Risk Metrics conference, Westfield pay, Oz Minerals tilt, Rich List, rating directors and much more
February 2, 2010
Dear Squatters,
First up this week, check out this comprehensive 1500-word piece written for Fairfax's www.businessday.com.au website yesterday which has laid down some important markers for the coming AGM mini-season.
It has been viewed more than 32,000 times and presumably quite a few of them are from within the Westfield, AMP and Rio Tinto camps given the predictions about embarrassing shareholder revolts that will unfold over the coming weeks.
Given that even Macquarie Group has today further modified its bonus system to reduce the cash component and increase the focus on longer term equity issues, it is hard to see how on earth Westfield founder and executive chairman Frank Lowy can continue to pocket more than $16 million a year in salary and incentive payments. Only Rupert Murdoch's $30 million annual whack is more outrageous.
You've also got to ask whether David Gonski is an appropriate ASX chairman when he sits on the Westfield remuneration committee which has just extended Lowy's contract for another 12 months. Talk about being out of touch with the community and political debate - let alone Westfield shareholders who have watched the share price halve over the past year.
The Fairfax business websites sure do drive strong traffic. This audio file of the battle with Frank Lowy over executive pay at last year's AGM has been downloaded more than 600 times over the past 24 hours. The exchange certainly does set the scene nicely for the showdown on May 6 in Sydney when the Westfield remuneration report will probably only be saved by the Lowy family voting their 8% stake in favour.
Anyway, here are some of the headlines from this week's edition which went to subscribers a few minutes ago:
Rating the best and worst directors
Oz Minerals board tilt - but will there be an AGM?
Computershare drags the chain on electronic voting
AMP's corporate voting report as David Murray dodges Centro conflict
BRW serves up 50 new names for Mayne Report Rich List
Share trades and capital raising profits
Cornwall cartoons for The Mayne Report
We're delighted to welcome seasoned cartoonist Mark Cornwall to The Mayne Report. Mark drew many hundreds of excellent toons for Crikey over the years before returning to teaching, but he's keen to get back into the game and we're delighted to have him.
Mayne Report video blog
This week we interviewed Dean Paatsch from Risk Metrics after the 2009 Risk Metrics Governance conference which covered everything from executive pay, to proxy voting, corporate governance, short selling and director performance.
That's all for now.
Do ya best, Stephen Mayne
* The Mayne Report is a multi-media governance website published by Stephen Mayne with occasional email editions. To unsubscribe from the emails click here.
First up this week, check out this comprehensive 1500-word piece written for Fairfax's www.businessday.com.au website yesterday which has laid down some important markers for the coming AGM mini-season.
It has been viewed more than 32,000 times and presumably quite a few of them are from within the Westfield, AMP and Rio Tinto camps given the predictions about embarrassing shareholder revolts that will unfold over the coming weeks.
Given that even Macquarie Group has today further modified its bonus system to reduce the cash component and increase the focus on longer term equity issues, it is hard to see how on earth Westfield founder and executive chairman Frank Lowy can continue to pocket more than $16 million a year in salary and incentive payments. Only Rupert Murdoch's $30 million annual whack is more outrageous.
You've also got to ask whether David Gonski is an appropriate ASX chairman when he sits on the Westfield remuneration committee which has just extended Lowy's contract for another 12 months. Talk about being out of touch with the community and political debate - let alone Westfield shareholders who have watched the share price halve over the past year.
The Fairfax business websites sure do drive strong traffic. This audio file of the battle with Frank Lowy over executive pay at last year's AGM has been downloaded more than 600 times over the past 24 hours. The exchange certainly does set the scene nicely for the showdown on May 6 in Sydney when the Westfield remuneration report will probably only be saved by the Lowy family voting their 8% stake in favour.
Anyway, here are some of the headlines from this week's edition which went to subscribers a few minutes ago:
Rating the best and worst directors
Oz Minerals board tilt - but will there be an AGM?
Computershare drags the chain on electronic voting
AMP's corporate voting report as David Murray dodges Centro conflict
BRW serves up 50 new names for Mayne Report Rich List
Share trades and capital raising profits
Cornwall cartoons for The Mayne Report
We're delighted to welcome seasoned cartoonist Mark Cornwall to The Mayne Report. Mark drew many hundreds of excellent toons for Crikey over the years before returning to teaching, but he's keen to get back into the game and we're delighted to have him.
Mayne Report video blog
This week we interviewed Dean Paatsch from Risk Metrics after the 2009 Risk Metrics Governance conference which covered everything from executive pay, to proxy voting, corporate governance, short selling and director performance.
That's all for now.
Do ya best, Stephen Mayne
* The Mayne Report is a multi-media governance website published by Stephen Mayne with occasional email editions. To unsubscribe from the emails click here.