The Politics of Climate Change

When: Tuesday 9 March 2010 17:30 to 18:30
Where: Chatham House, London, UK

Participants

Lord Giddens, Professor Emeritus, LSE Global Governance
Chair: Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent, Financial Times

book online
Add to my Calendar

Type: Members event
Climate change is an issue quite unlike any other we have to cope with on a global level, since it is about future risk and filtered through the findings of science, which are largely inaccessible to the layperson. The speaker will ask how the international community can create an effective approach to containing the dangers facing us, in a world which lacks effective institutions of global governance, and where the public in many countries is unconvinced of the urgency of the situation.

See full Details.

Government may force companies to hire more top women

On International Women's Day, the PM threatens to raise the stakes to ensure greater equality in UK plc...

Companies may soon be ordered to disclose what actions they’re taking (or not) to get more women into the boardroom, the Government said today. What’s more, Prime Minister Gordon Brown hinted that legislative changes may be on the cards if UK companies don’t play ball. Some commentators reckon the recent crash has proved that UK plc needs more women and fewer men in senior management positions (especially in the financial services industry) – but so far there haven’t been any great signs of a cultural shift. Not the Government is exactly providing a shining example in that regard…

According to research commissioned by the Government Equalities Office, for International Women’s Day, 60% of the public agree there are not enough women directors in big business and that it's time to end the era of the ‘old boy network’. And although things do seem to be changing,

See full Article.

Addressing perceived discrimination

International Women's Day was celebrated yesterday with the familiar flurry of surveys highlighting the dearth of women in senior business roles. The World Economic Forum, the organization behind the annual Davos gathering, added its voice to the chorus, with a hefty "Corporate Gender Gap Report" that purports to show women aren't making it to the top in companies around the globe. Internationally, the report found that an average of only 5% of large companies had females at the chief executive officer level, although women made up between a quarter and half of their work force.

The OECD offered a similar thesis. Although 62% of women in OECD countries are in paid work, only about a third of managerial posts are held by females, it explains in its new "Gender Brief."

The shrill protests that pick up on reports such as these use them to advance arguments that aren't necessarily justified. They claim the situation is the result of discrimination in the workplace, which needs to be redressed.

See full Article.

The war on baby girls: Gendercide

Killed, aborted or neglected, at least 100m girls have disappeared—and the number is rising

IMAGINE you are one half of a young couple expecting your first child in a fast-growing, poor country. You are part of the new middle class; your income is rising; you want a small family. But traditional mores hold sway around you, most important in the preference for sons over daughters. Perhaps hard physical labour is still needed for the family to make its living. Perhaps only sons may inherit land. Perhaps a daughter is deemed to join another family on marriage and you want someone to care for you when you are old. Perhaps she needs a dowry.

Now imagine that you have had an ultrasound scan; it costs $12, but you can afford that. The scan says the unborn child is a girl. You yourself would prefer a boy; the rest of your family clamours for one. You would never dream of killing a baby daughter, as they do out in the villages. But an abortion seems different. What do you do?

See full Article.

US dawdles over adoption of international standards

SEC chairman underlines support for IFRS but fails to commit US to international standards

Last Wednesday a softly spoken Mary Schapiro gave the first concrete indication of whether the US would adopt international accounting standards under her chairmanship.

Depending on who you believe, Schapiro’s speech was a landmark moment in US financial history or a wasted opportunity.
Advertisement

“Today’s commission statement reaffirms our support for a single globally-accepted standard… We must carefully consider and deliberate whether such a change is in the best interest of US investors and markets,” she said.

See full Article.

FRC rated "world class" by government oversight body

Soft touch approach lauded

The UK's financial reporting regulator was praised for its "world class" approach in a report.

Better Regulation, the Department of Business's department which monitors and promotes regulatory reform, found the Financial Reporting Council was highly effective.
Advertisement

"The flexible 'soft law' approach to raising standards of corporate governance in listed companies was found to be world-class," the report said.

