SEC Adopts Final Rules for Disclosure of Hedging Policies

The Securities and Exchange Commission today approved final rules to require companies to disclose in proxy or information statements for the election of directors any practices or policies regarding the ability of employees or directors to engage in certain hedging transactions with respect to company equity securities.

“The new rules will provide for clear and straightforward disclosure of company policies regarding hedging,” said Chairman Jay Clayton. “These disclosures in themselves, and in combination with our officer and director purchase and sale disclosure requirements, should bring increased clarity to share ownership and incentives that will benefit our investors, registrants, and our markets."

The final rules, which implement a mandate from the Dodd-Frank Act, will require disclosure of practices or policies in full, or, alternatively, a summary of those practices or policies that includes a description of any categories of hedging transactions that are specifically permitted or disallowed. If the registrant does not have any such practices or policies, it will disclose that fact or state that hedging is generally permitted. read more »

Marriott Concedes 5 Million Passport Numbers Lost to Hackers Were Not Encrypted

Marriott International said on Friday that the biggest hacking of personal information in history was not quite as big as first feared, but for the first time conceded that its Starwood hotel unit did not encrypt the passport numbers for roughly five million guests. Those passport numbers were lost in an attack that many outside experts believe was carried out by Chinese intelligence agencies.

On Friday the firm said that teams of forensic and data analysts had identified “approximately 383 million records as the upper limit” for the total number of guest reservations records lost, though the company still says it has no idea who carried out the attack, and it suggested the figure would decline over time as more duplicate records are identified. The revised figure is still the largest loss in history, greater than the attack on Equifax, the consumer credit-reporting agency, which lost the driver’s license and Social Security numbers of roughly 145.5 million Americans in 2017, leading to the ouster of its chief executive and a huge loss of confidence in the firm. read more »

Carlos Ghosn, Former Nissan Chairman, Will Appear in Court

Carlos Ghosn will finally get a day in court.

Mr. Ghosn, the embattled former chairman of Nissan Motor is set to appear in a Tokyo court on Jan. 8 in what would be his first public appearance since his arrest in November. He has been held since then in a Tokyo jail and faces charges that he underreported his compensation to the Japanese authorities.

His appearance will likely further stoke interest in a legal and corporate clash that has shaken a global auto empire. The brash Mr. Ghosn won fame for turning around Nissan more than a decade ago and leading a sprawling car-making alliance that also includes Renault of France and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan. He has since been ousted as Nissan’s chairman, straining ties with Renault and leaving open the question of who will run a business that combined sells more than 10 million cars annually. read more »

Wells Fargo employees say little has changed since fake accounts scandal

Bank workers say they are still under pressure to get bonuses and push through deal closings with ‘no real respect’

It has been two years since Wells Fargo was embroiled in one of the biggest banking scandals in history. Under pressure to hit sales targets it was revealed that staff had created millions of fake bank accounts in order to hit their goals. Despite huge fines, a congressional mauling and public apologies, employees at the 166-year-old bank claim little has changed.

“It doesn’t feel like they’ve changed much of anything, to be honest,” Meggan Halvorson, a Wells Fargo private mortgage employee for six years, told the Guardian. “Things put in place don’t seem to be doing much of anything and we still hear complaints from customers.”

Since the scandal broke Wells Fargo has paid over $1.7bn in fines, $575m of that as late as December. Its executives have been grilled by Congress and the bank has promised “a new day”. read more »