Podcasts about shareholders

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.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.comPlease do not share, copy, reproduce or distribute any part of this report without my express permission. Thank you.Many thanks to all the new subscribers who have joined this week, both paid and unpaid. I put this video of my recent North Sea Oil piece up on YouTube, X et al and it generated something of a flurry.So welcome. I hope you both enjoy and benefit from The Flying Frisby.Before we get started I just wanted to note that Comstock Lode seems to be catching a nice tail wind, which is good. Enjoy the ride. The AGM is later today for the keener of you out there.But we are looking at bitcoin today, and exploring an alternative way to invest in it.I'm going through one of those phases where I feel like I don't own enough bitcoin.So I've bought more.And I've bought it in my SIPP - UK-speak for my retirement account.I'll explain how in a second.Let's just have a quick look at the bitcoin price, and note that we are once again breaking out to new highs.I know it feels like you are late to the bitcoin story, and yes we all wish we bought it at $10, when we first heard about it. But we didn't. We are where we are, and this story is a long way from being over.The next chapter in the odyssey is corporate adoption, and that story is just getting started.I explained the bitcoin corporate treasury model a fortnight ago here, and I've made the article freely available to all, so please take a look, but the TLDR is this.Following a template set by billionaire genius Michael Saylor, more and more companies are converting their treasuries to bitcoin as a means to store value and escape currency debasement. Not only that, they are issuing paper—stock, debt, convertible notes—and using the capital raised to buy more bitcoin. In effect, they are creating fiat money from nothing—it is a debt-based system, after all—and using it to buy a finite digital resource (one that, of course, cannot be created through debt).Many are scratching their heads and saying, “How can this be? It's not possible! It's a bubble.”What Saylor is actually doing, among other things, is exposing the flaws of debt-based fiat currency. There are now some 70 companies employing this strategy. This will eventually be a stampede, which I urge you to front-run. Corporations have much deeper pockets than private investors, meaning this latest cycle in bitcoin's mass adoption could become a mega mania.Shareholders welcome dilution if it means more bitcoin. The problem of corporate dilution has been flipped on its head. Once, if a company issued 20% more stock, you would expect the stock to fall by a concomitant amount to reflect the dilution. But if you're using paper to buy bitcoin, the reverse applies. You can't dilute enough. The purpose of a bitcoin treasury company is to acquire as much bitcoin as possible on behalf of all shareholders, by whatever means.Here is a case in point.Japanese hotel company Metaplanet (3350:TYO) had a small chain of low-budget hotels across Southeast Asia. Covid decimated the business, and it never fully recovered.A year ago, seeking a new direction, CEO Simon Gerovich began copying the Saylor model and started using his cash flow to buy bitcoin, then he began issuing debt. Since spring 2024, when the company began its strategy, the stock has risen thousands of percent from below ¥20 to north of ¥1,000. Last year, it was one of the best-performing companies in the world, if not the best. How about this for a chart?In the time that bitcoin has risen 60%, Metaplanet has risen more than 7,000%. (Saylor's Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) has also outperformed bitcoin. Bitcoin treasury companies give you gearing).With its crap currency and suppressed bond yields, bitcoin is an obvious place for Japanese investors to put their capital, except the government has got in the way.As with the UK, dumb regulations make it very hard for Japanese investors to buy bitcoin directly. (This came as a result of Mt. Gox, the first bitcoin exchange, which went bust after being hacked in 2013-14). To give you an idea how ponderous things are, to register with a bitcoin exchange in Japan , regulators demand you get a letter by snail mail to verify your address. Nuts.What's more, when the Japanese sell, they must pay capital gains tax at 55%.But Metaplanet is a Tokyo-listed company, so investors are buying that instead in their retirement accounts and via their brokers. Far less hassle. Just as, back in 2023, I urged UK readers to buy Strategy as a way to play bitcoin (we are up around 1,000%), Metaplanet has become Japan's bitcoin vehicle—indeed, much of Asia's.For several days in a row, the company has gone limit-up, and trading has been halted. The mother of all short squeezes seems to be taking place. It's the most shorted stock in all of Japan - and the short sellers are struggling to cover.This bubble has, quite literally, been caused by state regulation. We wouldn't be in this situation if it was easy to buy bitcoin. It's enough to make you a libertarian. It's amazing that both Japan and the UK were at the vanguard in bitcoin's early days. Satoshi Nakamoto had a Japanese name and used British English. Now we are both retarded (in both the old sense of the word and the new).How to profit from the maniaIn the UK, Avis-listed The Smarter Web Company (ISIN: GB00BPJHZ015) is now following suit, as several readers have pointed out to me (thank you). It's gone from 5p to 45p in a month. Currently, The Smarter Web Company has a market cap of £72 million, while it holds only £3 million in bitcoin (rounded numbers). Insane, you might think. Probably.Bitcoin Treasury Companies are outperforming bitcoin. They are the new sh*tcoins. So which bitcoin treasury company have I gone for?Here is how I am playing all this.

Marco Rubio is the Surprise of the Trump Cabinet, Destroys Senate Democrats on Capitol HillLive show Monday-Thursday, 3pm est. SOCIALS: https://linktr.ee/drewberquist NEWS: https://DrewBerquist.com MERCH: https://RedBeachNation.com#DrewBerquist #ThisIsMyShow #TIMSTop 100 Political News Podcast with https://www.millionpodcasts.com/political-news-podcasts/Show Notes/Links:Israel may strike Iran nuclear facilityhttps://x.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1924951110508269585Biden spokesperson: "Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer." https://x.com/Breaking911/status/1924932114270589419CNN's Jake Tapper says Hunter Biden "was driving the decision-making for the family."https://x.com/Breaking911/status/1924946954238275932Megyn Kelly calls out Tapper for selling books about Biden's decline after he himself was helping the coverup https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1924894658640961889Tapper: Legacy media, including me, need to do some soul searchinghttps://x.com/Breaking911/status/1924898437570458000Marco Rubio slams Van Hollen in hearinghttps://x.com/greg_price11/status/1924871947738902645Rubio slays Tim Kaine, insuates his remarks are racisthttps://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1924875541393637698Elon Musk dejected in interview, says he will do far less political spendinghttps://x.com/matt_vanswol/status/1925132135741989356RFK Jr. torches Senator Murray during hearing over American healthhttps://x.com/Breaking911/status/1924901339168940362

On this week's episode of the Shareholders the guys are back! they discuss topics from the last couple of weeks, the Woke Report with Junior, the stock, and take the Chimney Oaks Golf Club Mailbag from the Middle!

Craig talks about pranks, cat troubles, and saving for your future.Get your tickets now for The Woopsie Daisy Tour! - https://punchup.live/craigconantFollow Craig!TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@craigpconant/IG - https://instagram.com/craigpconant/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/craigpconant/Merch - https://craigconantstore.com/Check out these songs:Killer Mike - Reagan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lIqNjC1RKURun The Jewels - Report to the Shareholders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0byaqVaXoSmall Business Plugs: Need a natural, holistic facial or some Ayurvedic healing?Contact Cynthia at Ritual Skin and Soul:https://instagram.com/livecynplyayurveda/https://instagram.com/ritualskinandsoul/Check out Brian Johnson's Art!He did the 3 Skeletons Skateboards + The New Podcast Studio:https://www.instagram.com/brianjohnsonstudios/Kettlebells South Bay - https://www.instagram.com/kettlebellssouthbay/PV Coin Exchange - https://palosverdescoinexchange.com/Deadlight Visions Graphic Design - https://instagram.com/deadlightvisions/Donny Honcho's Healthy Pet Products - https://linktr.ee/localdogdaddySwank Hank's Handmade EDC - https://swankhanks.com/Glitch Pudding, Acrylic Artist - https://instagram.com/glitchpudding/Hoobs Glass Art - https://www.hoobsglass.net/Craig's Holistic Doctors:Dr. Jay - https://www.instagram.com/100yearsjay/PBC Health - https://www.instagram.com/pbchealthwellness/Robert Kiyosaki - Liabilities to Assets - https://youtube.com/watch?v=A8vD_XO0vUUHealing affirmations:Emmet Fox - Prayer Is Not A Way Of Asking, But Of Receiving - https://youtu.be/Tf4yVNtMOgw?si=fQGIg-SGgbF8nBuSLouise Hay - https://youtu.be/lz16YqpWkz4Wayne Dyer - https://youtu.be/44ImQV46lF4Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life - https://youtube.com/watch?v=14JxE7i0EPcLouise Hay Sleep Meditation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz8bHR4o7E0Craig's favorite healers:Esther Hicks (AKA Abraham Hicks)Joe DispenzaBruce LiptonDr. SebiAlso shout out to these light workers giving out that lost knowledge:Dr. Delbert BlairDolores CannonSantos Bonnaci

