's board of directors, along with two of his children and several other executives.The board initiated an internal investigation into Demoulas' conduct, citing concerns over transparency and succession planning. Specifically, the board expressed frustration over limited access to critical company information, including budgets and plans for leadership succession, and alleged that Demoulas was planning a work stoppage. Demoulas has responded through a spokesperson, claiming he was "ousted" in what he describes as a "farcical cover for a hostile takeover." This situation echoes a similar family dispute in 2014, which led to widespread employee protests and customer boycotts in support of Demoulas. The current conflict raises questions about the company's leadership and future direction amid ongoing supermarket industry consolidationIn June 2014, CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was ousted by a board controlled by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, amidst longstanding family disputes over company control.Customer: “If the employees think another walkout makes sense, then I'd support them. Basket ‘til the casket.Market Basket, a regional supermarket chain in New England, generates an estimated $7.3 billion in revenue. The company employs approximately 25,000 people. The revenue projection is roughly double what it was in 2014.Market Basket director: CEO Demoulas took company 'hostage'The Fake Elon government exit: A Disillusioned Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He's Exiting Washington MMPer 18 U.S.C. § 202 (a), a Special Government Employees (SGE) is “an officer or employee . . . who is appointed to perform temporary duties, with or without compensation, for a period not to exceed 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days.”Elon Musk says he doesn't "entirely agree" with Trump administration, explains why he feels "stuck in a bind""But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention," he said. "I'm a little stuck in a bind, where I'm like, well, I don't wanna, you know, speak up against the administration, but I … also don't wanna take responsibility for everything the administration's doing. So I'm, like, kinda stuck, you know?"Deepfake ElonFalse StartAugust 2006: “[Our] long term plan is to build a wide range of models, including affordably priced family cars … When someone buys the Tesla Roadster,” he added, “they are actually helping pay for development of the low-cost family car.”2016: Musk reiterated that, even though Tesla had not yet delivered on the 2006 promise, it still planned to build an “affordable, high-volume car.”January 2025: Musk said that—finally—Tesla would start producing the affordable model in the second half of 2025.April 2025: Reuters reported that Tesla had scrapped plans for the cheap family car. Musk posted on X that “Reuters is lying (again),” eliciting the Reuters response that “[Musk] did not identify any specific inaccuracies.” A Tesla source told Reuters that instead of the long-promised cheap family car, “Elon's directive is to go all in on robotaxi.”Hyperloop HypeAugust 2013: “A new open source form of transportation that could revolutionize travel.”The Hyperloop was shuttered in 2023—but even as late as 2022, Musk was still promising that Hyperloop could go from Boston to New York City “in less than half an hour.”Driverless PioneeringSeptember 2013: “We should be able to do 90 percent of miles driven [autonomously] within three years.”Full Autonomous DrivingOctober 2015: “Tesla will have a car that can do full autonomy in about three years.”December 2015: “We're going to end up with complete autonomy … and I think we will have complete autonomy in approximately two years.”January 2016: “I think that within two years you'll be able to summon your car from across the country.”.June 2016: “I consider autonomous driving to be a basically solved problem … We're less than two years away from complete autonomy.”November 2018: “I think we'll get to full self-driving next year.”Autonomous ChargingOctober 2016: “we'll be able to do a demonstration drive of full autonomy all the way from LA to New York—from home in LA to let's say dropping you off in Time Square in New York, and then having the car go park itself—by the end of next year … without the need for a single touch, including the charger.”In April 2017: “I think we're still on track for being able to go cross-country from LA to New York by the end of the year, fully autonomous … Just software limited.”BoringApril 2017: The Boring Company was supposed to deliver an underground maze of tunnels where passengers could travel in autonomous vehicles at 150 miles per hour.The goal was to build one mile of tunnel per week: “Finally, finally, finally, there is something that I think can solve the goddamn traffic problem.”So far: the 1.7-mile LVCC Loop in Las Vegas: currently takes paying passengers between three stations in chauffeur-driven Model Y Tesla cars which slow to just 15 miles per hour when the tunnels get congested.Brain ChipsAugust 2017: First product would be on the market “in about four years.”In 2024: the first human trial subject receives a Neuralink implant (though some researchers show frustration over a lack of information about the study.)Special DeliveryNovember 2018: “Probably technically be able to [self-deliver Teslas to customers' doors] in about a year.”FSD Finally?January 2019: “When do we think it is safe for full self driving?” asks Musk on a Q4 earnings call. “Probably towards the end of this year.”Feb 2019: “We will feature complete [with] full self-driving this year … The car will be able to … take you all the way to your destination without an intervention this year. I'm certain of that. That is not a question mark.”January 2021, on an earnings call: “I'm highly confident the car will drive itself for the reliability in excess of a human this year. This is a very big deal.”December 2021: “It's looking quite likely that it will be next year,” he says.May 2023: “I mean, it does look like [full autonomy is] gonna happen this year.”One Million RobotaxisApril 2019: “We expect to have the first operating robot taxi next year with no one in them … Next year for sure, we'll have over a million robotaxis on the road.”April 2025 earnings call: Musk says that Tesla will unveil its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, next month, with up to 20 Model Y vehicles supervised remotelyLevel Five Is AliveJuly 2020: “I'm extremely confident that level 5–or essentially complete autonomy–will happen … this year … There are no fundamental challenges remaining,” he stated.December 2020: “I'm extremely confident that Tesla will have level 5 next year,” Musk tells Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer SE. How confident? “100 percent,” replies MuskMusk also tells Döpfner that a human will possibly step onto Mars by 2024.April 2025 earnings call: “We'll start to see the prosperity of autonomy take effect in a material way around the middle of next year … There will be millions of Teslas operating autonomously, fully autonomously in the second half of next year.”March 2025: Babysitting Robot Army2021: “hopefully” Tesla will be able to make about 5,000 Optimus robots this year. Musk then claimed Tesla would make “probably 50,000-ish [Optimus robots] next year.”Optimus “will be the biggest product of all time by far—nothing will even be close. It'll be 10 times bigger than the next biggest product ever made. Ultimately, I think we'll be making tens of millions of robots a year.” Mere seconds later: “Tesla would actually make “maybe 100 million robots a year.”April 2025: he told investors that production could be impacted by the restrictions on rare-earth metal exports China implemented in response to President Trump's tariffs. There's no date yet for the launch of Optimus.ESG inventor says Trump its 'best possible advert'Paul Clements-Hunt, credited with coining the term "ESG", views Trump's opposition to ESG investing as inadvertently beneficial for the movement.Clements-Hunt argues that Trump's criticisms have heightened public awareness and discourse around ESG principles, effectively serving as a "best possible advert" for ESG by bringing it into mainstream conversations.He suggests that the backlash has prompted companies and investors to more rigorously define and implement ESG strategies, moving beyond superficial commitments2025 U.S. Proxy Season: Midseason Review Finds Sharp Drop in Shareholder Resolutions on Ballot Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Penguin Poop: The Latest Tool to Fight Climate Change DRPenguin guano releases high concentrations of ammonia, which reacts with sulfur compounds in the atmosphere to form aerosols. These aerosols facilitate cloud formation, potentially cooling the Earth's surface and preserving Antarctic ice. MM: State Comptroller votes to prioritize fiduciary duty for proxy votingState Comptroller Elise Nieshalla, Indiana Deferred Compensation CommitteeThe new policy, Bowyer Research Proxy Voting Guidelines , provides a voting framework solely focused on shareholder value.Live case study in whether Bowyer votes against directors! Remember when Strive said they voted anti-woke, and really they just voted against women? Now we'll find out if Bowyer uses Free Float data secretly or if they just vote against brown peopleMM: Volkswagen executives get prison time in 'Dieselgate' scandalAssholiest of the Week (MM): Tesla investors demand Musk work 40-hour week at EV maker as 'crisis' buildsJack Dorsey, Twitter's Eccentric CEO, Could Be Looking For A Job SoonElliott is concerned that Dorsey hasn't focused enough on Twitter, because he is also chief executive of payments company Square. The hedge fund is pushing for a CEO whose sole job is running Twitter.CEOsWells Fargo's Scharf Says CEOs Are WorriedCEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024 as stock prices and profits soaredMore money!Activist Investor Accuses Penn CEO Of Using Company Jet As 'Personal Uber,' Citing Losses And Barstool DebaclePerks!Anthropic CEO warns AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobsEven more money!CEO Jensen Huang to Sell $800 Million of Nvidia StockEven more more money!UnitedHealth Group faces lawsuit claiming it used ex-employees' 401(k) funds to defray its own costs DRThe vote on the board is MondayThe company offered the Executive Chair and former CEO Stephen Hemsley $60m in non-performance based options at the near nadir of the stock price, vesting in 3 years, that we estimate will equal roughly $170m in value if the stock price returns to where it was just 6 months agoHe is the highest influence director even BEFORE Witty quit in disgrace - he's likely to have as much as 40% influence when we remove WittyThe company is under investigation for defrauding Medicare, they had an executive assassinated, they have effectively denied coverage for thousands of customers, and now they were stealing from their own employees… and you can vote them outHalf brained idea:James G. Davis, Jr. Announces Retirement from American Woodmark Board of DirectorsHe's 65 years old, been there for 23 years, decides to step downHow about this - make boards a LIFETIME position, no votesWouldn't investors actually pay attention if every director was “elected” just ONCE? They could be like the supreme court and serve until they die or retireHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Musk's SpaceX town in Texas warns residents they may lose right to ‘continue using' their propertyDR: 9 of the most out there things Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei just said about AIOn when he thinks the world will see the first billion-dollar company with one employee.“2026”MM: Nearly Half of Young People Wish the Internet Had Never Been InventedWho Won the Week?DR: Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg: DOJ looks the other way a week after Boeing secured a record-breaking $96 billion order from Qatar Airways during Donald Trump's trip.MM: Grok: Marjorie Taylor Greene beefs with Elon Musk's AI chatbot: 'The judgement seat belongs to GOD'PredictionsDR: RFK Jr. discovers Trump Poop is more effective than 93% of the American Federation of Teachers unionMM: Vince McMahon sex trafficking case co-defendant John Laurinaitis agrees to help accuser - 100% chance he's pardoned. ONE. HUNDRED.