See full Article.

Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance

When: August 2–4, 2010

Today's global credit crisis, combined with the changing regulatory climate, poses daunting new challenges for your audit committee. Not only are committee members responsible for providing accurate and transparent information to investors and other interested parties, but they also must ensure compliance with new accounting and financial regulatory rules and standards.

See full Details.

Women still earn less than men

Even though most OECD countries have laws requiring equal pay between the sexes, women still earn less than men on average. Across OECD countries, men’s median earnings are on average about 18% higher than women’s. The biggest differences are in Japan and Korea, where the gap is more than 30%, and the smallest are in Poland, New Zealand and Belgium, where it’s 10% or less.

Why do these differences persist? Discrimination is part of the answer. Women are also more likely to be in low-paid occupations and less likely to get promoted – in most countries the earnings gap is bigger among higher-paid workers. Childcare responsibilities mean women are also more likely to work part-time.

See full Details.

Businesses should explain lack of women on boards, says Brown

Prime minister asks Financial Reporting Council to amend code of conduct
Claire Churchard

Gordon Brown has called the lack of women in UK boardrooms “completely unacceptable” and called on business to explain its lack of progress on the issue.

As equality campaigners mark International Women’s Day today (8 March), the prime minister said he wants businesses to report what action they are taking to boost the number of women in senior positions. He has asked the Financial Reporting Council, the corporate governance regulator, to consider adding this requirement to its code of conduct.

See full Article.

Boardroom Push For Women's Talents

Gordon Brown has said it is "completely unacceptable" that some top British firms have all-male boards.

The Prime Minister said "serious action" may be needed to tackle the issue as he met leading female executives at a Downing Street breakfast meeting on International Women's Day.

"When more than half of graduates are women, it is completely unacceptable that some of our top 100 public companies have not a single woman on their boards, and that none at all have a majority of women on their board," he said.

He went on: "...if we do not see a dramatic change in the composition of company boards in the future, we will need to consider taking more serious action to ensure companies recruit from the diverse pool of exceptional talent we have in the UK."

See full Article.

Bloom Claims Fuel-Cell Breakthrough

A Silicon Valley start-up unveiled devices it claims can generate electricity at a price that will win customers, while cutting down significantly on emissions.

The formal announcement by Bloom Energy Corp. follows almost a decade of stealth development. Appearing on the campus here of eBay Inc.—one of several large companies that have been testing the devices—the company asserted its fuel-cell technology is nothing less than a breakthrough in weaning the world off conventional power.

See full Article.

Trust in Business Rises Globally, Driven by Jumps In U.S. and Other Western Economies

Recovery Fragile as Majority Expect a Return to “Business as Usual,” 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer Finds

--Findings show change in corporate reputation drivers--

NEW YORK – Global trust in business is up modestly but the rebound is fueled by a spike in a handful of Western countries, especially the United States where it jumped 18 points to 54 percent, according to the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer. Trust in business remains high in three of the four BRIC countries, with Brazil, India, and China above 60 percent. The overall rise is tenuous, however, with nearly 70 percent saying business and financial companies will revert to “business as usual” after the recession. Trust in banks declined dramatically in most Western countries, plummeting 39 points (68 to 29 percent) in the U.S. and 20 points (41 to 21 percent) in the U.K. from 2007-2010*.

“Trust in business has improved, but the patient has a long road to go for a full recovery,” said Richard Edelman, president and CEO, Edelman. “The increase in trust in business belies its fragility. There is concern that short-term actions have been taken only as a result of the crisis and that government will need to remain a watchdog.

See full Press Release.