In this episode, Clay and Kyle reflect on their weekend at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha and play a few of their favorite clips from the Q&A session with Warren Buffett, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:16 - Our thoughts on Buffett's announced retirement of CEO at Berkshire Hathaway. 07:07 - How Warren Buffett and Greg Abel's management style might differ as CEO. 20:03 - Why Buffett seeks to surround himself with wonderful people. 35:03 - How Buffett and Abel balance patience with acting quickly and opportunitistically. 49:31 - How Buffett and Abel view Berkshire's investments in Japan. 01:06:05 - The most important factor to consider when investing in emerging markets. 01:10:44 - Berkshire's recent investment activity and Buffett's thoughts on today's market. And so much more!  Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join Clay and a select group of passionate value investors for a retreat in Big Sky, Montana. Learn more ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Join the exclusive ⁠⁠TIP Mastermind Community⁠⁠ to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Watch the full shareholders meeting here. Related Episode: TIP629: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting 2024 w/ Clay Finck & Kyle Grieve. Related Episode: TIP551: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting 2023 w/ Clay Finck. Related Episode: TIP446: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting 2022 w/ Stig Brodersen & Trey Lockerbie. Follow Kyle on X and LinkedIn.  Follow Clay on X and LinkedIn.  Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our ⁠⁠Premium Feed⁠⁠. NEW TO THE SHOW? Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, ⁠⁠The Intrinsic Value Newsletter⁠⁠. Check out our ⁠⁠We Study Billionaires Starter Packs⁠⁠. Follow our official social media accounts: ⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: ⁠⁠TIP Finance Tool⁠⁠. Enjoy exclusive perks from our ⁠⁠favorite Apps and Services⁠⁠. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the ⁠⁠best business podcasts⁠⁠. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠⁠sponsors⁠⁠: ⁠SimpleMining⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Hardblock⁠⁠ ⁠⁠AnchorWatch⁠⁠ ⁠⁠DeleteMe⁠⁠ ⁠⁠CFI Education⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Vanta⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Indeed⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Shopify⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Vanta⁠⁠ ⁠⁠The Bitcoin Way⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Onramp⁠ HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a ⁠⁠rating and review⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! ⁠⁠https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Act Now! Spin-Out is 21 May 2025 Riverside Resources: TSX.V: RRI | OTCQB: RVSDF Website: https://rivres.com/ Communications Team 778-327-6671 Email info@rivres.com Register for the Rule Symposium Here: https://registration.allintheloop.net/register/event/rick-rule-symposium-2025-ccha?via=ProvenAndProbable Share this video: https://youtu.be/PrYeRon0cj0 WEBSITE: https://provenandprobable.com/

There it is. Disney admitted to shareholders that both Snow White and Captain America: Brave New World were box office flops that wiped out gains from hit movies like Moana 2. It's literally in their earnings report. Then we talk about the Disney CFO bending the knee to The Orange One in light of the Hollywood tariffs. Watch this podcast episode on YouTube and all major podcast hosts including Spotify. CLOWNFISH TV is an independent, opinionated news and commentary podcast that covers Entertainment and Tech from a consumer's point of view. We talk about Gaming, Comics, Anime, TV, Movies, Animation and more. Hosted by Kneon and Geeky Sparkles. D/REZZED News covers Pixels, Pop Culture, and the Paranormal! We're an independent, opinionated entertainment news blog covering Video Games, Tech, Comics, Movies, Anime, High Strangeness, and more. As part of Clownfish TV, we strive to be balanced, based, and apolitical. Get more news, views and reviews on Clownfish TV News - https://news.clownfishtv.com/ On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ClownfishTV On Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4Tu83D1NcCmh7K1zHIedvg On Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clownfish-tv-audio-edition/id1726838629

India Gears Up for Worst-Case Scenarios As Indo-Pak tensions soar post the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, India's Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered nationwide civil defence mock drills on May 7. These include air raid sirens, crash blackouts, evacuation rehearsals, and camouflaging critical infrastructure—measures not seen at this scale since the Kargil conflict. The drills follow India's sweeping diplomatic retaliation: suspension of visas for Pakistani nationals, revocation of the Indus Waters Treaty, sealing the Attari border, and banning Pakistan Airlines. Pakistan hit back by halting all trade and closing its airspace. PM Modi has granted the military full operational freedom to respond. As cross-border ceasefire violations stretch into their 10th day, India is clearly preparing for all possibilities. Cyber Frontline: Hackers Hit Indian Defence SitesA digital war is brewing alongside border tensions. Pakistani hacker groups have claimed to breach key Indian defence-linked websites, including the Military Engineer Services and Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses—claims the institute denies. One group alleged access to 10GB of user data. Meanwhile, defacement attempts were made on websites like Armoured Vehicle Nigam and Army Public Schools. Another group, Internet of Khilafah, targeted welfare platforms for ex-servicemen. While cybersecurity teams have foiled most attacks, these waves of digital aggression are adding another layer to the Indo-Pak crisis. Union Territories Join Centre's Capex Push Starting FY26, India's Union Territories (UTs) will finally be eligible for the Centre's 50-year, interest-free capital expenditure loan scheme—originally introduced post-pandemic for states only. With ₹1.5 trillion allocated for FY26, 60% of funds will go toward infrastructure, while 40% will be linked to reforms. UTs like Puducherry and Delhi can now tap into this pool to fund critical projects. States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh already top the borrowing list under this scheme. Economists say the move aims to spur public investment and balance development across regions amid slow private capital inflow. Taj Hotels Bets Big on India's Travel Boom Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), owner of the iconic Taj brand, is doubling down on India's tourism wave with a ₹1,200 crore investment plan for FY26. After a 53% jump in FY25 net profit to ₹2,038 crore, the company plans to open 30 new hotels, most under an asset-light model. TajSATS, its catering arm, added ₹716 crore to revenues. With rising demand from leisure, business, and MICE segments, IHCL is eyeing higher occupancy rates and room prices, forecasted to cross ₹10,000 by 2026. From legacy luxury to next-gen growth, IHCL is charting a bold path forward. Skechers to Go Private in $9.4 Billion Deal Footwear giant Skechers is being acquired by 3G Capital in a $9.4 billion all-cash deal, valuing shares at $63—a 30% premium. Shareholders can also choose $57 cash plus equity in a new private entity. The move comes as global shoemakers brace for US tariffs under President Trump's trade reset. Despite record revenues of $9 billion in 2024 and $640 million in earnings, Skechers hopes that going private will help it weather geopolitical headwinds, especially as China contributes 15% of its revenue. CEO Robert Greenberg and team will stay on, with headquarters remaining in California.

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored by CNBC's Jill Schneider.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports Warren Buffett shocks shareholders by announcing his intention to retire at the end of the year.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on Warren Buffett announcing his intention to retire at his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting Saturday.

The Australian share market has once again risen as the outlook on tariffs continued to improve, while Endeavour announces the former Virgin CEO as its next boss.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Real Leaders+ to gain access to these events when they happen live: https://real-leaders.com/subscribeEmployee ownership isn't just a trend—it's a powerful strategy to drive growth, build alignment, and leave a lasting legacy. Darin Anderson, Chairman & CEO of Salas O'Brien, shares the company's journey from single owner to closely held ownership, to an ESOP, and finally to a thriving direct ownership model with 90% employee participation. This session delivers actionable strategies to implement ownership models, engage teams, and create sustainable, employee-centric organizations that deliver exceptional results.Session Objectives:Underscore why employee-ownership is a valuable and beneficial model.Outline the key considerations and challenges of implementing employee ownership structures, including their impact on growth, culture, and financial performance.Explore effective communication strategies to align team members with the vision of ownership and build an ownership mindset.Share practical pathways for opening ownership opportunities to employees and fostering a sense of shared purpose.

AWS Morning Brief for the week of April 28th, with Corey Quinn. Links:Amazon CloudWatch agent now supports Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) Amazon Cognito now supports refresh token rotation Amazon Q Developer releases state-of-the-art agent for feature development AWS Account Management now supports IAM-based account name updates AWS CodeBuild adds support for specifying EC2 instance type and configurable storage size AWS Console Mobile Application adds support for Amazon Lightsail AWS STS global endpoint now serves your requests locally in Regions enabled by default AWS Transfer Family introduces Terraform module for deploying SFTP server endpoints How Smartsheet reduced latency and optimized costs in their serverless architecture In the works – New Availability Zone in Maryland for US East (Northern Virginia) Region CVE-2025-3857 – Infinite loop condition in Amazon.IonDotnet I annotated Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's 2024 Letter to Shareholders 

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Lynn Clarke, an experienced leader in family board governance who has served on more than a dozen family and private equity-backed boards including as an independent chair and lead director. Lynn is also a strategic advisor and mentor and has served on boards spanning from beverage and food services to e-commerce and manufacturing.  Lynn has mentored next generation board members and leaders throughout her career and  was named the Private Company Director of the Year by National Association of Corporate Directors in 2022. She also serves as one of three judges for Deloitte's best managed private company awards program.   Key Takeaways 1. Interviewing for a board role With years of experience serving on boards, Lynn advises aspiring board members to carry a passion for the business, its products and what the company does. It's important to understand why you want to serve on a board, what value you add and what new perspectives you believe you will bring. She advises to make these points clear when you are interviewing for a board seat.  2. New boards vs. existing boards Newly formed boards offer a unique opportunity to build the culture, rhythm, and structure of governance from the ground up, but its success is dependent on the principal shareholder(s), who will define the culture of the board and company. Shareholders set the tone. 3. Knowing when it's time to leave a board or offboard a member Having the self-awareness is key to knowing when it's time to leave. Lynn suggests asking yourself, “am I still a good fit?” and “do I like what I'm doing on this board?”, “Am I enjoying the discussions at the board meeting?”, “Do I feel as though I am contributing to the growth of the company?” If the answers are no, maybe you need to consider stepping out.  Offboarding a member is one of the challenging aspects of board governance, especially in close-knit or long-tenured groups. It requires direct but respectful conversations from the lead director, board chair, or governance chair.  Whether a board member is being asked to leave due to performance issues or company changes, Lynn recommends treating it like a celebration and acknowledgement of the person's service on the board, almost like a retirement.  4. Board evaluations make it easier to provide ongoing feedback Even private and early-stage boards benefit from formal assessments. Annual board effectiveness and peer evaluations help surface underlying issues in board dynamics and performance. Peer evaluations can be sensitive for company boards, so Lynn suggests introducing different types of evaluations in parts.  Quotes “ABARTA Coca-Cola was one of the first family-owned businesses I know to really think about independent governance. There were a majority of independent directors on a board, had a high quality strategic plan that is really a living, breathing document and a good family council or an ownership council. Those are the three things that take a business from Gen 1 or 2 into 3, 4, 5, 6, and beyond.”  ”I take my commitments to the companies and the families that I work with 100% seriously the same way that I did in running a company or working for a Fortune 50.  When you join a board, you are committed to that organization. You're a fiduciary. Why would you do this unless you really wanted to help make an impact, and the only way you can make an impact is to take what you do seriously.”   ”The first thing you need to think about when you've been approached about joining a board: can I really make a contribution? I also think passion for the business is really important, passion for the product, the service and what the company does is really important.” “ It's important when you're on a newly formed board to think about what you know from boards that have been around for a while, and how you apply those learnings to help support the formation and the development of the new board.” “Do I enjoy the conversations? Am I feeling like it's a good fit?” And no matter how many years you've been on the board “do you like what you're doing?"   Links Four Key Questions to Ask Yourself How to Be an Exceptional Director Board Refreshment — When Is It Time? getonaboard.com   Guest Bio Lynn has extensive experience in family board governance, having served on more than a dozen family and PE boards as Independent Chair/Lead/Director. She also is a Strategic Advisor & Mentor to Family Board Chairs for Vitamix and for a Coca-Cola Bottler. And Lynn has mentored next generation board members & leaders. Her industry experience spans CPG, beverage, food, food service, e-commerce, digital, retail, manufacturing,and supply. She currently serves as an Independent Director on several boards, including Vollrath Manufacturing, Just Born (the PEEPS company), Basic American Foods and Kalsec Global Flavors. As an executive at PepsiCo, Lynn gained expertise in corporate strategy, operations, manufacturing, brand strategy, marketing and sales. She was named The Private Company Director of the Year by the National Association of Corporate Directors in 2022. Lynn also serves as one of three judges for Deloitte's Best Managed Private Company program and frequently speaks and writes on effective family business governance.  