DAMIONLet's start with a softball: Tesla's Europe sales plunge 49% on brand damage, rising competition. Who Do You Blame?ElonLiberals Who Hate ElonTrump 2.0The Tesla board (I'm looking at you Robyn and Kimbal)Apathetic Tesla investorsNobody. Share price is king. MMISS backs Dynavax directors in board fight with Deep Track CapitalDeep Track Capital, which is Dynavax's second largest shareholder with a nearly 15% stake, is pushing on with a proxy fight and wants new directors to prioritize development of the company's hepatitis B vaccine instead of pursuing new acquisitions."Vote for all four management nominees," ISS wrote in a note to clients that was seen by Reuters. "The dissident has failed to present a compelling case that change is necessary at this meeting."Despit that "There has been a stall in momentum" and that "the market has in no way rebuked the company's strategy" even though Dynavax's stock price has fallen 18% over the last 12 months.Who Do you Blame?ISS, for an inability to articulate big ideas with data.Dynavax's current board knowledge profile: while pretty balance overall with science-y stuff like Medicine and Dentistry (14%); Biology (15%) along with a reasonable amount og Economics and Acounting (12%), the board notably lacks Sales and Marketing (0%).Deep Track Capital nominee probably fits that bill: an experienced drug development and commercialization professional most as interim CEO/COO at Lykos Therapeutics, including overseeing the commercialization of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and marketing and sales at Sanofi PasteurISS, again, for ignoring the presence of 15-year director and Nominating Committee chair Daniel Kisner. Why is this guy allowed to maintain dominance over the selection of new directors?Especially consider the presence of fellow long-tenured director Francis Cano on the committee who is 80 and has served for 16 yearsCano had 29% votes against in 2018, but then only 4% in 2021 and 8% in 2024 The board's atrocious lack of annual elections. While the company celebrities the appointments of two new directors in early 2025, one of them, Emilio Emini, will not be up for shareholder review until the 2027 AGMCan I blame DeepTrack (14%), BlackRock (17%), Vanguard (7%), and State Street (6%) = 44%PepsiCo Is Pushing Back its Climate Goals. The Company Wants to Talk About ItPepsiCo said Thursday it pushed back by a decade its goal to achieve net-zero emissions from 2040 to 2050, as well as a handful of delays on plastic packaging goals, to name a few of the shiftsJim Andrew, chief sustainability officer, said PepsiCo's ability to make progress at the rate it would like to “is very very dependent on the systems around us changing.” He added the “world was a very different place” when it was working on these goals in 2020 amid a completely different political and regulatory landscape.Who Do You Blame?Pepsi's very large board of 15 directorsmost governance experts and research converge around an ideal range of 7 to 11 directors. Which really means 9?Beyond 11, boards often suffer from slower decision-making and diluted accountability.Pepsi's completely protected class of directorsAccording to MSCI data: no current director has received more than 9% votes against since the 2015 AGM. Average support is over 97%Despite hitting .400 overall (peers hit .581): .396 carbon (vs. 473) and .180 on controversies (vs. 774)The fact that the company is named Pepsico and not Pepsi which is kinda irritatingPepsi's Gender Influence Gap of -11%In fact, of the top 7 most influential directors, 6 are men with 68% aggregate influenceThe woman is Dina Dublon (11%), the former CFO at JPMorgan Chase, who has been on the board for two decades. I guess her experience as a director on the Westchester Land Trust is not enough to sway the gentlemen.The Land Trust is chaired by Wyndham Hotels director Bruce Churchill, whose experience at DirectTV must really be crucial in the protection of the natural resources of Westchester CountyWhat Makes a Great Board Director? It's Hard to Define, but It Has Rarely Been More Crucial. Who Do you Blame?The WSJ for still failing to define it appropriately despite being the effing WSJ!Proxy advisory firms, for not having the data that could better inform shareholdersThe SEC/listing exchanges for not requiring data that could better inform shareholdersEvery person in the world who does not use Free Float Analytics data2025 U.S. Proxy Season: Midseason Review Finds Sharp Drop in Shareholder Resolutions on BallotTrump 2.0Darren Woods and ExxonThe anti-ESG shareholder proponents for depressing us with their political theaterApathetic investorsMATTBall CFO to depart after less than 2 years in roleHoward Yu: The departure is not related to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its accounting practices, financial statements, internal controls, or operations.Because everyone leaves in less than 2 years when they're happy? Who do we blame!:Ball's Audit Committee - only 29% of company influence, but maybe they're too busy to pay attention to the CFO at all? We know audit committee roles are hugely time consuming, so Cathy Ross (ex CFO FedEx) on two audit public audit committees, John Bryant (ex CEO of Kellogg) on FOUR audit committees, Michael Cave (ex Boeing exec from 787 Max days) on just Ball audit, and Todd Penegor (current CEO of Papa Johns) on THREE boards AND an acting CEOBall's Nominating Committee - 48% of company influence, maybe they suck at their jobs? Stuart Taylor, who's been on the board since 1999, Dune Ives, Aaron Erter, and… Cathy Ross and John Bryant, also on the audit committeeHoward Yu, who departed unrelated to “any disagreement with the Company” on anything he actually did thereCEOCathy Ross and John Bryant93% of U.S. Executives Desire Board Member ReplacementsOld people: There are 14,440 non executive directors in the US on boards with an average age of 63 years old and 2,569 executive directors with an average age of 58.298 companies in the US have at least ONE director over the age of 80. Directors over the age of 80 have on average 9% influence on the board and on average 19 years of tenure - old and no one actually listens to them.Two US directors - Tommy Thomson (82 years young) and John Harrington (87 years young) are on THREE boards eachMeyer Luskin is 100 years old on the OSI Systems board - he is UCLA class of 1949 and has 6% influence after 35 years on the boardMilton Cooper is 95 years old on TWO boards - Getty Realty and Kimco Realty, where he has 53 and 34 years of tenureImagine being a 58 year old CEO and chair of your board and showing up to have to listen to John Harrington and Meyer LuskinOutlandishly outsized influencersOf 24,000 US directors, 591 have more than 50% influence on their boards. Those boards average 7 other people - is there a point to those 7? Connected directors hating on unconnected directorsThere are 575 directors on boards who are connected to 50% or more of the board… A fun example - at Target, 92% of the directors are connected through other boards or trade associations - that's 11 out of 12 directors. Do you think the board just hates Dave Abney for having no obvious connections to them?Shrill womenThere are 7,450 female directorships on US public boards596 have advanced degrees from elite schools80 of them are non executives at widely held corporations with no ties to the company or family with zero known connections to the existing board membersDon't the other directors just wish they weren't there being smart asses?Meta Buys 650 MW of Renewable Energy to Power U.S. Data CentersAES, the woke Virginia based energy company with 5 women and 6 men on the board where 63% of the board has advanced degrees and four of the board members aren't even AmericanArkansas, the woke state that allowed solar energy to get built thereMeta AI, because AI can't even discriminate against renewable energy because it's so wokeMark Zuckerberg, the dual class dropout dictatorMark Zuckerberg, the government ass kisser, MAGA convert, and attendee at the oil state Qatari meetup with Trump who set up this purchase, like, BEFORE the world hated woke, so it's not his fault because he's REALLY super into oil and stuff

Story of the Week (DR):Right wing faux populism:Josh Hawley blasts Allstate CEO for making $26M last year — while company can't ‘afford' to pay out claimsTrump Attacks Walmart, Tells Retailer to ‘Eat the Tariffs' Instead of Raising PricesTesla CFO earns staggering $139M compensation packageVaibhav Taneja: Approximately 80% of Mr. Taneja's equity award was granted as stock options and 20% of the award was granted as restricted stock units. Robyn Denholm member of Pay CommitteeIn 2024, Tesla experienced its first annual sales decline in nearly a decade, with a 1.1% drop in global deliveries. In April 2025, Chinese automaker BYD surpassed Tesla in European electric vehicle sales for the first time, registering 7,231 units compared to Tesla's 7,165. This shift is attributed to BYD's competitively priced and technologically advanced lineup. Tesla's sales in California, its largest American market, declined in all four quarters of 2024, with Model 3 sales plunging 36% for the year. In 2024, Tesla led all automakers in the U.S. with over 5 million vehicles recalled across 16 separate campaignsIn 2025, Tesla dropped to 95th place out of 100 in the Axios Harris Poll, down from 8th place in 2021In a hidden 10K/A from 4/30/25“Staggering” is from Fox: even more fake anti-capitalist rhetoricScared bro dictatorships: Duolingo deletes its TikTok and Instagram posts amid AI backlashCEO Luis von Ahn, posted a memo on LinkedIn last month describing plans to make the company "AI-first." He said the company would "gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle" and "headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work."The backlash was harsh. Tweets, TikToks, and Reddit posts exploded in outrage. As of Tuesday, Duolingo's social accounts had been wiped — no posts, no icon. Duolingo did not respond to a request for comment.And the one statement that was released by a Duolingo spokesperson, after the account went dark, did not shade much light on the situation (pun intended): “Let's just say we're experimenting with silence. Sometimes, the best way to make noise is to disappear first.”Duolingo CEO says there may still be schools in our AI future, but mostly just for childcareBro dictatorship (76% combined voting power)Co-founder CEO Luis von Ahn (43%); co-founder CTO Severin Hacker (40%)Classified board: why?Each share of Class A common stock is entitled to one vote, and each share of Class B common stock is entitled to 20 votesThe worst kind of suck-ups: Verizon ends DEI programs, diversity goals as it seeks approval for Frontier acquisition MMVerizon dumped DEI. Then regulators cleared its $20 billion Frontier deal4/1/25: T-Mobile announces DEI changes in pursuit of LumosA day after T-Mobile said it would end some diversity, equity and inclusion practices, the FCC gave a green light to T-Mobile's deal with EQT for fiber operator Lumos.5/22/25: AT&T CEO on potential Trump DEI pressure for $5.75B deal: 'We don't have to roll back anything'AT&T CEO John Stankey isn't showing his hand yet on whether he plans to dial back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to gain approval for a big new fiber deal from the Trump administration.AT&T said late Wednesday it would acquire all of Lumen Technologies' (LUMN) fiber business for $5.75 billion, above the already pricey $5.5 billion that deal watchers estimated a few weeks ago.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Most US executives want to remove at least one director, PwC survey says93% said they wanted at least one director to be replaced, an all-time high for the five years this survey has been conducted78% said two or more should be replaced56% worried about directors' performance being diminished by their advanced age47% worried members served on too many boardsOnly 32% believe their boards have the right skills and expertiseMM: BYD overtakes Tesla in Europe for the first time. That's more bad news for Elon Musk. MMI'm now rooting for China… and I'm not alone: Jamie Dimon says he is a 'red-blooded American patriot capitalist,' but he sees how China's hustle is paying offAssholiest of the Week (MM):Shareholders lamenting the rise of virtual meetingsShareholders lament the rise of virtual annual meetingsThey miss the time they could meet directors face to face before voting 97% in favor?Shareholders afraid to vote against directors93% of U.S. Executives Desire Board Member Replacements, Survey Finds - News and Statistics49% of directors think one other director should get the axe too according to PwCGrant them their wish!! Just YOU choose instead of them!I'll do it for you:If I look at directors actively on 2+ boards, who have served on at least 3 boards in the last 7 years…Filter them by performance - below average earnings, TSR, AND controversies…There are 66 options to choose from!Including… Stephen Girsky, CEO of fraudulent company Nikola!Randy Weisenburger at Valero Energy and Carnival!Robert Johnson on the boards of Spirit Aero, Roper, and Spirit Airlines!Arnold Donald on four boards - Salesforce, BofA, GE Vernova, MP Materials! Four times the underperformance!Chip Bergh at HP and Pinterest!What, you don't recognize any of these names? These sound like random board members? Shame on you!Johnson has been on the boards for 18,19, and 14 years respectivelyWeisenburger for 14 and 16 yearsDonald's been at BofA for 12 yearsBergh's been at HP for 9 years!These people are tenured. They've been around. They've proven they are really good at overseeing underperformance. VOTE. THEM. OUT.I'm sure you're worried about hurting their feelings or seeming activist - you're not, and you won't! Even the boards and executives wish you would vote someone out! Try it!Harvard board members DRDHS barred Harvard from enrolling international students. Here's what's at stake and what's still uncertainYou've let Bill Ackman be your big fat useless mouthpiece - where the fuck are you all? Oh, I found you…2,173 companies in our database have at least one director who attended Harvard848 of those companies are NON US companiesJust under 4% of ALL GLOBAL DIRECTORSHIPS are held by what we KNOW are Harvard alumsIt's 9% of all US company directorships - nearly 1 in every 10 US directors at a company are from HarvardAverage network power of a Harvard director