Five CSR Rankings Compared

CSR ranking confession: I tricked you! Or more accurately, I tricked myself. I recently asked you to guess the only company to be recognized by the 2009 Best Corporate Citizens, 2009 Most Ethical Companies, 2009 Newsweek Green Rankings (top 100 companies), 2010 Global 100 by Corporate Knights, and the 2010 Global ESG 100 by RiskMetrics Group. It turns out, however, that there is, in fact, NO COMPLETE CONSENSUS. Upon double-checking my work, I figured out that the one company that I had thought made all five lists was, in fact, not mentioned in the Most Ethical Citizens. My apologies to anybody I confused through my last post on this subject.

So without further ado, below please find the results of my (double-checked) analysis. While no company made all five lists, 11 were recognized by four of the five, an additional 24 by three, and yet another 87 by 2.

See full Article.

Making Corporate Boards More Effective

When: July 28–31, 2010

To emerge from the downturn stronger and more competitive, your board members must embrace new perspectives and bold strategies. Whether the issue is financial resilience, corporate strategy, executive compensation, or regulatory compliance, this program is designed to help you promote sound governance and strategy. You will acquire the frameworks needed to design an optimal board structure, lead your organization through periods of adversity and opportunity, and leverage the considerable talents of your board members.

See full Details.

Rising bills, shrinking wallets

But that headline figure masks some big differences in spending between countries. In Sweden, social spending stood at about a third of NNI in 2005 (the most recent year for which internationally comparable data is available) ; in Korea it was less than a 12th.

Countries differ also in their spending priorities, but despite that there are two categories that attract the lion’s share of social spending – health and spending on the elderly. Across the OECD as a whole, spending on the elderly stood at just under 8.3% of NNI in 2005 while for health the figure was about 7.3%. Combined, that amounts to about 15.6% of NNI, or about 64% of total public social spending.

See full Press Release.

Social Media and Stakeholder Engagement Conference

When: March 19th, 2010
Where: London, United Kingdom

Building on the success of the inaugural event worldwide on Social Media and Sustainability, Social Media and Stakeholder Engagement will bring together the top minds in sustainability, marketing, innovation, and technology.

This executive event will focus on how social media is changing the way companies engage key stakeholders, whether employees, customers, activists, investors, or the media.

Topics covered include:

1.) Transparency and authenticity as cornerstones of the new business reality

2.) Stakeholder engagment as it relates to employees, customers, and activists

3.) How to mobilize support for adaptation of new technologies to advance social and environmental initiatives

4.) A look at various techniques on how to break through the clutter with your message

See full Details.

GASB takes aim at sustainability

Norwalk, Conn.-With citizens increasingly concerned, if not outraged, about soaring national deficits, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has added to its agenda a project on economic condition reporting and fiscal sustainability.

GASB project manager Lisa R. Parker said that moving the project to the active agenda did not necessarily mean that the board sees a need for a standard in this area. The need will be determined as the board explores definitions of economic condition reporting and three components that the board has tentatively decided should be part of it: financial position, fiscal capacity and service capacity.

"We're really going to dissect the major issues that surround fiscal sustainability before we even begin to have any discussions around what, if anything, a standard might look like," explained Parker.

See full Article.

Boards refine fair value standards

The Financial Accounting StandardsBoard and the International Accounting Standards Board reached some tentative decisions on how to revise fair value accounting standards.

The two boards committed late last year to meet on a monthly basis - both in person and via video conference - to resolve some of the thornier issues holding up convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards and U.S. GAAP, with the goal of completing most of their work by June 2011.

Fair value and mark-to-market accounting have been among the most controversial issues the two boards have dealt with, especially when both standard-setters came under political pressure last year to revise their standards in response to the financial crisis. Last month, the two boards tentatively agreed to define fair value as an exit price, along with other issues.

See full Article.

Taxpayers want ethics, competence from preparers

Taxpayers' opinions of tax preparers seem to chime with the Internal Revenue Service's plans to require tax preparers to meet competency and ethical standards, according to a new report by the IRS Oversight Board.

In the report, 78 percent of those surveyed indicate that it is "very important" that tax preparers meet standards of "ethical behavior," while 73 percent believe it is very important that preparers meet competency standards. The numbers are in line with findings from the board's 2008 survey.