This week, we discuss Google being found to be a monopoly, OpenAI's “offer” to buy Chrome, and some hot takes on JSON. Plus, is it better to wait on hold or ask for a callback? Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhUxUPJv5g4) 516 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhUxUPJv5g4) Runner-up Titles Just Fine The SDT “Fine” Scale Callback Asynchronous Friendship I would love to get to know you better…over text Send you Jams to the dry cleaners. JSON Take it xslt-easy! Rundown OpenAI OpenAI in talks to pay about $3 billion to acquire AI coding startup Windsurf (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/openai-in-talks-to-pay-about-3-billion-to-acquire-startup-windsurf.html) The Cursor Mirage (https://artificialintelligencemadesimple.substack.com/p/the-cursor-mirage) AI is for Tinkerers (https://redmonk.com/kholterhoff/2023/06/27/ai-is-for-tinkerers/) Vibe Coding is for PMs (https://redmonk.com/rstephens/2025/04/18/vibe-coding-is-for-pms/) OpenAI releases new simulated reasoning models with full tool access (https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/04/openai-releases-new-simulated-reasoning-models-with-full-tool-access/) Clouded Judgement 4.18.25 - The Hidden Value in the AI Application Layer (https://cloudedjudgement.substack.com/p/clouded-judgement-41825-the-hidden?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=56878&post_id=161562220&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2l9&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email) OpenAI tells judge it would buy Chrome from Google (https://www.theverge.com/news/653882/openai-chrome-google-us-judge) The Creators of Model Context Protocol (https://www.latent.space/p/mcp?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) Judge finds Google holds illegal online ad tech monopolies (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/17/judge-finds-google-holds-illegal-online-ad-tech-monopolies.html) Intuit, Owner of TurboTax, Wins Battle Against America's Taxpayers (https://prospect.org/power/2025-04-17-intuit-turbotax-wins-battle-against-taxpayers-irs-direct-file/) Relevant to your Interests Switch 2 Carts Still Taste Bad, Designed Purposefully To Be Spat Out (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/switch-2-carts-still-taste-bad-designed-purposefully-to-be-spat-out/1100-6530649/) CEO Andy Jassy's 2024 Letter to Shareholders (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-2024-letter-to-shareholders) Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says AI costs will come down (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/10/amazon-ceo-andy-jassys-2025-shareholder-letter.html) Happy 18th Birthday CUDA! (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-2024-letter-to-shareholders) Honeycomb Acquires Grit: A Strategic Investment in Pragmatic AI and Customer Value (https://www.honeycomb.io/blog/honeycomb-acquires-grit) Everything Announced at Google Cloud Next in 12 Minutes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OpHbyN4vEM) GitLab vs GitHub : Key Differences in 2025 (https://spacelift.io/blog/gitlab-vs-github) Old Fashioned Function Keys (https://economistwritingeveryday.com/2025/04/11/old-fashioned-function-keys/) Fake job seekers are flooding U.S. companies that are hiring for remote positions, (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/08/fake-job-seekers-use-ai-to-interview-for-remote-jobs-tech-ceos-say.html) NetRise raises $10M to expand software supply chain security platform (https://siliconangle.com/2025/04/15/netrise-raises-10-million-expand-software-supply-chain-security-platform/) Mark Zuckerberg's antitrust testimony aired his wildest ideas from Meta's history (https://www.theverge.com/policy/649520/zuckerberg-meta-ftc-antitrust-testimony-facebook-history) How Much Should I Be Spending On Observability? (https://www.honeycomb.io/blog/how-much-should-i-spend-on-observability-pt1) Did we just make platform engineering much easier by shipping a cloud IDP? (https://seroter.com/2025/04/16/did-we-just-make-platform-engineering-much-easier-by-shipping-a-cloud-idp/) Google Cloud Next 2025: Agentic AI Stack, Multimodality, And Sovereignty (https://www.forrester.com/blogs/google-next-2025-agentic-ai-stack-multimodality-and-sovereignty/) iPhone Shipments Down 9% in China's Q1 Smartphone Boom (https://www.macrumors.com/2025/04/18/iphone-shipments-down-in-china-q1/) Exclusive: Anthropic warns fully AI employees are a year away (https://www.axios.com/2025/04/22/ai-anthropic-virtual-employees-security) Synology requires self-branded drives for some consumer NAS systems, drops full functionality and support for third-party HDDs (https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/nas/synology-requires-self-branded-drives-for-some-consumer-nas-systems-drops-full-functionality-and-support-for-third-party-hdds) Porting Tailscale to Plan 9 (https://tailscale.com/blog/plan9-port?ck_subscriber_id=512840665&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=[Last%20Week%20in%20AWS]%20Issue%20#418:%20Another%20New%20Capacity%20Dingus%20-%2017270009) CVE Foundation (https://www.thecvefoundation.org/) The Cursor Mirage (https://artificialintelligencemadesimple.substack.com/p/the-cursor-mirage) There's a Lot of Bad Telemetry Out There (https://blog.olly.garden/theres-a-lot-of-bad-telemetry-out-there) Gee Wiz (https://redmonk.com/rstephens/2025/04/04/gee-wiz/?ck_subscriber_id=512840665&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=[Last%20Week%20in%20AWS]%20Issue%20#418:%20Another%20New%20Capacity%20Dingus%20-%2017270009) Nonsense Silicon Valley crosswalk buttons hacked to imitate Musk, Zuckerberg's voices (https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/14/silicon-valley-crosswalk-buttons-hacked-to-imitate-musk-zuckerberg-voices/) A Visit to Costco in France (https://davidlebovitz.substack.com/p/a-visit-to-costco-in-france) No sweat: Humanoid robots run a Chinese half-marathon (https://apnews.com/article/china-robot-half-marathon-153c6823bd628625106ed26267874d21) Metre, a consistent measurement of the world (https://mappingignorance.org/2025/04/23/150-years-ago-the-metre-convention-determined-how-we-measure-the-world/) Conferences DevOps Days Atlanta (https://devopsdays.org/events/2025-atlanta/welcome/), April 29th-30th. KCD Texas Austin 2025 (https://community.cncf.io/events/details/cncf-kcd-texas-presents-kcd-texas-austin-2025/), May 15th, Whitney Lee Speaking. Cloud Foundry Day US (https://events.linuxfoundation.org/cloud-foundry-day-north-america/), May 14th, Palo Alto, CA, Coté speaking. Fr (https://vmwarereg.fig-street.com/051325-tanzu-workshop/)ee AI workshop (https://vmwarereg.fig-street.com/051325-tanzu-workshop/), May 13th. day before C (https://events.linuxfoundation.org/cloud-foundry-day-north-america/)loud (https://events.linuxfoundation.org/cloud-foundry-day-north-america/) (https://events.linuxfoundation.org/cloud-foundry-day-north-america/)Foundry (https://events.linuxfoundation.org/cloud-foundry-day-north-america/) Day (https://events.linuxfoundation.org/cloud-foundry-day-north-america/). NDC Oslo (https://ndcoslo.com/), May 21st-23th, Coté speaking. SDT News & Community Join our Slack community (https://softwaredefinedtalk.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-1hn55iv5d-UTfN7mVX1D9D5ExRt3ZJYQ#/shared-invite/email) Email the show: questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com) Free stickers: Email your address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com) Follow us on social media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com) Watch us on: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk) Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt) Sponsor the show (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads): ads@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:ads@softwaredefinedtalk.com) Recommendations Brandon: Dope Thief (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dope_thief) on Apple TV (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dope_thief) Coté: Check out the recording of the Tanzu Annual update (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1QZXzJcAfQ), all about Tanzu's private AI platform. Next, watch Coté's new MCP for D&D video (#4) figures out something cool to do with MCP Prompts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEtYBznneFg), they make sense now. And, a regret-a-mmendation: Fields Notes annual subscription (https://fieldnotesbrand.com/limited-editions). Photo Credits Header (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-telephone-sitting-on-top-of-a-wooden-shelf-2XnGRN_caHc)

Big changes could be coming for 7-Eleven. Walmart shareholders will vote on proposals related to the company's DEI efforts. And Albertsons sends a stern warning to suppliers regarding tariffs.