is $6.2 trillion, compared to a global average of $2.6 trillion - Harvard directors have nearly 2.5x the power of an average directorHarvard directors have on average 13% influence compared to 11% for other directorsOn average, 38% of Harvard directors have merit - while 20% of non Harvard directors doDriven largely by the fact that 62% of them have core industry knowledge and 55% are company leaders - vs. 19% of non Harvard directors with core industry knowledge and 44% of non Harvard directors being leadersWhere we have race/ethnicity data for Harvard directors (1,664 of them), 28% are non white - compared to non Harvard directors where we have race (12,412 of them) only 16% are non whiteAt least 70 of the directors who went to Harvard in our database are tagged as international nationals in our data - and that's a WOEFULLY incomplete datasetOpen your fucking mouths! Did going to Harvard any of you help you get jobs and board positions? Was it nice to network and meet people who eventually could help you get jobs? Is there a culture of Harvard? I hate Harvard, and even I think this is utter madness and stupidity - stand up! Say something you cowards! Headliniest of the WeekDR: Chicago Sun-Times prints summer reading list full of fake books: Reading list in advertorial supplement contains 66% made up books with real author names: "Tidewater Dreams" by Isabel Allende and "The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir MM: ‘Buy the dip'? You're twice as likely to do that if you're a manNacho dip? Women Outperform Men as Investors, Statistics Show. Here Are 3 Possible Reasons.MM: Anthropic's new Claude model blackmailed an engineer having an affair in test runsMM: Pitney Bowes appoints activist investor as new CEOI love when a company literally just gives up entirelyWho Won the Week?DR: Sam Alman, Ugh: Sam Altman Tells Staff Plan to Ship 100 Million Devices That See Everything In Users' Lives after OpenAI is buying iPhone designer Jony Ive's AI devices startup for $6.4 billionMM: Bud Light - thanks to one trans beer drinker, everyone that shot their Bud Light cans avoided future illness: Beer is the latest source of hazardous PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals,' according to worried scientists. Thank you, trans beer drinkers! You saved us once again!PredictionsDR: When AT&T gives up its DEI program to the Trump altar, I buy some string and quickly make hummus so I can use two empty cans of chick peas to make my new phoneMM: Since this is going forward - Antitrust Cops Say BlackRock, Other Fund Giants May Have Hurt Coal Competition - which should read “Company owners ask companies they own to do stuff” - Blackrock will launch a new investment vehicle called “Pick Your Own Damn Stocks, We Don't Give a Damn LP” in which clients can pick the investments and are auto enrolled in a proxy voting program called “Whatever the Fuck Ever” in which voting and engagement are assigned directly to every board chair.

The 5:5:5 Good Game of Stupid Edition: Normal/Trump/Funny (to me)Normal93% of U.S. Executives Desire Board Member ReplacementsIn a recent survey conducted by PwC and The Conference Board, a substantial majority of senior executives in the U.S. expressed a desire for changes within their company's board of directors.The study revealed that 93% of the 520 top managers surveyed want at least one board member replaced, marking a record high in the survey's five-year history.The findings highlight growing tensions between management and boards, as 32% of executives reported board members interfering in day-to-day operations, a significant increase from 16% the previous year.Concerns were also raised about directors' performance being hindered by age and overcommitment, with 56% and 47% of respondents citing these issues, respectively.Tejon shareholders vote in activist investor, remove longtime directorAndrew Dakos received 19,785,261 proxy votes in favor to 17,338,888 against, which allowed him to unseat 24-year director Michael Winer, who received 821,536 in favor and 2,974,871 againstNew Jersey activist group Bulldog InvestorsPhillip Goldstein (19,757,851/17,342,618); Chair (2015-) and Director (1998-) Norman Metcalfe (81) somehow reelected (19,807,311/3,547,606) Shell Faces Fresh Legal Challenge Over Development of New Oil and Gas FieldsDutch environmental group Milieudefensie said by developing new fields, the oil and gas giant is in breach of legal duties to cut carbon emissionsStarbucks doubles down on baristas, not AI, to fix its customer crunchElon Musk says he will spend ‘a lot less' on future campaign donationsElon Musk commits to leading Tesla for next five yearsTrumpTrump tells Walmart to 'eat the tariffs' instead of raising pricesLA Port shipments fell 30% in early May after Trump tariffsMeet the New York Times CEO: She's outmaneuvering tech, Trump, and an industry in crisisMeredith Kopit Levien: the youngest person and second woman to lead the institution in its 173-year history.Business owners with unfortunately named companies face fallout thanks to Trump's war on wokeDavid Markley called his business DEI. which stands for Design Engineering Inc., long before the Trump backlash took off.Another business named DEI is the restaurant supply company owned by Ricardo Gomez.Trump signs bipartisan Take It Down Act to fight ‘revenge porn' and deepfakesTrump said that under the law, “anyone who intentionally distributes explicit images without the subject's consent will face up to three years of prison.In addition, this law establishes new civil liabilities for online platforms that refuse to take these images down promptly upon request. We will not tolerate online sexual exploitation.”Funny (to me)Engineers Reveal Robot That Takes Care of Old People So You Don't Have toNetflix Faces Backlash From Conservatives After Picking Up Sesame Street: 'W Is for Woke'UBS deploys AI analyst clones UBS has started using artificial intelligence to turn its analysts into avatars, sending videos of the simulated bankers to clients in a move the lender said would free up staff to focus on more productive tasks.JPMorgan CEO Dimon Still Intends to Step Down in Next Few Years. ‘It's Up to the Board.' Henry Schein Appoints Dan Daniel to Board of DirectorsFirst name is actually Williamformer EVP of Danaher Corporation

Story of the Week (DR):UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down for 'personal reasons' MM DRUnitedHealth Under Investigation: UnitedHealth Group is facing a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice for potential Medicare fraud related to its Medicare Advantage program. The company is also dealing with a civil fraud investigation and has suspended its 2025 financial forecast amid rising medical costs. CEO Andrew Witty resigned unexpectedly this week.Steve will receive a golden hello again consisting of a one-time $60M option award. While the company claims there will be no additional annual equity awards during the first three years of Steve's employment, there are no performance hurdles tied to this award meaning Steve could make a boatload of cash even if the stock market goes up independent of his work as CEO.A Kohl's board member resigned because she was 'continually disappointed' by governance and a lack of transparency MM DRKohl's Director and Compensation Committee Chair Christine Day resigned from the board on May 5, 2025.Kohl's initially claimed: “Ms. Day's decision [to resign] was not due to any disagreements with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices.”Day later sent an email (included in SEC filing) saying:I want to stress my concern that this is an inappropriate way to handle this. All shareholders deserve the same access to the same information. [ . . .] and for us to not respond to ISS is not good governance. In the 8K filing, for my departure, it would not be accurate to say I have no disagreements with the board. Unfortunately I have been continually disappointed with the level of governance process. The 8k needs to reflect this.”In another email she called out Board Chair Michael Bender: “There is no delegation to committees or chairs, Michael “handles” everything, maybe speaks to one person or 2, then “tells” everyone what the decision is. Some people know more than others leading to board members feeling alienated, out of the loop, and worse—developing a culture where real discussions rarely occur.”In a meeting held yesterday (may 14), only 5% of Kohls shareholders said NO to Board Chair Michael Bender while 45% said NO on Pay while average director support was 92% YESJohn Tyson joins Tyson Foods Inc. board, 9 months after criminal charges led him to step down as CFO MM DRDespite being part of the controlling family, The Tyson children will be paid $315,000 annually like all other non-employee directors.FedEx board member David Steiner to lead US Postal ServiceLD since 2009; CEO Waste Management; $15M in sharesGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Boulder's landmark lawsuit against Suncor, Exxon can proceed, Colorado Supreme Court rulesMM: NLPC Urges Exxon Mobil Shareholders To Vote Against Election Of CEO Darren Woods For Board On Exxon Mobil's 2025 Proxy Ballot DR MMThey are running a vote no campaign on Darren Woods… for being too woke! After suing his own shareholder who wanted him to be woke!Assholiest of the Week (MM):NasdaqNasdaq Supports Texas Senate Bill 29, Strengthening Corporate Governance and Business Growth in the State DREd Knight of Nasdaq says: “Senate Bill 29 is a milestone for corporate governance in Texas. By embracing smart, innovation-focused regulation like SB 29, Texas is showing the world what it means to lead on economic growth and modern, clear governance principles,” said Ed Knight, Executive Vice Chairman of Nasdaq. “We commend Senator Bryan Hughes, Representative Morgan Meyer, and Governor Greg Abbott for advancing legislation that strengthens Texas' position as a global center for capital formation.”The major features include a Musk “board independence” rule that allows an evidentiary hearing by a court to say a committee overseeing a transaction is “independent”, then they can exclude any lawsuits or challenges to the committee findings/approval - say, on something like a massive pay package - without the ability of a shareholder to get recourseThey also can refuse books and records if they THINK you might sue them, and they only allow derivative lawsuits for groups with 3% or more of the sharesEd Knight biography: A Texas native, Knight received his Bachelor of Arts, with honors, in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.Stewardship teamsHarley-Davidson Leaders Survive Proxy FightThe company didn't reveal the preliminary vote total during its shareholder meeting. About 48% of shares voted withheld support from Zeitz, while about 40% withheld support from directors Thomas Linebarger and Sara Levinson, two people familiar with the tally said.Harley's bylaws require directors to resign if more than 50% of shares voted withhold support.Seriously investors? Seriously? Levinson has been a director since Clinton's FIRST TERM - AND SHE HAS A CHECKMARK FOR INDEPENDENT. 30 years isn't too much for you investors? 30? For an ex NFL and MTV executive at a company that makes motorcycles? If you're anti-woke, isn't this an easy vote out?? Not even for her woman-ness, but for the fact that she has literally nothing to do with making motorcycles? She started a women-focused dot com media company called “Club Mom”!If Blackrock and Vanguard voted to support Harley directors, they truly do not care - and ISS's fuckwit half-assed non-assessment is what's driving investors to do-nothingness. And I know ISS is listening, we've been told they don't like our criticism - tough shit, your assessments are feckless bullshit nothingburger with no real backing, and pension funds are starting to notice you give them a whole lot of puffery for 200k a yearIn other news… BlackRock wins 67% support for pay as CEO Fink assures on global economyEach of its 18 director nominees were easily elected with average support over 98%.Press ReleasesLumen Technologies Appoints Michelle J. Goldberg and Steve McMillan to Board, Strengthening Company's AI and Digital StrategyBecause no one cares, no one reads the bios to determine if, at least on paper, the headline matches the humans - “strengthening company's AI and digital strategy”Michelle J. Goldberg brings over 20 years of experience in early-stage technology, finance, and board governance. She served as a Partner at venture capital firm Ignition Partners and currently sits on the boards of both Bakkt Holdings and Ally Financial, previously having held board roles at Legg Mason, Taubman Centers, and Plum Creek Timber. Her expertise and guidance in early-stage technology startups has helped scale businesses through critical phases of innovation and expansion. Michelle holds a BA from Columbia University and an MA from Harvard University.Steve McMillan is a seasoned executive in global enterprise technology strategy, data analytics and big data. Since 2020, he has served as President and CEO of Teradata Corporation. His previous leadership roles at F5, Oracle, and IBM specialized in security, cloud management, and managed services—making him a key voice in modernizing technology platforms for customer success. Steve earned a First-Class Honours degree in Management and Computer Science from Aston University in Birmingham, England.So… not AI or digital strategy experts?Headliniest of the WeekDR: Elon Musk says everyone will want their 'personal robot' — but warns of 'Terminator'-style risksDR: Elon Musk's AI says it was ‘instructed by my creators at xAI' to accept the narrative of ‘white genocide' in South AfricaMM: Women contribute less to climate-heating emissions than men, study finds - this explains the anti woke movement, the atmosphere is super woke MM: Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC failed to pay swing state petition signers, new suit allegesWho Won the Week?DR: Olivia Tyson, for being the nepobaby nobody notices (when standing next to John R. Tyson)MM: The A in AI, since Elon has proven that you really don't need the “intelligence” part.PredictionsDR: After Disney CEO Bob Iger hears me on The Responsible Investor Podcast with Gina Gambetta he sends a cease and desist letter forcing me off all podcasts until 1001 years of the next popeMM: Exxon sues the NLPC for its exempt solicitation, and no one knows who to root for.

