21 Jan AGMs IN 2021 – WHAT WE CAN EXPECT; INVESTORS SHORT-CHANGED IN CAPITAL RAISINGS
Posted at 22:37h
in COVID-19
Welcome to this week’s business and media intelligence update, with insights collected over the past seven days by the Cannings team.
AGMs IN 2021 – WHAT WE CAN EXPECT
- Like just about everything else, COVID-19 changed the way AGMs are conducted and it is likely that some of those changes will stick around post pandemic. According to partners at law firm King & Wood Mallesons, four major themes came out of ASX 200 companies last year: the shift to virtual meetings, an ever more combative stance on remuneration, the increase in ESG resolutions, and trends in director elections and re-elections. Read more here.
CEO LESSONS FROM OUR POLITICIANS
- The pandemic has also changed the way our political leaders communicate in a time of crisis. More facts, clearer messages, around the clock availability… There are lessons here for CEOs, directors and senior executives, according to our Senior Director Luis M Garcia. In this piece published in The Australian, he shares his three key takeaways from how our politicians have handled the COVID-19 communications rollercoaster.
INVESTORS SHORT-CHANGED BY $3.6B IN CAPITAL RAISINGS
- New data from corporate advisory firm Vesparum Capital suggests $38 billion in capital was raised by ASX listed companies since late February 2020, of which just $5 billion (13 per cent) was allocated to retail shareholders with less than $2.5 million in assets. The lion’s share went to large fund managers, family offices or private wealth firms. Read more in The AFR.
PANDEMIC SAW CFOs WALKING OUT THE DOOR
- Thirty-seven CFOs stepped down from S&P 500 companies in 2020, up 27.6 per cent from 2019, as the pandemic put pressure on corporate balance sheets and the executives who manage them. Read all about the stresses facing financial heads in The Wall St Journal.
IS REMOTE WORK MAKING US PARANOID?
- Small moments are becoming amplified for much of the population still stuck working from home, as the new virtual world lags behind our emotional office dynamics. Career consultant Minda Harts, says the onus is on employers to bridge the communication gaps left by our new remote reality, for exampling ensuring video meetings are more structured. Read more in The New York Times.
STILL IN THOSE PJs? HERE’S HOW TO WEAR THEM EVERYWHERE
- It seems we are trading our sad WFH uniforms for snazzy sleepwear, spending every waking hour in snugly bliss. At least that’s the view from The Wall Street Journal, which has provided some useful tips to help you style PJs for almost any socially distant activity.
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