While the survey did not explicitly ask about the IRS's current plans to require preparers to register, take CPE courses and be tested, 55 percent of taxpayers indicated that it would have a "great deal of influence" on them if the preparer is subject to regulations or licensing by a government entity, either federal or state. That's compared to 39 percent who said that there would be a great deal of influence on them in choosing a preparer if they were subject to regulation or licensing by an industry association.

See full Article.

PCAOB thwarted on foreign firm inspections

At least 12 major nations - including several of the U.S.'s top international trading partners - are continuing to slam the door on efforts by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to conduct cross-border inspections of non-U.S. audit firms as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

As a result, more than three dozen foreign accounting firms have managed to evade PCAOB inspections, even though they registered with the board to audit U.S. corporations more than four years ago.

The board, however, released an update to its list of jurisdictions outside the U.S. where it conducted inspections of registered firms. It conducted inspections in 33 jurisdictions as of the end of last year, including far-flung locales like Papua New Guinea and Kazakhstan. Ironically, the roster of foreign audit firms that have sidestepped PCAOB inspections is top-heavy with foreign affiliates of major U.S. firms such as the Big Four, BDO and Grant Thornton.

See full Article.

Ferrari presenta en el Salón de Ginebra su primer híbrido

Ferrari ha presentado en el Salón del Automóvil de Ginebra su primer híbrido, el HY-KERS Vettura Laboratorio (vehículo experimental), un ejemplo de cómo la marca enfoca la tecnología híbrida sin perder el rendimiento y conducción que caracteriza a sus vehículos.

Este híbrido también tiene como objetivo garantizar que Ferrari pueda cumplir las futuras normas de emisiones de CO2, especialmente en relación con el ciclo urbano, explica el fabricante de automóviles ultra deportivos.

Ver Artículo completo.

The Spirit of Accounting: To the SEC: Forget the timetable and stop the runaway train

Once again, we're writing about convergence. But this time it's not about whether IFRS should replace GAAP or whether the IASB should replace FASB. Rather, we're writing an open letter to Mary Schapiro and the other SEC commissioners, as well as Chief Accountant Jim Kroeker, about the passel of standards on the front burner at the two boards.

In 2002, FASB and the IASB agreed in the "Norwalk Accord" to produce convergent standards. It was a shrewd effort to produce a single set of standards without raising the political and institutional issues associated with merging the two boards into one entity.

The accord was followed a few years later with a "Memorandum of Understanding," now called the "MoU," that identified specific major projects that the boards would aim to finish by specified deadlines. At the time, those deadlines must have seemed a long way off.

See full Article.

Tesla gets ready as electric cars go mainstream

The single-model display at the Geneva motor show by electric motoring pioneer Tesla is swamped this year by a seemingly endless string of rival sportscar companies launching electric vehicles of their own.

Whereas in the past the Tesla Roadster stood out as a breath of fresh air, and although it remains the only fully functional and street-legal electric car with others being trial models, it will soon be up against petrol-electric hybrids from Fisker and Lotus, Ferrari and Porsche.

"The world has been waiting for Porsche to show this," insists Porsche's chief executive Michael Macht as Porsche unveiled its plug-in petrol-electric hybrid at a Volkswagen Group event ahead of the motor show.

See full Article.

How To Give Great Interview

Show that you have the skills and would fit in, but above all make it clear how much you want the job.

Do not curb your enthusiasm. Win Sheffield, 55, a coach for the last seven years with the career counseling firm The Five O'Clock Club, says a lot of job seekers forget that one of the most crucial parts of interviewing is convincing the hiring manager that you truly desire the job. Interviewers don't just look for applicants who have the requisite skills and will fit in with a company. Now more than ever, they want candidates who want them.