What's the difference between a bank and a credit union? More than you might think.At first glance, banks and credit unions can seem pretty similar as they both offer valuable financial services. But dig a little deeper, and you'll find that credit unions can be a powerful partner for managing money. Aaron Caid joins us to explain why.Aaron Caid is the Chief Marketing Officer at Christian Community Credit Union, an underwriter of Faith & Finance. A Different Kind of Financial InstitutionCredit unions stand apart from traditional banks because they are not-for-profit cooperatives owned by their members. That means the focus is on long-term member relationships, and service is preeminent.However, Christian Community Credit Union (CCCU) goes a step further. Their mission is rooted in striving to serve and love others like Christ. This distinctly faith-based approach transforms everyday banking into a form of ministry that seeks to honor God and expand His Kingdom.At Christian Community Credit Union (CCCU), they help members align their finances with their biblical worldview. That includes offering loans to build churches and support Christ-centered ministries, turning ordinary financial tools into extraordinary Kingdom-building instruments.Surprising Strength in Rates and ServicesMany people assume credit unions can't compete with traditional banks regarding rates, but that's a misconception. Because credit unions don't exist to make profits for shareholders, they can return those profits to our members through better rates and lower fees.Here's a snapshot of Christian Community Credit Union's (CCCU) current offerings:Harvest High-Yield Checking: 4% APY on balances up to $5,000 with no maintenance feesHarvest High-Yield Savings: 5% APY on the first $5,000Welcome CD: 4.5%–4.75% APY on 5- and 10-month termsCash Back Credit Card: 1.5% cash back and a donation to Christian causes with every swipeCCCU also offers vehicle loans, mortgages, and home equity lines of credit at competitive rates, digital banking, and 24/7 member support.Beyond rates and products, CCCU is also committed to spiritual growth through financial stewardship. They provide resources from trusted partners like FaithFi and Compass Financial Ministry to help our members grow in their financial discipleship.It's not just about managing money well—it's about managing money faithfully.Funding Ministry and Fueling the GospelOne of the most inspiring aspects of CCCU is its direct support of ministry work. CCCU specializes in ministry lending, and with over $1 billion in ministry loans funded, it understands what churches and ministries need.From property and equipment loans to operating accounts and reserve fund solutions, CCCU partners with ministries financially and missionarily.Plus, their giving program has donated more than $6.5 million to Christian causes. That includes ministries fighting human trafficking, protecting vulnerable children, providing disaster relief, and sharing the gospel worldwide.Becoming a Member is EasySo, how can you join?Membership is open to Christians and Christian ministries nationwide. You can become a member through your church, school, a partner ministry like Christian Alliance for Orphans, or even through a family member.With a streamlined online process, starting banking with your values is easier than ever. When your money is aligned with your faith, it does more than grow—it gives, serves, and multiplies for God's glory.To learn more or become a member, visit joinchristiancommunity.com.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I have a 401(k) at a place where I used to work about 15 years ago, at the University of North Chicago. It's about $15,000, and I have not been at that job for over 15 years. I want to know if it's a good idea to move it. Should I combine it with my current 401(k), or should I just leave it there?I have a stock in my portfolio that is losing between 40 and 47%. It has an F rating and is a large part of my portfolio. I want to sell it, but I want to know what to do with it after I sell it. I have it in Schwab, and I'm wondering if there's a better fund I could put it in since I have a lot sitting there.I'm contributing to an employer 457(b) plan. Those funds are going into a Roth plan, and I am contributing the maximum amount. I'm married and over 50. I'd like to know if I can also open a personal Roth IRA and a traditional Roth IRA.I would like to sell a piece of land, but I want to sell it to a developer, maybe someone who would be developing a spa, a hotel, or something similar. I want to know where I can go to access or look for developers who would be interested in purchasing my land.My husband and I didn't file taxes from 2016 to 2022, and sadly, he passed away recently. There are IRS notices with increased penalties and interest. Do I have to list the fact that there is a withholding on the IRS notices, even though I didn't have any income, and it was all his income?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's New Quarterly MagazineChristian Community Credit Union (CCCU)Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money (Pre-Order)Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) or Certified Christian Financial Counselor (CertCFC)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

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

The post Proxy Season 2025: How Shareholders Are Making an Impact Amid Political Pushback appeared first on AIO Financial - Fee Only Financial Advisors.

Proxy Season 2025: How Shareholders Are Making an Impact Amid Political Pushback At AIO Financial, we specialize in helping our clients align their investments with their values through socially responsible investing (SRI). We believe in the power of the individual investor—and there's no better example of that power than proxy season, when shareholders come together to hold corporations accountable. The 2025 Proxy Preview Report, developed by As You Sow, Proxy Impact, and Empower Venture Partners, underscores how shareholder advocacy remains one of the most powerful tools we have to influence corporate behavior—even in the face of increasing political and regulatory headwinds.

On today's episode, we're joined by Tom McNeill and Donald Kalfen, both Partners at Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC. They explore the strategic importance of engaging with shareholders on executive pay, highlighting best practices for proactive and reactive engagement.Key Takeaways: (03:46) Most large public companies engage with shareholders regularly, often well before proxy season.(06:06) Engagements often occur in late summer and fall when proxy advisors and shareholders are most receptive.(06:53) Ongoing dialogue with shareholders is crucial for building trust and addressing concerns proactively.(08:10) The compensation committee chair or a non-executive chair typically participates in engagements.(09:17) Proxy solicitors and investor relations teams play key roles in arranging discussions.(11:25) Robust proxy disclosure improves transparency, including details on the nature and outcomes of shareholder engagements.(13:00) Companies receiving less than 70% approval on say on pay votes should engage with shareholders to address concerns.(13:31) Companies must avoid disclosing material non-public information to individual shareholders during engagements.(15:22) Consult counsel and take their advice on proper methods to reveal material non-public information. Recources Mentioned:Tom McNeillhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-mcneill-87722312/Donald Kalfenhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-kalfen-baa44b30/Meridian Compensation Partners, LLChttps://www.linkedin.com/company/meridian-compensation-partners-llc/This episode is brought to you by Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC. Learn more by visiting MeridianCP.com. #Compensation #Wages #SPAC #Equity #ExecutiveCompensation #Clawback

Trump macht eine Zoll Pause. Wir beantworten eine Hörerfrage zu Bürokratieabbau und haben uns den Shareholder Letter von Andy Jassy angeschaut. Ein Gründer hat AI versprochen ohne AI zu haben. Unterstütze unseren Podcast und entdecke die Angebote unserer Werbepartner auf doppelgaenger.io/werbung. Vielen Dank! Philipp Glöckler und Philipp Klöckner sprechen heute über: (00:00:00) Zoll Pause (00:09:10) Kristina Sinemus  (00:12:45) Bürokratieabbau (00:21:20) Microsoft (00:22:00) Google (00:33:10) Kuiper (00:34:10) Letter to Shareholders (00:42:20) Nate (00:45:45) Digg (00:48:50) Mira (00:50:45) Llama Shownotes Donald Trump: Dies ist eine großartiger Zeitpunkt zum Kaufen Truth Social Warum Trumps Traum von iPhones „Made in the USA“ nicht in Erfüllung gehen wird Bloomberg Microsoft erwägt weitere Stellenstreichungen, diesmal mit Schwerpunkt auf Managern und Nicht-Programmierern, nicht nur Low-Performern Business Insider Kristina Sinemus ist die Topkandidatin für den Spitzenposten im Digitalministerium Manager Magazin Sehen Sie, wie die Atlas-V-Rakete die erste große Ladung von Amazons Project Kuiper-Internetsatelliten startet Space CEO Andy Jassy's Brief an die Aktionäre 2024 Amazon Der neue Ironwood-Chip von Google ist 24-mal leistungsfähiger als der schnellste Supercomputer der Welt VentureBeat Bezahlt Google Spitzentechnologen fürs Nichtstun? Einblicke in die geheime Strategie, das KI-Rennen zu gewinnen The Economic Times Fintech-Gründer wegen Betrugs angeklagt, nachdem sich herausstellte, dass die „KI“-Shopping-App auf den Philippinen von Menschen betrieben wurde TechCrunch Facebook schiebt sein KI-Modell Llama 4 nach rechts und will „beide Seiten“ darstellen 404

Scott breaks down whether Elon Musk poses a fiduciary risk to Tesla shareholders. He then offers advice to a grandmother trying to help her 15-year-old grandson understand money. In our Reddit Hotline segment, Scott shares the craziest fan encounter he's ever had and reflects on where he found meaning in life before becoming a father. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to officehours@profgmedia.com, or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the future of capitalism isn't tech or tax, but trust? This week, we're talking about Employee Ownership Trusts: a radical rethink of who gets to own the companies we work for. We're joined by Alan Coleman of Wolfgang Digital, the first Irish company to take the leap and hand ownership to its staff. It's a story about building businesses that are more productive, more democratic and maybe even more human. From colonial corporations to AI takeovers, we trace why this small idea could be the start of something huge. And if you're a digital marketer who wants to own where you work, Wolfgang is hiring. Head to wolfgangdigital.com/careers to find out more. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of the Shareholders the guys discuss current evemts, the Woke Report with Junior, the stock market, and answer the Chimney Oaks Golf Club Mailbag from the MIddle!