DAMION1In our 'That's cute, Sam, because I don't want my son to grow up in a world where college dropouts slowly replace human brain function with profit-driven AI' headline of the week. Sam Altman doesn't want his son to grow up with an AI best friend In our 'In other news, Ikea will call its forthcoming store in Boston simply 'Ikea,' sources say' headline of the week. ESPN will call its forthcoming flagship streaming app simply 'ESPN,' sources say In our 'Ex-CBS Director O.J. Simpson not named director after found not guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and because he's dead' headline of the week. Ex-Tyson Foods CFO John Tyson named director after misdemeanoursIn our 'In her acceptance speech, Ms. Boswell said, "I won't sleep until your toilets are 45% less smelly and disgusting, on a year-over-year basis starting in 3Q 2026."' headline of the week. Clorox Announces Election of Gina Boswell to its Board of DirectorsIn our 'The fourth director was referred to as "a bloated idiot who doesn't know the difference between a case of synthetic hydraulic fluids and a Diet Pepsi.' headline of the week. Shareholder advisory firm backs 3 of Elliott's 4 Phillips 66 director nominees In our 'Sir Andrew Witty listed the top three 'personal reasons' in no particular order: "Fuck. This. Place." ' headline of the week. UnitedHealth CEO steps down for ‘personal reasons'MATT1In our 'Universally reviled man pays self' headline of the week. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty was 2024's highest-paid payer CEO. Here's a look at what other execs earnedIn our 'Universally reviled man takes a vacation' headline of the week. UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down, company suspends annual forecastIn our 'Universally reviled man replaced by universally reviled man who replaced different universally reviled man he replaced' headline of the week. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty steps down, replaced by Stephen HemsleyIn our 'Andrew Witty says try cod liver oil and vitamin A' headline of the week. Listeria outbreak sickens at least 10 in California and Nevada and the FDA is investigating Fresh & Ready FoodsIn our 'This week on "Audit Material Weakness: the Game", who will be the material weakness? The ex-prosecutor "financial expert", the ex-interior secretary who wrote "You Report to Me: Accountability for the Failing Administrative State", or the ex-trade representative?' headline of the week. Trump Media said it had ‘material weakness' in internal controlsIn our 'Anti-woke investors furious at SEC they don't get the chance to vote 1% in favor of a resolution to stop gays from eating sushi, the wokest way to make fish, which is eroding American freedom' headline of the week. Kroger Investor Loses New Bid to Put Plan Before ShareholdersIn our 'After soliciting bids from Punxsutawney Phil, the transformer named Scavenger, and Mark Wahlberg from Deepwater Horizon, the Trump Administration finally found a genius to dig a hole' headline of the week. Elon Musk's Boring Company Is in Talks With Government Over Amtrak ProjectIn our 'When asked, the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee handed citizens a set of "giant wipers" donated by Tesla for their tears' headline of the week. Community Complains of Choking Fumes From Elon Musk's AI FortressIn our 'It's true, we found a self-important liar who likes hallucinogens so we don't need to hire anyone under 35 with an education anymore' headline of the week. AI may cut the need for younger staff, CEOs say: ‘With the commoditization of intelligence, it's not about having the smartest people anymore'In our 'It's true, we found a self-important liar who states everything like it's a fact so we don't need to hire anyone over the age of 55 anymore' headline of the week. The vast majority of CEOs are fearful of losing their jobs due to AI, survey revealsDAMION2End with a game: I'll give you the headline first and you pick the best joke:McDonald's announces plans to hire 375,000 workers with Trump Labor secretaryTraining to Include How to Scream Internally Without Moving Your Face and Why Clocking Out is WokeNew Employees to Be Paid in Nuggets and WIll Receive Free Uniform, A Copy of “Atlas Shrugged” (Annotated by J.D. Vance while wearing a Ronald McDonald costume) and a Mandatory McRib Tramp StampBecause Nothing Says “Labor Rights” Like a Side of DeregulationBoy Accidentally Orders 70,000 Lollipops on Amazon. Panic Ensues.Amazon's spokesperson said, "While we understand that 70,000 lollipops may exceed the average household's needs, our algorithm determined that American children are fat and stupid."Mark Zuckerberg said, "Problems like this will disappear with Meta-branded AI children."Amazon Algorithm Now Recommends a Kohler Tall Single Flush 2-Piece Elongated Toilet with 1.28 GPF in White and a Dentist Named Dave

Story of the Week (DR):Berkshire board names Greg Abel as CEO, Buffett to remain chairWarren Buffett says he'll propose Greg Abel take over as Berkshire Hathaway CEO at year-endWarren Buffett makes surprise announcement: He's stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway CEOOpenAI backs off push to become for-profit companyIn a nutshell, with help from its chatbot: “OpenAI has restructured into a hybrid model with a nonprofit parent company, OpenAI Inc., and a for-profit subsidiary now called a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). This shift allows for investment while keeping a focus on its mission of developing AGI for the benefit of humanity. The change responds to previous criticism about reducing nonprofit oversight.”OpenAI's nonprofit mission fades further into the rearviewSam Altman urges lawmakers against regulations that could ‘slow down' U.S. in AI race against ChinaKohl's CEO Fired After Investigation Finds 'Highly Unusual' Business Deal with Former Romantic PartnerKohl's CEO Ashley Buchanan was fired after an internal investigation revealed he violated the company's conflict-of-interest policies. The probe found that Buchanan directed business to a former romantic partner, Chandra Holt, who is the CEO of Beyond Inc. and founder of Incredibrew. Holt secured a multimillion-dollar consulting deal with Kohl's under unusually favorable terms, which Buchanan failed to disclose.As a result, Buchanan was dismissed for cause, forfeiting equity awards and required to repay a portion of his $2.5 million signing bonus.This marks the third CEO departure at Kohl's in just three years, highlighting ongoing leadership instability amid declining sales.Proxy Firms Split on Harley-Davidson Board Shake-Up MMGlass Lewis= Withhold; ISS = What's happening at Harley exactly?We have a fun twist at the proxy cage match between Harley Davidson and H Partners, who are 9% shareholders and have started a withhold vote campaign against long-tenured directors Jochen Zeitz, Thomas Linebarger, and Sara Levinson: Glass Lewis says “withhold” but ISS says “support”?Through lackluster reasoning based on hunches and not performance analytics, ISS revealed, without satire, that "[T]here are compelling reasons to believe that as a group [the targeted directors] still have a perspective that can be valuable” and, in discussing the candidacy of departing CEO Jochen Zeitz: “[I]t appears that his time in the role has been more positive than negative, which makes it hard to argue that his vote on a successor is worthless.”Testimony in House Hearing: “Exposing the Proxy Advisory Cartel: How ISS & Glass Lewis Influence Markets”A 2015 study found that 25 percent of institutional investors vote “indiscriminately” with ISS [1].In 2016, a study estimated that a negative recommendation from ISS leads to a 25-percentage point reduction in voting support for say-on-pay proposals [2].A 2018 study demonstrated that a negative recommendation from ISS was associated with a reduction in support of 17 percentage points for equity-plan proposals, 18 points for uncontested director elections, and 27 points for say-on-pay [3].In 2021, a study examining “robo-voting”—the practice of fund managers voting in lockstep with the recommendations of ISS—identified 114 financial institutions managing $5 trillion in assets that automated their votes in a manner aligned with ISS recommendations 99.5% of the time [4].A 2022 study provided further evidence that institutional investors are highly sensitive to an opposing recommendation from a proxy advisory firm. Opposition from ISS was associated with a 51 percent difference in institutional voting support compared with only a 2 percent difference among retail investors [5].During the 12 months ending June 30, 2024, negative recommendations from the two proxy advisory firms were associated with (1) a 17-percentage point difference in support for directors in uncontested elections at the S&P 500 (96.9% with the firms' support vs. 79.7% without); (2) a 35-percentage point gap for say-on-pay proposals (92.8% vs. 58.0%); and (3) a 36-percentage point difference for shareholder proposals (42.4% vs. 6.6%)Why Leo XIV? Pope's chosen name suggests commitment to social justicePope NamesLeo: Many Pope Leos were reformers or defenders of Church teachings.John: often linked to pastoral care and modernization.Paul: Reflects missionary zeal and intellectual work.Gregory: Reform, liturgy, and missionary outreach.Benedict: Benedict XVI emphasized faith and reason in a skeptical age.Pius: Emphasis on traditional piety and Church authority.Clement: Reconciliation and peacemaking.Innocent: Ironically, several Popes named Innocent wielded immense political power.Urban: Engagement with worldly and civic matters.Francis: Poverty, simplicity, ecological concern.CEO NamesWarren: cuddly billionaires who control everything, put family members on board, and say pithy thingsJamie: blowhard control freaks bankers who think they should be President and have something to say about everythingMark: college dropout social media dictators who have no oversight while charting humanity's demiseElon: arrogant and childish Wizard of Ozzian leaders who pretend to be company founders with world domination delusionsSundar: East Asian stewards meant to distract from actual Tech dictatorsTim: Genteel Southern cruise ship captains who keep a steady hand after replacing legendsEtc.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Bill Gates to give away $200 billion by 2045, says Musk is 'killing' world's poorest childrenDR: This Subaru has an external airbag to protect cyclists: The design helps protect both pedestrians and cyclists in a crash MM DRMM: Proxy Firms Split on Harley-Davidson Board Shake-UpThe other major proxy firm, Glass Lewis, reached a different conclusion. It said Tuesday that the directors had “overseen starkly suboptimal shareholder returns,” and that removing them from the eight-person board likely wouldn't create any problems.MM: 80% of Gen Z, Millennials Plan to Increase Allocations to Sustainable Investments: Morgan Stanley SurveyAssholiest of the Week (MM):All Zuckerberg editionCertified watch guy ZuckMark Zuckerberg is a certified watch guy. Here are some of his standout timepieces, from a $120 Casio to a $900,000 Greubel Forse.These are the stories as Trump, whose ass Zuck's lips are firmly planted on, says you should only have 3 dolls - Zuck's watches, C.E.O. Pay Raise Sparks Outrage Among Teachers and Public Officers, 58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump's meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows, The best and worst looks billionaires wore to the 2025 Met GalaFriend maker Zuck DRMark Zuckerberg wants you to have more friends — but AI friendsMark Zuckerberg destroyed friendship. Now he wants to replace it with AI.Meanwhile, no wonder: Mark Zuckerberg says his management style involves no 1-on-1s, few direct reports, and a 'core army' of 30 running MetaMan with no friends says you need more and will provide fake ones?Human picker ZuckZuck's version of human friends probably the reason he wants to make you fake ones - hand-selected fake friends on the board (Patrick Collison and Dina Powell McCormick to Join Meta Board of Directors):4 tech bro dictators (Tan, Houston, Collison, Xu)3 tech bro suck ups (Andreessen, Alford, Songhurst)1 nepo baby dictator (Elkann)1 family dictator suck up (Travis)2 DJT suck ups (White, Powell McCormick)2 US govt suck ups (Killefer, Kimmitt)Prediction - Zuck to have the first true AI board member?Empathetic ZuckGaslighting, golden handcuffs, and toxicity: Former Meta employees shared what it was like to be laid off as low performersA former senior machine learning engineer at Meta described the shock of being laid off, only for a Meta recruiter to invite her to reapply three days later and skip the interview process.Two weeks before the layoffs, he said, his new manager told the team everyone was "safe." Then came the termination email — and a performance rating of "Meets Some Expectations," low on Meta's end-of-year rating