Sheffield is absolutely right, says Cynthia Bragdon, owner of Urban Indigo, a gift store in Oakland, Calif. "I don't know why some candidates miss this," she adds. "Maybe because they think it seems desperate."

See full Article.

How Philanthropy Builds A Brand

An interview with Shelly Lazarus, chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

David Ogilvy founded the agency that bears his name in 1948. Today it is a global leader in advertising, marketing and public relations. From 1996 through 2008 Shelly Lazarus was chief executive officer of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, and since 1997 she has been chairman. A protégé of David Ogilvy, she shared in his belief that the purpose of advertising was to build great brands. Under her leadership that has remained the centerpiece of the company's philosophy, extending across regions and marketing disciplines and attracting some of the world's largest and most respected businesses, including American Express, BP, Coca-Cola, IBM, Motorola and Unilever, among many others.

See full Article.

When Should You Become A Mom?

Annette Larkin, now 46, waited until she was 38 to have her daughter, Bella. The time to focus on her career was the best gift she could have given herself and her child, she says. Larkin spent her 20s and early 30s building her career and making connections in Washington, D.C.--a city, she says, where your reputation is worth more than your resume.

She achieved big successes working as a Capitol Hill staffer and as a field operative on both Clinton-Gore election campaigns. Later, when she felt ready to have a child, Larkin was satisfied with her career accomplishments, and she felt secure in the resources she'd built up by working into her 30s.

See full Article.

Solar Shop sets up private green loans scheme with new finance arm

Renewable energy veteran The Solar Shop has created its own financing arm designed to provide customers with loans to install enough solar panels to eliminate electricity bills, effectively creating the company's own green loans scheme.

It comes as the Federal Government has issued a complete overhaul of its green initiatives scheme, which includes rebates for solar hot water systems.

Kevin Whelan, general manager of Solar Financial Solutions, says the new loan scheme has provided Solar Shop with the ability to help customers install solar panels with or without government assistance.

See full Article.

The Global Green Energy Race

America is falling short. Here's how it can catch up.

In the new decade, who is going to take the gold in the global clean energy market? Is America even in the running?

The answer is that the U.S. is behind in clean energy, but it's certainly not out of it. The nature of American ingenuity, its market system, and the fact that it's the best place to start a business means that even if it's lagging, that can be turned around quickly.

Experts note that the U.S. trails in part because it doesn't invest enough in clean energy research and development; it hasn't put a price on carbon; and it doesn't have long-term incentives that provide investors certainty. All this is true.

See full Article.

What makes a team uncollaborative?

There are many factors that can create a climate within a team that results in team members being uncollaborative. Teams are made up of individuals, therefore it is often useful to drill down and look at how individuals in the team are operating.

What makes an individual uncollaborative? Think of times when you have withheld information or resources, what was going on for you? Or you may have experienced this with others in your team. What factors were present? Taking time to understand this will help you to identify what needs to change in order to begin to influence the culture of your team.

Some of the factors that contribute to an uncollaborative culture include:

See full Article.

Leadership Means Picking The Right Fights

It's easy to overlook how crucial that is.

When an editor at Forbes asked me to write something explaining why I just wrote a book called The Right Fight (with a co-author, Damon Beyer), a bigger question occurred to me. Why would anyone write any business leadership book these days? Certainly, given the challenging economics of publishing, not to make money.

The genesis of this book goes way back to my childhood, before I ever really thought about money. Studying piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music, I had the good fortune to work with members of the Cleveland Orchestra. It caught my attention that these great artists struggled each day to create their extraordinary art. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't just fun. To create music they believed worthy, they had to dig deep, to fight inside themselves and with one another to get to something that went beyond technique and the written score, to something worthy of being called art.

See full Article.

How To Be An Innovative, Not Just Business, Leader

Three keys to making the essential leap.