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha's top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: With proxy season here, how shareholders can apply a system stewardship model for the companies they own; why strategies to share the wealth via employee ownership are attracting popular support, and a look at our spring “Re:construction” tour, which offers a playbook for shared prosperity.Chapters(00:00) Proxy season insights(06:00) Employee ownership models(11:50) Re:construction and shared prosperityEvent RSVPs:North Carolina: Friday, April 4 - Building models for shared prosperity, UNC Chapel HillWashington, DC: April 8 - Purple Party, Boston: Saturday, April 12 - Boston International Film FestivalStory links:“Shareholders can fight back with system stewardship,” by The Shareholder Commons' Frederick AlexanderOwnership Call: impactalpha.com/calls and Youtube“A playbook of what and who is working to build prosperity for all,” and “‘Special Purpose Credit Programs' face the axe,” by David Bank

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha's top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: With proxy season here, how shareholders can apply a system stewardship model for the companies they own; why strategies to share the wealth via employee ownership are attracting popular support, and a look at our spring “Re:construction” tour, which offers a playbook for shared prosperity.Chapters00:00 Proxy season insights06:00 Employee ownership models11:50 Re:construction and shared prosperityEvent RSVPs:North Carolina: Friday, April 4 - ⁠Building models for shared prosperity⁠, UNC Chapel HillWashington, DC: April 8 - ⁠Purple Party⁠,Boston: Saturday, April 12 - ⁠Boston International Film Festival⁠Story links:“⁠Shareholders can fight back with system stewardship⁠,” by The Shareholder Commons' Frederick AlexanderOwnership Call: ⁠impactalpha.com/calls⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠“⁠A playbook of what and who is working to build prosperity for all⁠,” and “⁠‘Special Purpose Credit Programs' face the axe⁠,” by David Bank

On this week's episode of the Shareholders the guys discuss current events, the Woke Report with Junior, the Stock, and take the Chimney Oaks Golf Club Question from the MIddle!

When we invest our hard-earned money, we naturally seek a financial return—but could there be other rewards as well?Faith-based investing offers more than just financial gains. Today, Finny Kuruvilla joins us to explore the deeper impact of aligning our investments with our values.Dr. Finny Kuruvilla serves as a Co-Chief Investment Officer, Senior Portfolio Manager, and founding member of Eventide Asset Management, an underwriter of Faith & Finance. He holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Harvard University, a master's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, and a bachelor's degree from Caltech in Chemistry.Common Objections to Faith-Based InvestingIndeed, Christians might have different views on some of these, but here are three of the most common that Finny hears consistently:Objection 1: “I'm not responsible for the actions of the companies I invest in.”Many investors assume that purchasing stocks or mutual funds does not connect them to a company's actions. However, investing is ownership. When you purchase shares in a company—whether publicly traded or private—you become a partial owner.If you owned a small business and that business engaged in unethical practices, it would reflect on you. The same principle applies to publicly traded companies. As shareholders, we are tied to the actions and values of the companies we invest in.Objection 2: “What difference can I make? These companies are too big.”Some argue that individual investors cannot influence large corporations. However, history shows that even a small percentage of engaged investors can shape corporate values—just like voting in an election, where small margins can determine the outcome.Through shareholder engagement, faith-driven investors can influence corporate decision-making. Large companies respond to shareholder resolutions, and when values-aligned investors unite, they can steer businesses toward ethical practices.Objection 3: “Faith-based investing means I'll underperform financially.”A common concern is that limiting investment choices to faith-aligned companies will lead to lower returns. However, research suggests otherwise.Companies with strong ethical foundations—those that treat employees well, operate with integrity, and provide valuable goods and services—tend to outperform over the long term. Businesses that exploit customers or employees may see short-term gains but often struggle in the long run. Faith-based investing is not just morally sound—it's also financially strategic.The Three Benefits of Faith-Based Investing 1. Integrity: Investing with a Clear ConscienceThe foundation of faith-based investing is the principle of loving our neighbor. Jesus taught us to treat others as we want to be treated (Luke 6:31), and this applies to business and investing as well.Proverbs 1 warns against pursuing “ill-gotten gain,” or wealth that exploits others. Many mainstream funds include companies engaged in tobacco, gambling, and unethical labor practices.Investing with integrity means choosing companies that:Provide valuable goods and servicesTreat employees fairlyOperate with transparency and ethical leadershipBusiness should be about supplying goods and services—not exploiting people. Faith-based investing ensures that we support businesses that contribute to human flourishing.2. Impact: The Power of Faith-Driven InvestorsOne of the most compelling reasons for faith-based investing is the ability to make a real impact. History provides powerful examples of how Christian investors have shaped industries and social policies.A notable case is the role of Christian investors in ending apartheid in South Africa. In the 1970s, a group of faith-driven investors partnered with Reverend Leon Sullivan to pressure corporations like Ford and General Motors to implement anti-apartheid policies within their workplaces. These shareholder resolutions sparked a domino effect, leading other companies to follow suit.This example demonstrates that investors—when united and strategic—can drive significant cultural and ethical change. Today, faith-driven investors have opportunities to:Encourage companies to uphold biblical values in business operationsAvoid investing in industries that profit from addiction, exploitation, or human sufferingPromote corporate social responsibility by engaging in shareholder activism3. Performance: Ethical Investing Can Lead to Strong ReturnsMany assume that avoiding certain industries—such as gambling, pornography, or companies that oppose Christian values—means sacrificing returns. However, data suggests that companies with strong ethical principles actually perform better over time.Most investors define total return as:Share price return + dividend returnHowever, a biblical perspective expands total return to include:Financial return + integrity + impactInvesting in companies that operate with integrity and long-term vision leads to sustainable growth and reduced risk. Ethical companies that treat employees well, focus on quality products, and manage resources wisely often outperform businesses prioritizing short-term profits over long-term stability.How to Get Started with Faith-Based InvestingFor many believers, the idea of faith-aligned investing is a brand-new concept. They strive to honor God in spending, giving, and career choices, but they haven't considered how their investments align with their faith.Here's how to begin:Use screening tools—Many financial platforms provide tools to evaluate how investments align with Christian values. Work with faith-driven investment professionals—Christian financial advisors and fund managers can guide you toward biblically responsible portfolios. You can find a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) when you go to FaithFi.com and click "Find a Professional." Explore faith-based funds—Several firms specialize in faith-aligned investments. Eventide is one of many great options available. To find a complete list of faith-based investment funds and companies, visit faithandinvesting.com/faithfi.  Pray for wisdom—Ask God to guide your financial decisions, ensuring that your investments honor Him and advance His kingdom.Faith-based investing is more than a financial strategy—it's a movement. As more believers align their financial decisions with their faith, they contribute to a marketplace that reflects God's heart for justice, integrity, and human flourishing.When investors choose integrity, prioritize impact, and trust that God honors ethical investing, they participate in kingdom work that extends beyond their own lifetime.If you're ready to take the next step, learn more at EventideFunds.com. Faith-based investing isn't just about returns—it's about stewardship that glorifies God and blesses others.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:My wife and I inherited a house from a family member, and it's out of state. We would like to keep it and use it for friends and family, but we don't want to rent it out. What are your thoughts on this situation?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's New Quarterly MagazineEventide Asset ManagementWisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money (Pre-Order)Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) or Certified Christian Financial Counselor (CertCFC)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Listen to an audio version of Brookfield Corporation's March 2025 Letter to Shareholders to learn more about the firm's core tenets and strategic focus. Please read this disclaimer (https://www.brookfield.com/podcast-disclaimer) before listening.