scale. "How could they evaluate my performance when I'd only worked 10 weeks in 2024?" he said, adding that an HR director had said he was "too new to evaluate."An engineer was laid off after five months of leave for a serious health crisis while in the middle of disability-related negotiations.Meta exec apologizes to conservative activist Robby StarbuckLover ZuckMark Zuckerberg's Wife Was Weirded Out by His Strange Gift to HerHe made it for her not out of love, but because…The billionaire is apparently a huge fan of the sculptor behind the statue, the pop artist Daniel Arsham, but decided to go with his wife's likeness, he said on the podcast, because a statue of himself would have been "crazy."Academic ZuckMark Zuckerberg says college isn't preparing students for the job marketHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Olivia and John Randal Tyson Named to Tyson Foods Board of DirectorsDR: This new mental health service targets burned-out content creators: CreatorCare offers affordable therapy tailored to influencers and digital creators—addressing the rising mental health toll of life online.DR: Costco co-founder still goes into the office weekly at age 89: ‘To be successful, you've got to be pretty focused'Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal stepped down from his role in 2012. But Sinegal still goes to the office some TuesdaysDR: Billionaire KKR cofounders say 'emotional intelligence' should be a focus for young investorsKKR leadership page:1 of 8 are women: It HAS to be head of marketing, head of people, or head of legal stuff: so which is it? It's Chief Legal Officer Kathryn SudolBoard is 14:4F; no F in leadership role MM: Elon Musk's Urgent Concern: That the Earth Is Going to Get Swallowed by the Sun"Mars is life insurance for life collectively," Musk said. "So, eventually, all life on Earth will be destroyed by the Sun. The Sun is gradually expanding, and so we do at some point need to be a multi-planet civilization because Earth will be incinerated."It is slated to happen in 6 billion yearsMM: Elon Musk is responsible for “killing the world's poorest children,” says Bill GatesWho Won the Week?DR: Pope #-267, duh. The world's greatest vampire CEO. And Villanova students (who are not openly gay or have vaginas), who all suddenly now believe they will eventually be the pope. MM: Your shitty washer/dryer, which no longer looks horrible: E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star ProgramPredictionsDR: Open AI's CEO, Mark VII, creates a deepfake video showing the country of China eating his baby at one of his homes in Hawaii causing the Trump administration to completely dismantle the SEC.MM: Sit tight for this, I have two: Euronext rebrands ESG in drive to help European defence firms - “energy, security, and geo-strategy” flops, so to LSEG rebrands its ESG Scores to “Emitting, Smoking, Gambling” so that investors can finally do ESG investing and feel good about itMusk gets his Texas wish. SpaceX launch site is approved as the new city of Starbase - I predict in 12 months, Musk is offering SpaceX employees that live in Starbase (a company town) crypto tokens instead of pay that are redeemable at stores in Starbase. To avoid them being called scrips, which were outlawed in the US in 1938 but still used anyway through the 1960s, Musk will list them on crypto exchanges that can be used to trade for dollars (but are totally worthless). Eventually, so indebted to the space plantation and Musk, there is a new renaissance of “resistance music” (a la “We Shall Overcome” and “Sixteen Tons”) with a song ranking number 1 in the US by the end of 2026.

DAMION1Kohl's CEO Fired for Funneling Business to Romantic Partner 10Kohl's boss Ashley Buchanan tried to funnel business to a romantic partner and lost his job. It wasn't the first time their personal and professional lives had crossed.Kohl's fired Buchanan on Thursday after it discovered he had instructed the retailer to enter into a “highly unusual” business deal involving a woman with whom he has a romantic relationship, according to people familiar with the situation. The pair currently live together in an upscale golf community in the suburbs of Dallas.Buchanan met the woman, Chandra Holt, when they were both working at Walmart several years ago, the people said. His divorce proceedings show the two had a romantic relationship while he was the CEO of Michaels. The arts-and-crafts chain also tried to hire Holt during his tenure.A Kohl's board investigation by outside lawyers found that Buchanan violated the company's code of conduct in two instances with a vendor with whom he had a personal relationship and whom it didn't name, according to a regulatory filing. The filing said he directed the retailer to conduct business with a vendor founded by this person “on highly unusual terms,” and he caused the company to enter into a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement, where that person was part of the consulting team.On Thursday, Kohl's appointed Chairman Michael Bender as its interim CEO. He becomes the fourth CEO in three years at the department-store chain, which has been struggling with slumping sales.Nominating Committee:John E. Schlifske* (2011; 6%)Michael J. Bender (2019; 18%)Robbin Mitchell (2021; 7%)Adrianne Shapira (2016; 6%)Even CEOs sometimes get the 'you're fired' treatment 11Great, nobody understands corporate governanceMeta exec apologizes to conservative activist Robby StarbuckJoel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, has issued a public apology to conservative influencer Robby Starbuck after Starbuck filed a lawsuit alleging that Meta's artificial intelligence chatbot produced responses containing false and defamatory information about him. “Robby — I watched your video — this is unacceptable. This is clearly not how our AI should operate,” Kaplan wrote on X, which is one of Meta's competitors. He referred to a 20-minute video in which Starbuck laid out his claims, including that Meta's AI falsely associated him with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the QAnon conspiracy theory.“We're sorry for the results it shared about you and that the fix we put in place didn't address the underlying problem,” Kaplan continued. “I'm working now with our product team to understand how this happened and explore potential solutions.”Bob Monks, fierce champion of shareholders against what he saw as boardroom failings 0An American pioneer of investor activism and better corporate governance.Monks emerged as a doughty champion of shareholders against what he saw as increasingly self-serving and complacent boardroom behaviourIn 1985 he founded Institutional Shareholder Services, which advises funds that own shares in multiple companies how best to exercise their voting power. He also helped create Lens, an activist investment fund, and GMI Ratings, a scrutineer of corporate behaviour which claimed to have downgraded BP before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the insurance giant AIG before the 2008 financial crisis and News Corp before the phone-hacking scandal.His most celebrated campaign, in 1991, was an attempt to become a director of the underperforming retail and financial conglomerate Sears Roebuck, for which he ran a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal depicting the existing Sears board as “non-performing assets”. Though his candidacy was rejected, many of his proposals for rationalisation were adopted, and he was able to declare: “Sears has been changed.”This low-profile CEO is the highest-paid in America with a $101 million paycheck that beat out Starbucks, Microsoft, and Apple chiefs 10Jim Anderson, a low-profile executive of Pennsylvania-based Coherent, which produces equipment for networks and lasersHere's what the dopey reporting missed:An originally announced golden hello equity award of $48M that magically morphed into $91M come proxy time.48% NO on Say on PayToo large Pay Committee: 6 members, led by Shaker Sadasivam, who was NOT up reelection this year. Also includes Mike Dreyer (22% NO), former COO of Silicon Valley BankEuronext rebrands ESG in drive to help European defence firms 10In a statement renaming ESG - the acronym given to Environmental, Social and Governance-driven investing - as Energy, Security and Geostrategy, Euronext's CEO and Chairman Stephane Boujnah said it was responding to a "new geopolitical order"."European aerospace and defence companies have expressed the urgent need to invest heavily in their innovation and production capacities to guarantee Europe's strategic autonomy for the next decade," Euronext said in the statement.Among the measures, Euronext said it would revisit the methodologies for ESG indexes to limit the exclusions currently placed on defence companies.OpenAI, facing pressure, announces its nonprofit will stay in control after allOpenAI announced a smaller-scale change to its famously complex structure. Remember that it was founded as a nonprofit. But in 2019, it set up a for-profit subsidiary to start raising money from investors to finance its eye-wateringly expensive A.I. research. Then last year, the company moved to turn itself into a for-profit entity in which the nonprofit held a stake but didn't have control.Now, OpenAI plans to turn its for-profit subsidiary into a public benefit corporation, which would still be controlled by the nonprofit, though the size of its stake remains undetermined. (Got all that?) Sam Altman, its C.E.O., said yesterday that the revised plan still gives his start-up “a more understandable structure to do the things that a company like us has to do.”The AI Industry Has a Huge Problem: the Smarter Its AI Gets, the More It's HallucinatingZuckerberg Says in Response to Loneliness Epidemic, He Will Create Most of Your Friends Using Artificial IntelligenceIn an interview with podcaster Dwarkesh Patel this week, Zuckerberg asserted that more people should be connecting with chatbots on a social level — because, in a striking line of argumentation, they don't have enough real-life friends.When asked if AI chatbots can help fight the loneliness epidemic, the billionaire painted a dystopian vision of a future in which we spend more time talking to AIs than flesh-and-blood humans."There's the stat that I always think is crazy, the average American, I think, has fewer than three friends," Zuckerberg told Patel. "And the average person has demand for meaningfully more, I think it's like 15 friends or something, right?""The average person wants more connectivity, connection, than they have," he concluded, hinting at the possibility that the discrepancy could be filled with virtual friends.Tesla Is Extremely Upset About Reporting That Its Board Has Been Looking Into Replacing Elon MuskLeading Independent Proxy Advisory Firm ISS Recommends Harley-Davidson Shareholders Vote "FOR ALL" of Harley-Davidson's Highly Qualified Director Nominees 10Targeted DirectorsCEO/Chair Zeitz (2007, 30%): who has already stepped down as CEOLead Director Norman Thomas Linebarger (2008, 13%): who is not independentSara Levinson (1996, 20%): the longest-tenured director Matt: HARD HITTING ANALYSIS“[I]t appears that his time in the role has been more positive than negative, which makes it hard to argue that his vote on a successor is worthless.”"[T]here are compelling reasons to believe that as a group [the targeted directors] still have a perspective that can be valuable.”"[I]t appears that the board initiated the [CEO search] process promptly…”, Target CEO's pay slashed by a whopping 45% after his disastrous mishandling of DEI 5Patrick Kennedy of The Minnesota Star Tribune used Total Realized Pay: down from $18.1M last year mostly because of a reduction in vested stock, $5.6M down from $13.6M. Total summary is up: $19.2M to $20.4M. Pay ratio is up: 719:1 to 753:1Matt: What?MATT1Berkshire Hathaway: Board Unanimously Appoints Greg Abel as Firm's Next Chief Executive 1000Rate the goodness of the succession planning processTrump announced Alcatraz reopening just hours after ‘Escape from Alcatraz' aired on a South Florida PBS station 15Rate the goodness of funding PBS, which probably gave Trump the idea to reopen AlcatrazGoldman Sachs Removes Mentions of ‘Black' From Flagship Diversity Pledge 0‘Black in Business,' one program in the effort, is now about staying ‘in the black,' in reference to profits—not raceRate the goodness of Goldman Sachs finally returning to a focus on profit, not black peopleAnthropic CEO Admits We Have No Idea How AI Works"When a generative AI system does something, like summarize a financial document, we have no idea, at a specific or precise level, why it makes the choices it does — why it chooses certain words over others, or why it occasionally makes a mistake despite usually being accurate,"Meta exec apologizes to conservative activist Robby Starbuck -4,000,000“Robby — I watched your video — this is unacceptable. This is clearly not how our AI should operate.”

