Many have predicted an M&A boom in 2025 and recent CEO surveys exhibit rising confidence. Psychology is as important to the merger market as any human endeavor, so one should not discount the power of renewed optimism to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. …
Does market power lead to political power? This longstanding question, raised by Louis Brandeis in 1914, remains strikingly relevant today. As industries become more concentrated, firms not only shape markets but also seek to influence the regulatory and …
The movement for greater corporate responsibility over environmental, social and governance issues, commonly known as ESG, has become increasingly prevalent across boardrooms and shareholder meetings in recent years. However, alongside this momentum, there …
One of the most important developments in corporate governance is the growing divide between the US and the EU on issues of corporate social responsibility. The starkest example of this divide comes from the new EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due …
Serving on an audit committee in 2025 might be daunting even if the committee could be assured that it would not have to take on any added responsibilities in the new year. After all, even the most basic perennial responsibilities of audit committees, such …
Key Points The incoming Trump administration is expected to take a more lenient approach to prosecuting entities, reducing emphasis on bringing actions based on what may be viewed as novel theories. Prescriptive policies on self-reporting and cooperation …
The Cultural Economics Revolution In the second half of the 20th century, economics operated under two fundamental assumptions: that humans were perfectly rational (the rationality assumption) and that their behavior was universally consistent across …
The information below, organized according to Vanguard Investment Stewardship’s four pillars of corporate governance, is the voting policy adopted by the boards of the Vanguard-advised funds (the “Funds’ Boards”) and describes the general positions of the …
I. BEGINNING OF A RESURGENCE SETS THE STAGE FOR A MORE ROBUST M&A MARKET IN 2025 Financial institutions M&A in 2024 was constrained by a challenging regulatory environment and continued fallout from high interest rates, but there were notable signs …
The environmental, social & governance (ESG) landscape will grow more complex in 2025, with businesses facing increasing pressure related to climate risks, regulatory changes, and shifting societal expectations. Based on The Conference Board® C-Suite …
Rapid rulemaking and aggressive enforcement by the SEC, combined with legislative, judicial, and regulatory developments, have created new requirements and expectations for U.S. public companies. As we begin 2025, action items for U.S. public companies …
Posted by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, on Friday, January 31, 2025 Editor's Note: This roundup contains a collection of the posts published on the Forum during the week of January 24-30, 2025 Posted by Harris Fischman, John …
As we look ahead to the challenges and opportunities facing boards of directors in this new year, it is illuminating to reflect on how much has changed in corporate governance. Over the last five decades, we have been on the front lines with our clients as …
Edelman has prepared its on-line “Trust Barometer” survey on an annual basis for the last 25 years. The Barometer reflects the input of over 33,000 respondents from 28 countries (including the United States). The focus of the Barometer is to measure the …
Dual-class structures remain a hotly contested topic in corporate governance. Over the past two decades, the use of dual-class structures has expanded significantly, particularly among venture capital (VC) backed tech companies. Critics contend that high- …
Perhaps one practice older than predicting the future is talking about it. One of the oldest quotations about the future is attributed to Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who lived in the fifth or sixth century B.C. and is reported to have said, “The only …
Each year in our Annual Memo, White & Case’s Public Company Advisory Group provides practical insights on preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-Ks, Annual Meeting Proxy Statements and, for FPIs, the Annual Report on Form 20-F. This installment of our …
An Alternative Way to Let Investors Choose How should asset managers make decisions in today’s world? Last year, fifteen Republican state finance chiefs lambasted Larry Fink both for sacrificing the return of his investors to advance his climate agenda …
While regulatory developments rose on directors’ priority rankings in this busy election year globally, talent also remains an important item on the board agenda, particularly in the US, where 70% of directors ranked it a top-five priority, compared with …
1. No private equity M&A boom in 2025, but…. Thousands of private equity portfolio companies are past their “sell by” dates and private capital institutions have trillions of dollars in dry powder to finance everything from senior debt to equity for …