IntroductionLIVE from a bottomless pit of CEO pay, it's a Business Pants Friday Show here at March 21st Studios, featuring AnalystHole Matt Moscardi. On today's weekly wrap up: Nelson Peltz hates woke ice cream, Self-hating Cybertrucks, and anti-ESG manbabies Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE.Story of the Week (DR):‘Incompetent:' Jamie Dimon unloads on proxy advisor ISSJamie Dimon said Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) should be “gone and dead and done with”, as he also launched an attack on those who pay for their services.In an interview with Semafor at Blackrock's retirement summit, Mr Dimon said: “Anyone who gives them money – shame on you.”Unilever hit ‘new levels of oppressiveness,' Ben & Jerry's claims as its CEO was sacked over social activismIce cream maker Ben & Jerry's has accused its parent company of firing its CEO David Stever over his support of the brand's progressive politics.On Tuesday, the Vermont-based brand filed an amended complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Unilever “has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry's personnel, including CEO David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever's efforts to silence the Social Mission.”Ben & Jerry's said Unilever informed its board on March 3 that it was removing and replacing Ben & Jerry's CEO David Stever. Ben & Jerry's said that violated its merger agreement with Unilever, which states that any decisions regarding a CEO's removal must come after a consultation with an advisory committee from Ben & Jerry's board.“empowered to protect and defend Ben & Jerry's brand equity and integrity”White man David Stever, 4 women of color (one who is the chair), and two black men. In Vermont? Are they trolling us?!?! I guess it can be done. Unilever board member Nelson Peltz is still trying to find a white actor for Black PantherUnilever has not publicly disclosed a reason for Stever's firingThe ice cream company has a unique corporate structure that was meant to protect its activist mission, even after its 2000 sale to Unilever:Independent Board of Directors: Unlike most Unilever-owned brands, Ben & Jerry's has an independent board specifically tasked with preserving the company's social mission.Merger Agreement Protections: The 2000 acquisition agreement required consultation with the board for key leadership decisions, including hiring or firing the CEO.Social Mission Oversight: The board exists to prevent the dilution of the company's activist identity—something that appears to be under increasing pressure.Ben & Jerry's Founders Say They Stand Behind Ousted CEOBoeing Sued for Wrongful Death by Family of WhistleblowerBoeing pushed John Barnett, who was a quality manager at Boeing for nearly three decades, to his death by harassing and intimidating him after he raised safety concerns about the company's plant building the 787 Dreamliner in Charleston, South Carolina, a wrongful death lawsuit filed in federal court in the state alleges. His family claim in their suit that Boeing responded by carrying out a “campaign of harassment, abuse and intimidation intended to discourage, discredit and humiliate him until he would either give up or be discredited”.In the evening of March 8th last year, Barnett left the law offices of Boeing's outside counsel in Charleston after testifying for two days in the OSHA case. Barnett was giving his account of how Boeing violated its own policies and procedures, and FAA rules, during his seven years as a quality inspector at the North Charleston plant that assembles the 787 Dreamliner. He'd delayed a trip back to his home in Louisiana to finish his deposition the next day, a Saturday. Videos cited in the police report show Barnett leaving the hotel around 8:30 PM, and getting in his Clemson orange, Dodge truck. When Barnett failed to show by the 10 AM starting time for his final round of testimony, Turkewitz called the Holiday Inn to conduct a “welfare check.”Note: “America come together or die!!! Pray that the motherfk…ers who destroyed my life pay!!! I pray that Boeing pays!!! Bury me face down so that Boeing and their lying ass leaders can kiss my ass. I can't do this any longer!!! F-k Boeing!!!'Business has been neglected': Longtime Tesla investor demands Elon Musk resign as CEO MMElon Musk Says He Has No Idea What He Did to Make Everybody So Mad at Him"It's really come as quite a shock to me that there is this level of, really, hatred and violence from the left.""My companies make great products that people love and I've never physically hurt anyone.”“So why the hate and violence against me?”"I always thought that the left, you know, Democrats, were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring, and yet they're burning down cars, they're firebombing dealerships, they're firing bullets into dealerships, they're smashing up Teslas," Musk said. "Tesla is a peaceful company. We've never done anything harmful.""I've never done anything harmful."“Because I am a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls."Tesla just recalled basically all the Cybertrucks ever sold in AmericaTesla workers in Germany say they don't have time to use the bathroomTesla workers at a German factory say working conditions don't allow them enough time for drinking or bathroom breaks.Over 3,000 workers at a Tesla gigafactory near Berlin have signed a petition asking for more breaks and an end to intimidation from management, according to a statement from German metalworker's union IG Metall.A Huge Amount of Money Is Missing From TeslaEven the company's financials are now sprouting some glaring questions. As the Financial Times reports, a whopping $1.4 billion appears to have vanished in thin air. The enormous hole arises when examining the carmaker's capital expenditures and how those compare to the reported rise of the value of its assets.According to Tesla's cashflow statements, the firm spent $6.3 billion on "purchases of property and equipment excluding finance leases, net of sales" in the second half of 2024. However, its balance sheet claims the gross value of property, plant, and equipment rose by only $4.9 billion — leaving an eyebrow-raising $1.4 billion discrepancy.Musk Set to Receive Top-Secret Briefing on U.S. War Plans for ChinaMusk Tells Tesla Workers: Don't Sell Your SharesTesla board members, executive sell off over $100 million of stock in recent weeksTogether, four top officers at the company have offloaded over $100 million in shares since early February.Last week, longtime Musk ally James Murdoch became the latest to do so, exercising a stock option and selling shares worth approximately $13 million, according to an SEC filing.Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal Musk, who also sits on the board, unloaded 75,000 shares worth approximately $27 million last month, according to a filing.The chairman of the board, Robyn Denholm, has offloaded more than $75 million dollars worth of shares in two transactions in the past five weeks, federal filings show.Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Chobani CEO: Why we're now giving all workers at least 12 weeks of parental leaveDR: JD Vance rips globalization, calling cheap labor a 'drug'MM: Tesla Cybertruck deliveries are on hold as trims are flying off the 'bulletproof' truck DRThey recalled ALL of them - imagine if Mary Barra put out a car at GM that, 1 year after releasing, they had to recall ALL of them? What would you do investors? Assholiest of the Week (MM):WahWah, our CEO: Tesla warns White House over tariffs in unsigned letter: ‘It's a polite way to say that the bipolar tariff regime is screwing over Tesla'Wah, China: OpenAI slams DeepSeek, warning the US government that China is catching up fastWah, customers: Tesla owners are trading in their EVs at record levels, Edmunds says, Tesla springs last-minute public all hands on staffers, confusion ensues, Tesla Cybertrucks are getting roasted on TikTok—one prank at a timeWah, investors: Baillie Gifford slashes Tesla stake as investor calls on Musk to step down, $1.4bn is a lot to fall through the cracks, even for Tesla, A Huge Amount of Money Is Missing From TeslaWah, privacy: Dad demands OpenAI delete ChatGPT's false claim that he murdered his kidsWah, I'm back in middle school: Elon Musk says he's shocked at the level of Tesla hate and vandalism happening: 'I've never done anything harmful'Stefan Padfield DR"It is not surprising that our proposal received low support, given the concerns we have about bias and conflicts of interest infecting the votes and recommendations of the Big 5 asset managers and proxy advisors, as well as the company's management," Padfield said."The issues raised by our proposals remain relevant to Disney's bottom line, and we arguably saw an indication of this in the fact that neither ESG nor DEI were mentioned once, directly or indirectly, in Iger's opening remarks -- suggesting the company is slowly distancing itself from the leftist radicalism embodied in those agendas," Padfield said.Fact check: ESG and DEI were not mentioned in Iger's remarks in 2024. They were not mentioned in 2023. Congrats on paying attention to whatever's in front of your face.Shareholders rejected your proposal because it was asinine and no one caresYour group, NCPPR, gets an AVERAGE of 1% everywhere… but did you notice that NLPC, your sister group in anti white person crime, got a solid 11% in favor at Apple for it's very real proposal on the dangers of AI? And Bowyer, got a 10% in favor at Apple for a report on child sex abuse software and got 1% here at Disney?Maybe the problem is you write overtly racist, stupid fucking shareholder proposals and you shout shut your fat mouth?Have we reached the CEO pay tipping point?Surge in incentive pay lifts HanesBrands' 2024 CEO compensation to $12.9 millionBig companies backtrack on climate goals in bosses' payStarbucks Must End Its Greed'—Bernie Sanders Calls Out Starbucks CEO For Getting $96 Million For 4 Months Of WorkKlarna's CEO got an 862% pay rise ahead of its IPOWe hate TREES now? TREES?Is planting trees 'DEI'? Trump administration cuts nationwide tree-planting effortHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Top workplace psychologist Adam Grant says offering employees better pay packages is the smartest move for the ‘long term'DR: Mom of child dead from measles: “Don't do the shots,” my other 4 kids were fineDR: Prince Harry's friends are blaming Meghan Markle for making him ‘too woke'MM: Donald Trump's favorite musical explained as he demands 'non-woke' theaterLike 89% of Broadway is gay, no?MM: Wait, whaaaa? British Gas: Centrica CEO's pay slashed in half at FTSE 100 giantWho Won the Week?DR: Sonya Mishra, author of new study: How does society perceive power-seeking women differently from status-seeking women?The study found that desiring status is seen as more congruent with feminine stereotypes compared to desiring power, and that women who desire status are less likely to incur backlash compared to women who desire power.MM: This video: Tesla Fans Furious at Video of Tesla Crashing Into Wall Painted Like RoadMark Rober tested autopilots for Lexus and Tesla… and Tesla ran over a dummy kid over and overAs Electrek points out, Autopilot has a well-documented tendency to disengage right before a crash. Regulators have previously found that the advanced driver assistance software shuts off a fraction of a second before making impact.It's a highly questionable approach that has raised concerns over Tesla trying to evade guilt by automatically turning off any possibly incriminating driver assistance features before a crash.PredictionsDR: Bowyer Research and Robbie Starbuck blame female CEOs in the S&P 500 for reducing the overall percentage of male CEOs in the S&P 500MM: Bowyer Research and Robbie Starbuck blame all the women running the big 5 - Larry Fink, Ron O'Hanley, Salim Ramji, Gary Retelny, and Bob Mann - for the failure of their shareholder proposals and demand a report from each requesting an analysis of the risk of having so many woke women running the big 5

Coco 2 is coming.  Figment in short form and we say pay our respects to Rivers of Light.Send us a textTwitter/X Handles:Dizhappenings: https://twitter.com/dizhappeningsShaun: https://twitter.com/rankingthemouseMatt: https://twitter.com/mattpetoBefore/After Watch Music in Dizhappenings copyrighted by Audio Jungle

On this week's episode of the Shareholders the guys discuss current events, the Woke Report with Junior, the stock, and answer the Mailbag Question from the Middle!

In this week's episode of The Best Guest Podcast, we welcome Ryan Lisk, founder of Hybrid Legal. Ryan shares his journey from launching a law firm in his early twenties to revolutionising legal services with a subscription model.We talk about:The importance of having clear business contracts and avoiding common legal pitfallsHow AI is impacting business operations and the legal risks you need to be aware ofKey legal considerations when hiring freelancers and protecting intellectual propertyThis episode will equip you with essential legal knowledge to protect your business.About Ryan LiskAt just 21 years old Ryan Lisk took the leap and founded his own law firm, determined to make legal services more accessible, transparent, and business-friendly. Now, as the founder of Hybrid Legal, he helps UK businesses navigate complex legal challenges with practical, cost-effective solutions.As a law student helping a startup with legal issues Ryan quickly realised how inaccessible legal support was for small businesses. Instead of following the traditional law firm model, he founded Hybrid Legal to focus on clear, fixed-fee pricing and straightforward legal advice - no jargon, no hidden costs with a flexible subscription model.Ryan has worked with startups, growing businesses, and well-known brands to protect their interests and simplify legal complexities. Through founding his own law firm, Ryan has experienced the highs and lows of running a business and knows what it takes to start a business from scratch and scale it to 7 figures.When he's not at work, Ryan can be found running around after his 1 year old daughter and crazy Hungarian Vizsla. He's also learning the martial art of 8 limbs, Muay Thai, where he is constantly humbled by teenagers in the class. Key TakeawaysA handshake isn't enough - formal contracts protect both parties and prevent costly disputes.AI is transforming business, but it also brings legal risks - understand how your data is being used.Subscription-based legal services provide cost-effective and transparent solutions for businesses.Website compliance matters - ensure your privacy policies and terms of use align with GDPR.Hiring freelancers? Secure intellectual property rights and confidentiality agreements in writing.Shareholders' agreements are essential for business stability - plan for future challenges now.Quote"Go careful with putting intellectual property into AI and relying on what comes out of it to be your own IP. That's murky ground at the moment."Connect with Ryan LiskLearn more about Hybrid Legal: https://www.hybridlegal.co.ukConnect with Ryan Lisk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanliskSign up to the Hybrid Legal Loop for free legal insights.Connect with Victoria BennionLearn more about us: https://thebestpodcastguest.co.uk/Download our checklist: How to be an Excellent Podcast Guest https://thebestpodcastguest.co.uk/checklist/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebestpodcastguestJoin the Best Podcast Guest Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebestpodcastguestSubscribe to our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@victoriabennionConnect with Victoria on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriabennion/