DAMION1White House blasts Amazon over tariff cost report: ‘Hostile and political act'The White House on Tuesday slammed Amazon for reportedly planning to display the cost of President Donald Trump's tariffs next to the total price of products on its site.“This is hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt asked.The Trump administration's aggressive swipe came in response to a report that Amazon will soon show consumers how much of an item's cost comes from tariffs. The amount added as a result of tariffs will be displayed right next to each product's total listed price, a person familiar with the plan told the news outlet.WHO DO YOU BLAME?CEO Andrew Jassy.He's the “boss.”Maybe he feels emasculated?Lowest overall batting average (.308)only 6% influence compared to his boss, Jeff Bezos (67%)Not paid like traditional CEOs (relying instead on his $275M in unvested equity) and the $38M that vested last year; so when he's hanging out withHis buddies like Target CEO Brian Cornell ($20M) eBay CEO Jamie Iannone ($22M) have the total summary compensation bragging rights. Not to mention the sad, unmanly CEO Pay Ratio which is listed as 43:1 for Jassy and 753:1 for the DEI-hating Cornell Jeffrey Preston Bezos (67%)I mean he's the actual boss, right?Executive Chair, founder, former CEO, superstar.Hangs out with people like Katy Perry, has a newspaper, sends penis rockets to nowhere, has pretend funds named after himself like the Bezos Earth Fund and the Bezos Day One FundBoard member and former Pepsi CEO Indra NooyiOr maybe this is a DEI problem? Amazon's Audit Committee is tasked with stuff like operational risks, and legal and regulatory matters. Indra chairs this committeeIndra is also involved with very woke-y/DEI-y:stuff like science (Trustee of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)Stuff like math (Member of the Dean's Advisory Council at MIT's School of Engineering)Stuff like art (Trustee of the National Gallery of Art)And stuff like giving a shit about people, stakeholder-y capitalism stuff (Director of Partnership for Public Service, whose mission is to inspire a new generation of civil servants and to transform the way government works)Former President Joe BidenAmazon later clarified that the plan to show tariff surcharges was “never approved” and is “not going to happen.” Trump personally called Bezos on Tuesday morning to express his displeasure about the initial report that spurred the heated response from the White House.Trump world's Laura Loomer takes aim at a 'woke' Lockheed Martin and its $2 trillion F-35 programLaura Loomer, the far-right activist who has a direct line to President Donald Trump, criticized Lockheed Martin's F-35 program over the weekend, decrying the US defense giant as "woke" and lashing out against the expensive stealth aircraft.In a lengthy post on X, Loomer suggested Lockheed Martin is delivering F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters that "are simply not ready for combat.""The F-35 program, one of the most expensive weapons programs in history, is plagued by delays, defects, & downright incompetence," she wrote Saturday. She said the US Air Force is accepting jets that lack "functional" radar systems, without offering evidence.She also claimed that Lockheed is "increasingly obsessed with pushing a woke agenda." Like many other US defense contractors, Lockheed scrapped its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in January after Trump returned to the White House.The $2 trillion F-35 program is an appealing target for activists and officials seeking to slash government spending, and it has a well-documented list of problems. The Pentagon's top weapons tester said earlier this year that the program had problems delivering functional software and had fallen behind schedule to test upgraded mission systems.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The 2025 Proxy Statement that mentions “diversity” five times!Of course all five of those instances were in the anti-woke/anti-DEI shareholder proposal introduced by the Bahnsen Family Trust.Not sure how this even made the proxy after Lockheed's anti-DEI move in January: “As we publicly stated following the issuance of President Trump's January 2025 Executive Order on DEI, we will not have goals or incentives based on demographic representation or Affirmative Action Plans. We are actively reviewing our workforce-related policies to ensure they are, and remain, compliant and aligned with the Executive Order and all related applicable legal precedent.”The three-headed white guy leadership group (53% influence)CEO/Chair James Taiclet (25%): $24M in payLead Independent Director and Nominating Committee chair Thomas J. Falk (13%)“Independent” since 2010David Burritt (15%)Longest-tenured director (2008-)Busy beaver: two committees (Audit and Pay); CEO of US. SteelSince this is a woke/DEI issue: the black guy:Nevermind, there are no black people on this boardA woman? It would have to be Debra Reed-Klages (17%)While she has no leadership roles she does sit on the board of Caterpillar, which also removed its DEI policies. What, what?Investors. They should have been holding Lockheed accountable, right?According to MSCI data, average support since 2015 is 95%; no director has even received less than 92% since 2017Say on Pay support is routinely over 90%Starbucks union rejects company's recent offer of at least 2% annual pay raiseStarbucks union delegates involved in contract bargaining voted to reject the coffee chain's latest proposal that guaranteed annual raises of at least 2%, Workers United said. Out of the 490 baristas representing the company's more than 550 unionized U.S. stores, 81% rejected the proposal, which did not offer any changes to economic benefits such as healthcare or any immediate pay hike.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The union, for being greedy.The company pays its baristas about $19 an hour on average currently. That's $39,520 before taxes. A 2% raise would result in an increase of $790.40!InvestorsAverage director support of 96% over past 2 yearsEven 86% support for new CEO Brian Niccol's $96M, including $5M in funny munny cashAnd a devilishly perverse CEO pay ratio of 6,666 to 1.Not to mention Use of Starbucks aircraft for travel between city of primary residence and Starbucks headquarters AND up to $250,000 in personal non-commuting travel per yearWhich brings us to the CEO, Brian Niccol, a guy so wonderful that they scrapped the independent chair nonsense and gave him both titles: CEO and ChairLead Independent Director and Nominating Committee chair Jørgen Vig KnudstorpAveraged over 10% votes against over the past 3 AGMs: which is essentially an investor revolutionHis favorite drink–the Caramel Macchiato–is 250 calories with 33g of sugar: the American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 25 grams per dayMATT1Novavax appoints Charles Newton to board of directorsChuck Newton has a background from BofA Merrill, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman as an investment banker, and is now CFO at a pharma company. He got his education in business administration and “arts”.Who do we blame for the appointment of Chucky?John Jacobs, CEO and highest influence on the board at 23%New board chair and nom committee chair Margaret McGlynn, who will inherit retiring director James Young's 16% influence to become the most influential person on the board?Too much science?Actual knowledge of pharmaceutical science - Young's retirement means there are only 2 actual scientists left on the board of the 9 members - 6 have finance backgrounds, and 1 is a lawyer.DEI - while Novavax's SEC disclosure says that the 9 person board has 1 male with 2 or more races and 2 women, they actually didn't feel white ENOUGH so they added Charles Newton to have a 100% white board (because black people don't even get malaria, COVID, or flu)They actually claim to have 10 board members when they really have 9Investors - who actually hate this board and can't possibly like it more now?Classified board, last year the new board chair (promotion!) got 52% votes for, the PhD got 58% for, and the guy from the family foundation got 53% for - and yes, exactly 35% of the shares are owned by State Street, Vanguard, BlackRock, and Shah CapitalSam Altman says OpenAI will fix ChatGPT's ‘annoying' new personality as users complain the bot is sucking up to them“ChatGPT's new personality is so positive it's verging on sycophantic—and it's putting people off.”Who do we blame for AI being a big fat suckup?Sam Altman, for being a big fat Trump suckupSam Altman, for having an insipid tech bro personality desperately seeking the fame and attention of the earthSam Altman, for firing his non-suckup board membersSam Altman, for putting himself on the board and surrounding himself with board suckups

Story of the Week (DR):CEOs to the rescue?Trio Of Top CEOs Warn Trump Tariffs Will Empty Store ShelvesDuring a private meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, the CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot reportedly told the president that supply chains could freeze and prompt stores' shelves to go barren if he doesn't rein in his sharp tariff plans, and meddles with the Federal Reserve.Target CEO Brian Cornell (25%): Mr. The Gay Pride Display Is Too Expensive Because THere are Too Many Colors (719:1)Home Depot CEO Ted Decker (25%): Mr. Charlie Munger Would Hate Him because He Got a BA in English (443:1)Walmart CEO Doug McMillon 6%: (They should have sent a Walton family member) Mr. Racism Was Solved So It's Time to Move on from DEI (976:1)Elon Musk says he's stepping back from DOGEElon Musk was supposed to work in government as a special employee for 130 days. He just pledged to spend ‘a day or two' per week for the remainder of Trump's 4-year termAfter spending three months trying to radically reshape the federal government and its workforce, Elon Musk on Tuesday said he would soon be stepping back from the White House DOGE office."Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla," Musk said during Tesla's earnings call, adding that "the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency" was done.Tesla profit drops 71% as carmaker warns ‘political sentiment' could impact future demandBusiness Roundtable urges SEC to amend proxy-voting process MMThe Securities and Exchange Commission should reform the proxy-voting process by making it more difficult for certain shareholder proposals to make it onto company proxy ballots, according to an April 23 report from the Business Roundtable.“The current state of the proxy process is unsustainable,” the advocacy group comprising more than 200 CEOs said in its report. “Companies are being forced to divert significant resources and attention toward responding to a flood of ideology-driven shareholder proposals — resources that would be better spent driving long-term value creation. These escalating costs ultimately fall on shareholders, yet there is little evidence that such proposals yield meaningful economic benefits.”Median US CEO pay hits record $16.8 million on soaring stock awardsMedian pay among top U.S. CEOs rose 7.5% to a record $16.8 million for 2024, a new study found, as big stock grants boosted leaders' reported earnings well beyond the pay received by U.S. workers. Study looked at 320 companies in the S&P 500 with pay data filed so far this yearESG Pope has died: Pope Francis Pushed ESG. How the Church's Investments Did.The Vatican's investments are generating a profit, perhaps from a renewed focus—led by the late pontiff—on social values aligned with the Catholic Church. Francis died on Monday at age 88 after a long health crisis.