Today's managers are full of ideas, theories and information. They have extraordinary knowledge and expertise. They are highly skilled at traditional business thinking. Yet many feel uncertain and unmoored. They find planning for next quarter a tough challenge, never mind committing to decisions that will play out over one to five years. They continually ask themselves what is the new process, the innovative product, the game-changing service, the compelling vision. One senior executive recently told me, "We've lost our crystal ball."

I can't give you a new crystal ball. But I will tell you that being an innovative leader holds the key to discovering what's new, what's better and what's next.

Truly innovative leadership means fostering new thinking and collaboration that produces new business opportunities.

See full Article.

Climate change human link evidence 'stronger'

A review from the UK Met Office says it is becoming clearer that human activities are causing climate change.

It says the evidence is stronger now than when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change carried out its last assessment in 2007.

The analysis, published in the Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change Journal, has assessed 110 research papers on the subject.

See full Article.

La eficiencia energética de los hogares se estancó en 2009 pese a la crisis

La mejora de la eficiencia energética se estancó en 2009 a pesar de que de que en épocas de crisis los ciudadanos tienden a recortar sus gastos, según informó hoy Gas Natural, que calcula que el potencial de ahorro energético de los hogares se mantiene en el equivalente a 1.439 millones de euros.

Así se desprende de Índice de Eficiencia Energética que fue presentado hoy en Madrid y que desde hace cinco años elabora Unión Fenosa, ahora integrada en Gas Natural.

Según el responsable del Centro de Eficiencia Energética de Gas Natural, José Javier Guerra, 2009 fue el primer año en que se estancó el Índice, que se mantuvo en 6,5 puntos (en una escala de 0 a 10), a pesar de que en época de crisis "el ahorro energético es uno de los mejores aliados de los hogares para reducir gastos".

Ver Artículo completo.

Australia’s top female entrepreneurs not in favour of quotas to boost women in senior ranks - Business news, business advice and information for Australian SMEs

I agree that there should not be quotas to hire women, however, as 50% of the population is women, I would expect to see similar percentages at all levels of the workforce. Otherwise companies will have to explain this apparent discrimination.

This is not the case of successfull women slamming the door behind them, is it?

Onésimo Alvarez-Moro

See full Article:
An exclusive SmartCompany survey of Australia's top female entrepreneurs has revealed most are not in favour of suggestions the Federal Government should introduce quotas or other regulations to encourage female participation at executive and board levels.

The survey of 30 leading female entrepreneurs, including Fernwood founder Diana Williams, Red Balloon founder Naomi Simson and Ross Human Directions chief executive Julia Ross, is part of SmartCompany's inaugural Top Female Entrepreneurs list, which ranks more than 45 of Australia's finest businesswomen.

The survey found just over 60% of respondents were against the idea of quotas, with most believing board and executive positions should be decided on merit.

See full Article.

Preventing obesity

The spread of unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles have led to rising rates of overweight and obesity. This has meant a greater burden of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Between 2007 and 2009, the OECD and the World Health Organization undertook an economic analysis of strategies for preventing chronic diseases linked to poor diets, sedentary lifestyles and obesity. As the graph shows, the most efficient interventions are found outside the health sector, in food advertising and in school-based programmes. But healthcare systems can make the largest impact on obesity and related chronic conditions by focusing on individuals at high risk. Interventions targeting younger age groups are efficient in the long term, but they will not have significant health effects for many years.

See full Article.

Derechos humanos y RSE

Ecología y Desarrollo ha elaborado el estudio “Derechos humanos: Piedra Angular de la Responsabilidad Social de las Empresas. Recomendaciones para la mejora en la gestión en derechos humanos de las empresas españolas”. Este informe pretende ahondar en la noción de Derechos Humanos y su relación con la empresa.

El trabajo se ha estructurado en cuatro partes:

La primera hace un repaso sobre el desarrollo histórico del concepto de “derechos humanos” haciendo especial hincapié en los aspectos que caen dentro del ámbito de la empresa: derecho al trabajo, a la igualdad, a la libertad sindical, etc.

Ver Artículo completo.