Are you looking to save time, make money, and start winning with less risk? Then head to https://www.ovtlyr.com.Palantir (PLTR) shareholders, this is a must-watch update. The stock just took a hit, and it's time to break down exactly what's happening and what it means for investors.Just yesterday, a warning was issued about a potential PLTR pullback—and today, the sell-off arrived. The market moves fast, and those paying attention were prepared. Now, the question is: what happens next?Key Topics Covered:✅ The half-percent dip—a warning sign or an opportunity?✅ Why some investors are raising red flags over this drop✅ Support and resistance levels that could determine PLTR's next move✅ Institutional activity—what big money is doing✅ Is this a buy-the-dip moment or a trap?Palantir has been one of the most talked-about AI stocks, with massive potential in data analytics and government contracts. Some see it as a long-term powerhouse, while others worry about overvaluation and volatility. Now, with the stock moving sharply, investors need to consider whether this is a temporary shakeout or a deeper trend.Why This Pullback MattersMarket dips happen, but this one raises important questions. Volume trends, technical indicators, and institutional moves suggest that this isn't just another red day—it's a moment to pay attention. Is this setting up for a strong rebound, or are further losses ahead?What to Watch Next:➡️ Will the stock bounce, or is more downside coming?➡️ Are big investors accumulating or selling at these levels?➡️ What's the smart move for traders vs. long-term holders?This is a crucial time for Palantir investors, and staying ahead of the market's next move is key. Don't miss out on the insights that could make the difference between capitalizing on opportunity or getting caught in the downturn.

Find out what corporate responsibility looks like as part of a company's core strategy.     For Webster Bank —a 2025 recipient of the Corporate Responsibility Awards—philanthropy, community investment, sustainability, and government affairs are all part of the corporate responsibility bailiwick. What does exemplary corporate responsibility look like, and how can companies do this work while furthering business goals and serving all stakeholders?     Join Steve Odland and guest Marissa Weidner, chief corporate responsibility officer at Webster Bank, to find out how Webster Bank practices corporate responsibility, why responsibility creates accountability, and what the bank's Finance Lab is doing.    The 2025 Corporate Responsibility Awards, taking place on April 23, celebrates organizations that have gone beyond making public sustainability commitments to fully integrate sustainability into their business strategies, creating measurable, positive impacts on their organizations, stakeholders, society, and the environment.    (00:41) Marissa's Career Journey (02:10) Webster Bank's Corporate Responsibility Strategy (03:33) Community Investment Strategy (04:54) Integration of Corporate Responsibility and Business Strategy (06:31) Navigating ESG and Political Challenges (10:43) Environmental Initiatives at Webster Bank (12:49) Social Responsibility and Community Engagement (21:51) Future of Corporate Responsibility at Webster Bank   For more from The Conference Board:  2025 Corporate Responsibility Awards Dinner  The Conference Board Honors Medtronic and Webster Bank With 2025 Corporate Responsibility Awards  How Financial Services Companies are Using AI to Innovate 

DALLAS (AURN News) — Southwest Airlines is continuing to move away from long-standing customer-friendly policies with a series of new changes that include ending its free checked baggage benefit for most passengers. The announcement comes less than a year after the airline said it would end its signature open seating policy. Under the new baggage policy, A-List Preferred Members and Business Select customers will still be able to check two bags for free, while A-List Members and certain other customers will be limited to one free checked bag. Other passengers will now face baggage fees. Southwest is also revising how customers earn points, adjusting the number of Rapid Rewards points earned on qualifying flights. Additionally, the airline is implementing stricter expiration policies for flight credits. Credits issued for tickets purchased on or after May 28, 2025, will expire one year or earlier from the date of ticketing. The airline described all of these changes as "implementing new initiatives that support business objectives." "We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future Customer needs, attract new Customer segments we don't compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our Shareholders expect," Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said in a statement. These policy changes represent a significant shift for the airline, which has traditionally differentiated itself in the market through customer-friendly policies like free checked bags and no change fees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With $49 million to spend, will the Lions/Brad Holmes continue to value shop or finally make a big splash? We evaluate the options, give our two cents and ask you Shareholders: are the Lions garage saling too hard? And will it cost them long term vs teams like the Eagles who are aggressive in the market?

On this week's episode of the Shareholders the guys discuss current events, The Woke Report with Junior, the stock, and answer the Martini's Mailbag Question from the Middle!

Wolf Greenfield recently promoted four attorneys to the position of shareholder. Stuart Duncan Smith, Anant Saraswat, Jessica von Reyn, and Adam Wichman. The promoted attorneys' legal and technical know-how covers a range of practice and technology areas, including biotechnology, pharmaceutical, patent, litigation, and post-grant proceedings.In this episode of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, we'll introduce you to each of the new shareholders. Here are the highlights:01:13 - Stuart Duncan Smith, Litigation Practice 06:05 - Adam Wichman, Post-Grant Proceedings Practice 12:02 - Jessica von Reyn, Biotechnology Practice 18:50 - Anant Saraswat, Post-Grant Proceedings Practice

We are diving into Warren Buffett's latest shareholder letter for 2024—so you don't have to! We'll break down his biggest takeaways in plain English for you: why Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on a mountain of cash, what Buffett's recent stock moves say about the market, and how his long-term investing mindset has helped him beat Wall Street for decades.Plus, we'll talk about his bets on Japan, why he openly admits to making mistakes (unlike most CEOs), and what Berkshire's future looks like as Greg Abel gets ready to take the reins. If you've ever wanted to invest like the Oracle of Omaha, this episode is packed with insights you can actually use.All Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders:https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html ------------------------------------------------

The latest on Inflation, Nvidia did not have the best week, More on Pints and Portfolios Saturday March 29th at 12pm in San Rafael

This week the guys return to discuss the progress of pushing back on the Trump administration, James Carville's controversial opinion and being a victim of your own political success, DOGE has a new head but does it really, shareholders and corporations feeling the heat for their behaviors towards Trump, auto-firing of federal employees?, Ron DeSantis is wondering who could be responsible for HIS parties screwing up, Trump selling citizenship for $5 million dollars, MSNBC layoffs do in fact matter more than you think, House GOP pushes for draconion Medicaid cuts, and much more!Big TopicThe pushback is - slowly- workingTrump admin gets dunked on in court for funding withholdingScramble to name “head” of DOGEGOP congresspeople scared shitless at town hallsThe hackers have entered the chatShareholders seeing where the public wind is blowingIs James Carville actually correct here?Fast Corruption and Faster Screw-UpsNothing could possibly go wrong hereThe thing about government contracts is that they're often paid up front...Trump fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs - you'll never guess why!Ron DeSantis is launching his own Floridian-DOGENews You NeedTrump would love to sell fast-track citizenship for cashHouse passes Medicaid-cutting, tax cut-extending resolution with nary a single Democratic voteMSNBC cancels a bunch of shows, and what do all of the hosts have in common?Woman dragged out of Idaho town hall by private security - sheriff now facing scrutinyWhat's Dumber, A Brick or A Republican?MTG complains about fed employees

This week, we're talking about impact investing, which if we're being honest, is a phrase we used to think was reserved for people who call their parents by their first names. Turns out, it's one of the closest things we have to financial resistance (with receipts!).This episode drops on the last Monday of Black History Month 2025, a month that, for once, felt less performative. Not because there wasn't Black history being made, there was, just like there is every day of the year…but because the usual corporate spectacle was dialed down. The hashtags were quieter, the campaigns were fewer, and the message was clear. But Black history isn't something we just look back on, it's something we build. And for more people than ever, that means thinking differently about where our dollars go, not just as consumers but as investors.Here's what we get into:Why politicians keep telling us to “mobilize” but rarely mention moneyThe Target vs. Costco stock story that shows how companies respond when people start moving their moneyThe difference between boycotting as a consumer and influencing as a shareholderHow everyday investors now make up 25% of stock trading and why that mattersWhy ignoring your investments isn't neutral and what it means to be intentional with your financial powerAnd because knowledge without action doesn't change much, we're also talking about real steps you can take. Kiersten shares her experience with Invest for Better Circles, a program that changed how she thinks about money and impact (and made her rethink her own investments in the process). Plus, if you're a Black woman looking for a space to learn about this in community, there's a new cohort designed just for us. Link below.TAKE ACTION:

Robert Hagstrom, Chief Investment Officer of EquityCompass Investment Management and the author of seven investment books including The New York Times Best Seller, The Warren Buffett Way. Michael & Hagstrom discuss how the Buffet's annual letter held in high regard by Michael, evolved into what it is today.