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Subaru Is Bringing Back Physical Knobs and Buttons in Its Cars MM DRDR: Twinkies' New Owner Courts a Novel Group of Snackers: StonersMM: Tesla whistleblower wins legal battle against Elon MuskAssholiest of the Week (MM):OpenAI DRWhen asked to generate assholes of the week, ChatGPT suggested as the FIRST ASSHOLE: OpenAI's “Safety Is Optional” StrategyLaunched GPT-4.1 with zero safety report—claiming it's not “frontier.”Updated its Preparedness Framework to say it might lower safety standards if rivals do.Former staff filed an amicus brief supporting Elon Musk's lawsuit, saying for-profit incentives undermine safety.Also stopped safety testing of fine-tuned models unless released openly.This is tech's version of “if the other kids jumped off a bridge...”In 2025… OpenAI updated its safety framework—but no longer sees mass manipulation and disinformation as a critical riskNot to be outdone by other college dropout middle school losers, OpenAI considering its own social network to compete with Elon Musk's XIt's not OpenAI, it's Sam Altman, college dropoutRemember when they had a board?Blaming ChinaElon Musk worries Chinese companies will fill out the world's top 10 robot makers—but claims Tesla is, and will stay, No. 1Google says DOJ's proposal for breakup would harm U.S. in 'global race with China'Trade war woes: Boeing stock sinks after China reportedly blocks plane deliveriesWispy stache middle school manflakes who are going to MAKE you like them, whether you want to or notDamion will rate whether these headlines make him finally like the techbro manflakes:Elon Musk Reportedly Sends DMs on Twitter Offering Women the Chance to Have His BabiesTesla really wants the Cybertruck to be a working man's truckElon 'rattled' as he's brutally trolled in gaming livestream from private jetHuge Number of People Who Used to Like Elon Musk Now Detest Him, Polling ShowsSomeone Is Hacking Crosswalk Buttons to Speak in the Voice of Elon Musk Lamenting the Terrible Sadness in His LifeMeta co-sponsors White House Easter Egg Roll amid blockbuster antitrust trialTrump lashes out at British hedge fund for betting against Truth SocialTrump Media wants the SEC to investigate a hedge fund that has a $105 million short on the companyJokes on you, LuigiUnitedHealth stock craters as CEO calls disappointing results 'unusual and unacceptable' (he blamed the Biden administration)UnitedHealth CEO's pay jumps 12% to $26.3M as company revenue hits record $400BUnitedHealth spent $1.7 million on executive securityRewriting historyI literally hate this: How Did Elon Musk Make His Money?“Many people would have simply taken this larger-than-life fortune and retired, but not Musk. Instead, he invested $100 million to start SpaceX, $70 million to found Tesla and $10 million in SolarCity.”HE DID NOT FOUND ITTesla was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc TarpenningThey built the first roadster and got fundedMusk INVESTED in Tesla in the Series A and became chair of the boardMusk didn't actually run the company - until he appointed himself CEO in 2007, four years after he initially invested and after he raised a lot of money for themMusk kicked out the actual founderEberhard actually SUED Musk because Musk refused, like a big fucking diaper baby, to acknowledge that Eberhard founded the companyEberhard actually built the first mobile charging devices for Teslas, tooThat's how he works - Musk raises money from friends and lies about what he actually does - he's a big fat fraud, just like with video gamesHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Priscilla Chan's tuition-free school that championed DEI is closing after 10 yearsIn a statement on its website, the Primary School didn't indicate why it was closing its East Bay and East Palo Alto locations at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year and said only that it was a "very difficult decision" that came "after much deliberation."DR: Ralph Lauren's CEO says sometimes employees need to be ‘hit by a 2×4 across the forehead' to get important feedback to sink in: Patrice Louvet DR MMMM: Facebook Pushes Its Llama 4 AI Model to the Right, Wants to Present “Both Sides”Isn't this just saying “we wish the people we stole from to make the model were more conservative, so we'll just make it more that way”? Like, Zuck just doesn't like actual people?MM: Zuckerberg Encourages Theatergoers to Use Their Phones While Movie Is PlayingWho Won the Week?DR: Stoners: 4/20, Twinkies, and physical nobs in SubarusMM: Hall monitors - Roblox CEO says he wants to protect your kids — but you're going to need to pitch in, too.PredictionsDR: Business Roundtable urges SEC to adopt annual meeting rule requiring investors to memorize a unique 40-digit PIN that gains them entry into the meeting roomMM: Meta's oversight board rebukes company over policy overhaul - Meta said it will respond to oversight board's distress about community notes and policy shifts in 60 days. The prediction: Meta's response will be to shut down the oversight board. OVERSIGHT IS SO 2019.

Tech Bro NonsenseFormer Google CEO Tells Congress That 99 Percent of All Electricity Will Be Used to Power Superintelligent AIbillionaire tech tycoon and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt comments to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce: "What we need from you is we need the energy in all forms, renewable, non-renewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly.""Many people project demand for our industry will go from 3 percent to 99 percent of total generation... an additional 29 gigawatts by 2027 and 67 more gigawatts by 2030. If [China] comes to superintelligence first, it changes the dynamic of power globally, in ways that we have no way of understanding or predicting.”Meta Says It's Okay to Feed Copyrighted Books Into Its AI Model Because They Have No "Economic Value"In the ongoing suit Richard Kadrey et al v. Meta Platforms, led by a group of authors including Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer and National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company has argued that its alleged scraping of over seven million books from the pirated library LibGen constituted "fair use" of the material, and was therefore not illegal.Meta's attorneys are also arguing that the countless books that the company used to train its multibillion-dollar language models and springboard itself into the headspinningly buzzy AI race are actually worthless. Meta cited an expert witness who downplayed the books' individual importance, averring that a single book adjusted its LLM's performance "by less than 0.06 percent on industry standard benchmarks, a meaningless change no different from noise." Thus there's no market in paying authors to use their copyrighted works, Meta says, because "for there to be a market, there must be something of value to exchange," as quoted by Vanity Fair — "but none of [the authors'] works has economic value, individually, as training data." Other communications showed that Meta employees stripped the copyright pages from the downloaded books.Tellingly, the unofficial policy seems to be to not speak about it at all: "In no case would we disclose publicly that we had trained on LibGen, however there is practical risk external parties could deduce our use of this dataset," an internal Meta slide deck read. The deck noted that "if there is media coverage suggesting we have used a dataset we know to be pirated, such as LibGen, this may undermine our negotiating position with regulators on these issues."Lauren Sánchez in Space Was Marie Antoinette in a Penis-Shaped RocketKaty Perry Boasts About Ridiculous Rocket Launch While NASA Is Scrubbing History of Women in Space“It's about a collective energy and making space for future women. It's about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth.”Last month, the Orlando Sentinel first reported, NASA scrubbed language from a webpage about the agency's Artemis missions declaring that a goal of the mission was to put the first woman and first person of color on the Moon; just a few days later, NASA Watch reported that comic books imagining the first woman on the Moon had been deleted from NASA's website.A webpage for "Women at NASA" is still standing, but pictures of women and people of color — astronauts, engineers, scientists — have reportedly been removed from NASA's real-world hallways amid the so-called "DEI" purge. Per Scientific American, the word "inclusion" has been removed as one of NASA's core pillars. And as 404 Media reported in February, NASA personnel were directed to remove mentions of women in leadership positions from its website.OpenAI NonsenseOpenAI Is Secretly Building a Social NetworkOpenAI has been secretly building its own social media platform, which The Verge reports is intended to resemble X-formerly-Twitter — the social media middleweight owned by CEO Sam Altman's arch-nemesis, Elon MuskOpenAI updated its safety framework—but no longer sees mass manipulation and disinformation as a critical riskOpenAI said it will stop assessing its AI models prior to releasing them for the risk that they could persuade or manipulate people, possibly helping to swing elections or create highly effective propaganda campaigns.The company said it would now address those risks through its terms of service, restricting the use of its AI models in political campaigns and lobbying, and monitoring how people are using the models once they are released for signs of violations.OpenAI also said it would consider releasing AI models that it judged to be “high risk” as long as it has taken appropriate steps to reduce those dangers—and would even consider releasing a model that presented what it called “critical risk” if a rival AI lab had already released a similar model. Previously, OpenAI had said it would not release any AI model that presented more than a “medium risk.”Saying 'please' and 'thank you' to ChatGPT costs OpenAI millions, Sam Altman saysBeing nice to your AI chatbot requires computational power that raises electricity and water costsAltman responded to a user on X (formerly Twitter) who asked how much the company has lost in electricity costs from people being polite to their models: “Tens of millions of dollars well spent — you never know,” the CEO wrote.AI models rely heavily on energy stored in global data centers — which already accounts for about 2% of the global electricity consumption. Polite responses also add to OpenAI's water bill. AI uses water to cool the servers that generate the data. A study from the University of California, Riverside, said that using GPT-4 to generate 100 words consumes up to three bottles of water — and even a three-word response such as “You are welcome” uses about 1.5 ounces of water.Antitrust NonsenseTrump DOJ's plan to restructure Google hurts consumers, national security, says exec: 'Wildly overbroad'Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs: "We're very concerned about DOJ's proposal. We think it would hurt American consumers, our economy, our tech leadership, even national security. The proposed reform from DOJ "would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America's global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it's needed most."8 revelations from Mark Zuckerberg's 3 days on the witness stand in Meta's antitrust trialThe FTC alleges Meta "helped cement" its illegal monopoly in the social media market with its acquisition of Instagram and the messaging app WhatsApp more than a decade ago.8 revelations:Antitrust worries surfaced years agoTwo years before the FTC initially sued Meta over allegations that it violated US competition laws, Zuckerberg considered breaking Instagram out into its own company to avoid potential antitrust scrutiny, according to a 2018 internal email revealed by the government at trial."I wonder if we should consider the extreme step of spinning Instagram out as a separate company," Zuckerberg wrote in the email to company executives. "As calls to break up the big tech companies grow, there is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5-10 years anyway." If a break up were to happen, Zuckerberg wrote, history showed that companies could end up better off.Asked about this view at trial, Zuckerberg said, "I'm not sure exactly what I had in mind then."A 'crazy idea' to boost Facebook's relevanceZuckerberg's "crazy idea" for Facebook in 2022 involved purging all users' friends. The CEO — fearful that Facebook was losing cultural relevance — made the proposal in a 2022 email to the social network's top brass."Option 1. Double down on Friending," Zuckerberg wrote in the message. "One potentially crazy idea is to consider wiping everyone's graphs and having them start again."Sheryl Sandberg wanted to play Settlers of CatanZuckerberg once offered to give Sheryl Sandberg, the former COO of Meta, a tutorial in the board game Settlers of Catan.The lesson offer came up in 2012 messages in which the two discussed the fresh $1 billion purchase of Instagram, partially redacted missives presented by the FTC during Zuckerberg's testimony showed."We would love it. I want to learn Settlers of Catan too so we can play," Sandberg told Zuckerberg in the message. He responded: "I can definitely teach you Settlers of Catan. It's very easy to learn."Meta's rivalry with TikTok has only just begunDuring his testimony, Zuckerberg hammered home Meta's argument that the tech giant faces massive competition from other apps, especially TikTok."TikTok is still bigger than either Facebook or Instagram," Zuckerberg testified. "I don't like it when our competitors do better than us. You can sort of bet that I'm not going to rest until we are doing quite a bit better than we are doing now.”Facebook Camera app struggles were a source of worryInstagram's early rise shook Zuckerberg. As his company struggled to mount its response with the Facebook Camera app, the CEO began to lose his patience."What is going on with our photos team?" Zuckerberg wrote in a 2011 message to top executives, as revealed by the FTC in court. Zuckerberg then described a number of individuals, whose names were redacted, as being "checked out." He added another person didn't want "to work with this team because he thinks this team sucks."In May 2012, Facebook launched a photo-sharing app called Facebook Camera, which aims to make it simpler for the social network's users to upload and browse photos on smartphones. Only weeks after Facebook spent $1 billion on a similar photo-sharing app called Instagram. Zuckerberg tried to buy Snapchat for $6 billionZuckerberg's failed bid to buy Snapchat was highlighted by the government to bolster its argument that Meta sought to maintain its dominance in the social media market through acquisitions rather than competition.Facebook isn't really for friends anymoreWhile under questioning by the FTC, Zuckerberg said that Facebook had greatly evolved since he launched the platform more than 20 years ago and that its main purpose wasn't really to connect with friends anymore.The FTC argues that Meta monopolizes the market for "personal social networking services.""The friend part has gone down quite a bit," Zuckerberg testified. He said the Facebook feed has "turned into more of a broad discovery and entertainment space."Not impressed by WhatsApp cofounderZuckerberg wasn't too impressed with one of WhatsApp's cofounders after a 2012 meeting he had with company leadership."I found him fairly impressive although disappointingly (or maybe positive for us) unambitious," Zuckerberg wrote in an email to colleagues after the meeting, it was revealed at trial.Jan Koum and Brian Acton cofounded WhatsApp in 2009. Zuckerberg said in his testimony that he thinks he was referring to Koum. Asked about his email, Zuckerberg seemed uneasy. He said that Koum was clearly smart but that he and Acton were staunchly opposed to growing their messaging app enough to be a real threat to Facebook. Zuckerberg would go on to buy WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion.Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms adds former Trump advisor to the board days before an antitrust showdown with the FTCMeta Platforms is further boosting its lineup of heavy hitters with the additions of Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and Dina Powell McCormick to the mix. Powell McCormick was the former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump during his first term. Married to Republican Senator Dave McCormick, former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge fundsStakeholder/shareholder activism NonsenseBP suffers investor rebellion at first AGM since climate strategy U-turnBP suffered an investor rebellion on Thursday after facing shareholders for the first time since abandoning its climate strategy at a meeting marred by protest.About a quarter of shareholders (24.3%) voted against the chair, Helge Lund, which marked the first time in at least a decade that more than 10% of BP's shareholders voted against the re-election of the chair.The outgoing chair told shareholders that the company had “pursued too much while looking to build new low-carbon businesses” but that “lessons have been learned”.BP's CEO Murray Auchincloss (2.7% against), repeated his previous claim that BP's optimism in the global green energy transition was “misplaced”, and that the board's “one simple goal” was to “grow the long-term value of your investment”.Mark Van Baal, the founder of the green activist investor group Follow This, said shareholders had “made it clear that weakening climate commitments is unacceptable”. He added: “This historical result serves as a wake-up call to BP's board and emphasises investor expectation for robust governance mechanisms and genuine leadership on ESG issues.”Starbucks CEO faces major backlash after details of his work routine are revealed: 'Ill-conceived decision'A press release from the National Center for Public Policy Research reported on the hypocrisy of Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol's transportation practices when considering the company's public commitment to eco-friendly practices.Niccol travels regularly from his home in Newport Beach, California, to Starbucks' headquarters in Seattle, Washington, via private jet. Each 2,000-mile round-trip commute releases nearly nine tons of carbon dioxide.The National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterprise Project's director Stefan Padfield pointed out the discrepancy of policy and practice during his presentation of Proposal 8 requesting an annual report on emissions congruency. He noted that each round trip made by Niccol "is roughly the annual energy-consumption footprint of the typical American household."This analogy paints a vivid picture of the hypocrisy between Starbucks' public environmental commitments and the practices of the CEO. Gaps are apparent. Target CEO Cornell meets with Sharpton to discuss DEI rollback as civil rights leader considers boycottCEO Brian Cornell met with the Rev. Al Sharpton in New York on Thursday as the retailer faces calls for a boycott and a slowdown in foot traffic that began after it walked back key diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the civil rights leader told CNBC Wednesday.The meeting, which Target asked for, comes after some civil rights groups urged consumers not to shop at Target in response to the retailer's decision to cut back on DEI. While Sharpton has not yet called for a boycott of Target, he has supported efforts from others to stop shopping at the retailer's stores.“You can't have an election come and all of a sudden, change your old positions,” Sharpton told CNBC in a Wednesday interview ahead of the meeting. “If an election determines your commitment to fairness then fine, you have a right to withdraw from us, but then we have a right to withdraw from you.”IBM Informs Staff of DEI Retreat as Trump-Era Scrutiny GrowsEmployees were told of the changes earlier this week, in a memo that cited “inherent tensions in practicing inclusion.” Legal considerations and shifting attitudes to DEI were among the factors for the company. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna discussed the changes in his monthly video update to employees Thursday.Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck said he first contacted the company in February to question its policies. IBM confirmed it discussed its changes with Starbuck.The company (-10% gender influence gap) also disbanded a diversity council that represents the views of employee groups as part of its reevaluation.Exxon Faces No Shareholder Proposals for First Time in 25 YearsThe absence of requests in Exxon's proxy statement comes a year after the company sued two climate-focused investors to remove what it described as their “extreme agenda.” It also tracks with the US Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to back guidelines that make it easier for corporations to block votes on shareholder resolutions at their annual meetings.Exxon said in a statement late Monday that it received only one proposal this year and the SEC agreed it should be discarded because “it tried to micromanage the company.”Occidental Petroleum Corp., Valero Energy Corp. and Dow Inc. are other companies with no shareholder proposals up for vote at this year's annual meetings.Exxon said this year marks “the first time in recent history that our proxy includes zero proposals from activists.” It was just four years ago that a small fund scored a victory over Exxon, placing three directors on the company's board.Climate activist shareholder group Follow This pauses big oil campaignClimate activist shareholder group Follow This said on Thursday a lack of investor appetite has forced it to suspend its nearly decade-long campaign seeking stronger commitments from major oil and gas producers to emission cutsHarley-Davidson slams activist investor, saying its campaign is messing up its CEO searchIn early April, H Partners' Jared Dourdeville, who had been a Harley director since 2022, abruptly resigned from the board, saying among other things that Harley had “cultural depletion” because of its work-from-home policies and the exit of several senior leaders. And that was not his only point of contention with the rest of the board.Investment firm H Partners, a major investor with 9.1% of Harley's shares, in an open letter filed on Wednesday, urged fellow shareholders to remove three longtime directors from Harley's eight-member board at its annual meeting in mid-May by withholding votes for them. H Partners said the board had not held Harley CEO Jochen Zeitz accountable for what it called his repeated “strategic execution failures” and “severe underperformance.”CEO/Chair Zeitz (2007, 30%)Lead DIrector Norman Thomas Linebarger (2008, 13%)Sara Levinson (1996, 20%)"We believe Mr. Zeitz, Mr. Linebarger, and Ms. Levinson should be held accountable for the destruction of shareholder value,"Harley's bylaws stipulate that directors who win less than 50% of votes in an election must tender their resignations.Harley announced last week that Zeitz, CEO since 2020 and board member for 18 years, would resign but stay in his role until a successor is found. H Partners wants him out now.That followed a letter issued a day earlier by Harley-Davidson, which accused H Partners of “publicly campaigning” against it and saying that those efforts are also “adversely impacting the CEO search process and ongoing execution of the Hardwire strategic plan,” referring to a turnaround plan it launched in 2021.Harley said that it began a CEO search late last year after Zeitz expressed interest in retiring and has interviewed three potential CEOs, including one supported by Dourdeville, but declined to offer any the job. The company has also said that Dourdeville had cast only one vote against the majority during his time as a director and that as recently as November 2024 he had expressed support for Zeitz.Harley-Davidson faces board fight from H Partners amid calls for CEO to exit soon

Sam Altman says Miyazaki should get over it, AI vs A1, and Zuck testifies

Adverbs are bad, tariffs are bigly, Enron's desk gets pardoned, cybertruck flipoff metrics

CEO chokes, Trump's tariff penguins, ESG needs a spine, chicken nuggets, and Starbuck at Heritage

France is for DEI, Primark CEO #MeToo, Tesla rage, Fink's new-old letter, and Bill Burr needs a job at ISS