La UE auspicia las denuncias anónimas de corrupción

La Oficina Europea de Lucha Antifraude (OLAF) de la Unión Europea (UE) puso en marcha ayer un nuevo sistema de denuncias anónimas a través de internet contra la corrupción. Los ciudadanos, los eurofuncionarios y las empresas podrán exponer de forma confidencial sus sospechas de corrupción y fraude en la UE, lo que facilitará la actuación del organismo, según destacaron ayer fuentes comunitarias.

El nuevo sistema de notificación de fraude permitirá a los funcionarios comunicar directamente y de forma anónima a la OLAF sus sospechas sin tener que acudir a sus superiores jerárquicos. El nuevo mecanismo permitirá asimismo al denunciante un diálogo escrito con los investigadores de OLAF para ampliar las informaciones. El sistema funcionará como un buzón anónimo donde ambas partes se dejan mensajes. Las denuncias pueden registrarse desde ayer en la página web de OLAF: http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/index_es.html.

Ver Artículo completo.

Non-green asset managers could be sued -UN report

Investment advisors and asset managers could be sued for negligence if they do not consider the environment and other social issues when making investment decisions, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.

Money managers have a legal responsibility to raise environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when tendering investment and advising clients, a law expert and one of the report's authors said.

"(There is a) very real risk that (the advisor) will be sued for negligence on the grounds that they failed to discharge their professional duty of care to the client by failing to raise and take into account ESG considerations," said Paul Watchman.

See full Article.

Banking Reform Proposals: Why They Miss the Mark

Big banks are today's designated villains, widely blamed for creating the financial crisis and criticized for sopping up government bailout money and then indulging in a new orgy of extravagant bonuses. To prevent the banks from acting carelessly and taking excessive risk, President Obama has proposed restricting bank activities, like prohibiting them from trading for themselves and limiting the size of liabilities.

These proposals, made late in January, come on top of others: a $90 billion tax over 10 years on the 50 largest banks to pay back bailout money; efforts to assure executive compensation doesn't encourage excessive risk taking; and a proposal for a new consumer protection agency, among others.

See full Article.

Executive Compensation: More Regulation, or Just More Transparency?

The question of whether CEOs of America's major companies are overpaid has been a perennial subject of interest for many years. Are the compensation practices for these elite men and women fair and appropriate? Do these compensation practices provide proper incentives? Or do they reward excessive caution or risk taking?

CEOs not only make a lot of money in terms of raw numbers, they make a lot of money relative to the people who work outside the executive suite. According to one study, CEO pay relative to that of the average employee has soared in recent decades from a level of 30 to 1 in 1970 to 120 to 1 in the year 2000. What's more, the compensation of CEOs in one sector, financial services, outpaces that of CEOs who head non-financial companies. One study looked at a very select group -- the people in the top 1/10th of 1% tax bracket. Executives of non-financial companies comprised 3.9% of this bracket. In contrast, investment bankers comprised 5.2% and fund managers 4.8%.

See full Article.

2009 Deloitte Corporate Responsibility Report

2009 Deloitte Corporate Responsibility Report

See full Press Release, in pdf format, and access to full Report.

Tax for development

Reforming tax systems can boost development by giving countries more autonomy. This can lead to broader reforms too.

People in developed economies struggling to close burgeoning deficits incurred in the crisis by raising taxes or cutting spending could be forgiven for thinking that developing countries are concerned with the same priorities. But even in good times, dealing with fiscal challenges is an ordeal.

Forget about tax rates or tranches, poor countries often quite simply lack the resources and capacity to build effective tax-collection systems. Despite some recent improvements in revenue-raising efforts, half of sub-Saharan African countries still mobilise less than 15% of their GDP in tax revenues, as against an average of around 35% in OECD countries and 23% in Latin America. This makes it difficult for the state to function properly, let alone to deliver on wider roles, such as social services or a better business environment.

See full Article.