Berkshire Hathaway shareholders will soon get insight into the company's performance and market outlook. Today's Stocks & Topics: PYPL - PayPal Holdings Inc., INSW - International Seaways Inc., WMT - Walmart Inc., Market Wrap, Warren Buffett's 2025 Letter to Shareholders Arrives Soon: Watch This Number, OXY - Occidental Petroleum Corp., CVX - Chevron Corp., ULTA - Ulta Beauty Inc., ZBRA - Zebra Technologies Corp. Cl A, Key Benchmark Numbers: Treasury Yields, Gold, Silver, Oil and Gasoline, VXUS - Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, PLTR - Palantir Technologies Inc., Registered Index Linked Annuity (RILA).Our Sponsors:* Check out Fabric: https://fabric.com/INVESTTALK* Check out Indochino: https://indochino.com/INVEST* Check out Kinsta: https://kinsta.com* Check out ShipStation: https://shipstation.com/INVEST* Check out Trust & Will: https://trustandwill.com/INVESTAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

IntroductionLIVE from your ESG ESG ESG ESG DEI DEI DEI Climate Change Change Climate Change Global Warming ESG DEI, it's a Business Pants Friday Show here at Valentine's Day Studios, featuring AnalystHole Matt Moscardi. On today's weekly wrap up: Corporate Abolitionists, The Gulf of Stupidity, The S in ISS stands for Shitty, and Denny's Truth Bomb Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE.Story of the Week (DR):Goldman Sachs abandons DEI rule, saying it has ‘served its purpose' MMRichard Gnodde, CEO of Goldman Sachs International and a member of the bank's Management Committee, told the BBC that the bank had scrapped its board diversity requirement because of legal developments — and the fact that it had achieved its function.“That policy served as a catalyst to try and drive a change in behavior. What's important here is that you have a diversity of views on that board, and if you look at these companies — they've all embraced diversity. I think it served its purpose.” Billionaire Airbnb Co-Founder Is Said to Take Role in Musk's Government InitiativeJoe Gebbia, the Airbnb co-founder, is a board member at Tesla.Mr. Gebbia arrived at O.P.M.'s downtown Washington D.C. headquarters in a black S.U.V. with a three-man security detail‘Sustainable' Investors Flee References to Climate ChangeThe success of Republican attacks on ESG and Donald Trump's re-election has everyone running for cover.For more than a decade, investment chief of Green Alpha Investments Garvin Jabusch would show a chart of the planet's rising temperatures when pitching investment ideas to clients, saying they could help save the planet and still make money: “I've given up on anyone ever caring about that”Parnassus Investments, the biggest US sustainable-investing firm, has removed references on its website that its funds are “fossil-fuel free.”Engine No. 1, the small activist firm that led the shakeup of ExxonMobil Corp.'s board in 2021, has removed wording on its web page that corporate performance is “greatly enhanced” by investing in workers, communities and the environment. The fund now says it invests in companies that are “powering innovation and driving the reindustrialization of the United States.”Mr. BlowhardJamie Dimon is fed up with remote workLast year's proxy statement:“We continued to deliver strong multi-year financial performance, invest in our future, strengthen our risk and control environment, and reinforce our culture and values, including our long-standing commitment to serve our customers, employees and communities, and conduct business in a responsible way to drive inclusive growth.”Managed revenue of $162.4 billion — a record for the sixth consecutive yearExperienced growth across all of our market-leading lines of businessRecord net income of $49.6 billionExceptional Performance: the Firm's sustained strong relative outperformance compared to its peersJPMorgan CEO Dimon slams RTO pushback: ‘I don't care how many people sign that f*cking petition'Jamie Dimon Reportedly Says He'll Cut Some ‘Stupid' DEI Costs At JPMorgan ChaseJPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon wants to cancel some DEI spending after the bank spent billions on racial equity: ‘I was never a firm believer in bias training' In his remarks, Dimon reiterated the bank's commitment to improving society and said the company's approach to diverse employees and communities would stay the course. Yet, he reportedly added: “I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid sh-t, and it really pissed me off,” Dimon said. “I'm just gonna cancel them. I don't like wasted money in bureaucracy.”There are two distinct elements to the determination of Jamie's pay plan: 50% is “the what” and 50% is “the how.” One of the three elements of “the how” is “Teamwork & Leadership,” which specifically includes “Creating an open, respectful, inclusive culture; Employer of choice for top talent from all backgrounds; Delivery on internal DEI initiatives.”One of the company's stated achievements in “Client/Customer/Stakeholder” was:Advancing racial equity: By the end of 2023, we reported nearly $31 billion of progress toward our five-year $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment to help close the racial wealth gap and advance economic inclusion among historically underserved communities in the U.S., including Black, Hispanic and Latino customers and communities. The Firm is committed to continuing work beyond the five-year timeframe identified in our original commitment to complete the 18 individually identified sub-commitments.“[P]ractices and progress on the Firm's DEI priorities as part of the year-end performance review.”$36M last year: $145M for 6 NEOsOne of COO Daniel Pinto's stated achievements: “Delivered key CIB DEI initiatives to drive a more inclusive work environment for employees”Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Seattle Voters Say Yes to Corporate Tax Hike to Fund Social Housing a ballot initiative to fund social housing through an "excess compensation" tax on city businesses paying salaries of over $1 million68.32% of voters backed funding for social housing and 57.55% chose to fund it specifically with the proposed taxMM: Mexico's President Sheinbaum said her government would ask Google to make ‘Mexican America' pop up on maps of the U.S. MM DRAssholiest of the Week (MM):‘Greenhushing' Emerges as Anti-ESG Pressures Mount for CompaniesSTAND UP FOR YOURSELVES, YOU BABIESEither it is the right thing to do for shareholders and stakeholders and you should say so, or it's not and you're a fraudISSISS Indefinitely Halts Consideration of Diversity Factors When Making Proxy Voting RecommendationsLet's talk value of “diversity factors” - I'm talking strictly data here, not the justified moral outrage about having all white male boards. Let's just talk about how investors are now paying ISS hundreds of thousands of dollars instead of Free Float in order to get LESS data - here are the “factors” you no longer consider for recommendations:Gender diversity:Women outpace men globally in sector knowledge for boards they're on - women are more likely to have gone to an elite school or have an advanced degree AND have direct knowledge of the industry of the company they're on the board ofWomen have stronger networks - because so few break the glass ceiling of boards, they end up getting recycled, which means they know more board members or have friends in commonWomen and men have exactly the same performance metrics as directors - by performance, I mean during their tenures, they oversee the exact same TSR and earnings performance percentiles versus industry peersMen have the advantage in leadership and economic interest - as in, women are rarely made CEOs unless there's a crisis and mommy has to clean up after the boys, and the boys almost always keep shares for themselves and don't give any to the girlsRacial/ethnic diversity:Black female directors at S&P 500 companies are the most knowledgeable of their industriesBlack female directors at S&P 500 companies also have the strongest networks - they have been recycled more, and thus have more friends in high placesAsian male directors at S&P 500 companies have the highest performance rates on TSR and earningsOverall, black male and female directors are the most “meriting” board positions at the S&P 500 companies Shareholders who don't use their rights DRSEC Looks to Muzzle Shareholder Culture WarriorsSchedule 13G is filed by owners of stock who have more than 5% of shares - so basically, Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street, Fidelity - major investorsBUT, if the owner takes an ACTIVIST position (like Elliott amassing in BP right now), and that position is greater than 5%, they file a 13D, not G - D means they intend to influence or change management in a proxy fight (or through engagement)13D has more reporting requirements because it's an activist stakeWell, because investors have basically ignored their basic rights for so long and deferred to management, this happens: SEC Provides New Guidance on Schedule 13G EligibilityThe new guidance says:Schedule 13G would be unavailable if a shareholder engages with the issuer's management to specifically call for the sale of the issuer or a significant amount of the issuer's assets, the restructuring of the issuer, or the election of director nominees other than the issuer's nominees.For example, Schedule 13G may be unavailable to a shareholder who:recommends that the issuer remove its staggered board, switch to a majority voting standard in uncontested director elections, eliminate its poison pill plan, change its executive compensation practices, or undertake specific actions on a social, environmental, or political policy and, as a means of pressuring the issuer to adopt the recommendation, explicitly or implicitly conditions its support of one or more of the issuer's director nominees at the next director election on the issuer's adoption of its recommendation; ordiscusses with management its voting policy on a particular topic and how the issuer fails to meet the shareholder's expectations on such topic, and, to apply pressure on management, states or implies during any such discussions that it will not support one or more of the issuer's director nominees at the next director election unless management makes changes to align with the shareholder's expectations.ENGAGEMENT DEATH BY BEAURACRACY THE MAJORS! This works out one of three ways: the majors can no longer vote against any director for fear it appears to be “coercive”, and subjects them to 13D scrutiny, OR…They axe entire engagement teams, stop engaging at all, abstain and only offer pass through votingThey buy Free Float data - imagine a world where you stop engagement or conversation about “key issues”, and vote instead against candidates that just failed to perform without telling them why. No engagement, just voting on the data!But in the end, because you never actually used actual data on your director vote, the SEC is making it harder for you now. Congrats!Headliniest of the WeekDR: Denny's Says Consumers Fatigued by News, Economy, Inflation...EverythingMM: Double Deuce Announces Appointment of Paul A. Dumas as Chairman of the Board of DirectorsWe believe that his experience and knowledge of the mining sector, his wealth of contacts, and his expertise in growing a company and creating shareholder value will be incredibly beneficial to Double Deuce Exploration.Knowledge, network, performance - three tags for merit!Who Won the Week?DR: Two winnersJoe Gebbia: for proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is NOT an independent board member at Tesla and that his life choices have led him to believe that he needs three security guards to protect him from a world that very likely hates him.Richard Gnodde, a South African investment banker and CEO of Goldman Sachs International, in a mic-dropping moment for equality across the globe for declaring an end for the need of both the Civil Rights and Equal RIghts MovementsMM: Anyone not a cow veterinarian: H5N1 testing in cow veterinarians suggests bird flu is spreading silentlyPredictionsDR: Jamie Dimon starts to remove tampons from women's bathrooms at JPMorgan Chase because he says “I was never a firm believer in women's hygiene products”MM: