Corporate governance - Vigil

The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, six days after President Donald Trump again demanded that the U.S. central bank cut borrowing costs during a rare presidential visit to its headquarters in Washington. The steep reduction in the benchmark interest rate that Trump wants - he has suggested cutting it from the current 4.25 to 4.50 per cent range to as low as one per cent - is far out of line with an economy that has hewn largely to a steady-as-it-goes trajectory in the six weeks since the Fed’s last meeting. Such dramatic rate cuts would likely boost inflation in the view of many economists and are more in line with what the central bank would do to lift the economy out of recession.

KKR has acquired a majority stake in HealthCare Royalty Partners, pushing the investment firm further into the healthcare industry. The transaction was announced Wednesday morning, confirming a prior report by The Wall Street Journal. HealthCare Royalty Partners, also known as HCRx, acquires the rights to royalty streams from pharmaceutical companies, either for drugs that already generate sales or those that are in later stages of development. HCRx has about $3 billion in assets under management. The deal is being done by KKR’s management company, not one of its buyout funds. That means HCRx will become a part of KKR once the deal is complete. HCRx Chief Executive Clarke Futch, a co-founder of the business, will continue to hold a minority stake in the company and will continue to lead the HCRx team, the company said.

Le président des États-Unis, Donald Trump, prévient que la date butoir qu’il a lui-même fixée à ce vendredi pour la conclusion d’accords commerciaux avec d’autres pays, dont le Canada, ne sera pas repoussée. Sur son réseau social Truth, mercredi matin, M. Trump a écrit que la « date butoir du 1er août est la date butoir du 1er août », qu’elle est immuable et qu’elle ne sera pas repoussée. Le président américain a ajouté que la journée de vendredi sera « un grand jour pour l’Amérique ».

À l’autre bout du monde, l’un des plus importants placements privés de La Caisse est dans la tourmente. Des actionnaires de FNZ qui allèguent avoir été dilués injustement au profit du bas de laine des Québécois et d’autres grands investisseurs réclament plus de 6 milliards (4,6 milliards US) à ce spécialiste des technologies financières. Le nom de ce géant à capital fermé, donc pas inscrit en Bourse, est méconnu du grand public. Domicilié en Nouvelle-Zélande, il est derrière une plateforme numérique de gestion de patrimoine utilisée par 650 institutions financières et assureurs, comme Aviva et Barclays, qui gèrent ensemble plus de 1700 milliards US.

L’entreprise Matériaux Interstar, un fabricant de pigments de coloration de béton établi à Sherbrooke, passe aux mains du Groupe Saint-Gobain, géant européen des matériaux et produits de construction. Avec cette acquisition annoncée mardi, Saint-Gobain prévoit ajouter quelque 20 millions $ à son chiffre d’affaires dans le marché des ingrédients de béton en Amérique du Nord. Saint-Gobain prévoit intégrer les 55 employés de Matériaux Insterstar dans sa division de « produits chimiques pour la construction », tout en continuant ses opérations à son siège social de Sherbrooke ainsi que ses établissements d’affaires à Calgary en Alberta et Junction City en Illinois aux États-Unis.

La Commission européenne a annoncé mercredi que 18 pays avaient réclamé des prêts à hauteur de 127 milliards d’euros (202 milliards de dollars canadiens), via un instrument destiné à muscler les capacités de défense du continent. Ce programme, baptisé « SAFE », est au cœur de la stratégie de l’exécutif européen pour accélérer les achats en commun d’armement face à la menace russe. Conçu pour réduire la dépendance des Européens à l’égard des États-Unis, il permet aux États membres d’obtenir des prêts à des conditions avantageuses. Selon le commissaire européen à la Défense Andrius Kubilius, 18 pays ont réclamé ces prêts d’une valeur d’au moins « 127 milliards d’euros » (202 milliards de dollars canadiens). La France, l’Espagne, l’Italie et la Pologne font partie des pays candidats.

Boards are navigating an era of profound and persistent volatility. Global trade dynamics are in flux, shaped by shifting alliances and unpredictable tariffs. These disruptions have created ripple effects across companies’ strategic plans and supply chains, forcing companies to rethink revenue growth, financial performance, sourcing strategies, cost structures and operations. At the same time, economic signals remain mixed — consumer confidence is weakening and markets are increasingly reactive, yet external pressures are only part of the picture. Ransomware attacks, environmental disasters, unplanned CEO departures and other internal shocks can trigger crises just as suddenly and severely. In this environment, crisis is no longer a rare event but a recurring challenge.

The European Union's trade deal with the United States could cost the pharmaceutical industry between $13 billion and $19 billion as branded medicines become subject to a tariff of 15%, analysts said on Monday. The added costs could raise prices for consumers unless pharmaceutical companies take action to mitigate the impact of the tariffs, one of the analysts said. Pharmaceuticals had historically been exempt from duties. Medicines are the largest European exports to the United States by value and the EU accounts for about 60% of all pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. On Sunday, European officials said that a bilateral trade deal for an across-the-board 15% tariff included pharmaceuticals, except for some generic drugs, which would be subject to no tariffs.

U.S. senators from both major parties plan to introduce bills this week targeting China over its treatment of minority groups, dissidents and Taiwan, emphasizing security and human rights as President Donald Trump focuses on trade with Beijing. The three bills, seen by Reuters ahead of their introduction, have Democratic and Republican sponsors, a departure from the fierce partisanship dividing Washington. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed opposition to the bills, calling them "a gross interference in China's internal affairs" and demanded a halt to the "erroneous bills" advancement and deliberation. Trump's push to reach economic agreements between the world's two biggest economies has strong support in the U.S. Congress, especially from his fellow Republicans, but has prompted some China hawks to worry that the U.S. government is de-emphasizing security issues.

Early this summer, Wise presented shareholders with an attractive proposition: How about moving the U.K. payments company’s main stock listing to the U.S., where stock prices for tech firms are often higher? A few weeks later, Wise disclosed a condition. Kristo Käärmann, its billionaire chief executive, would keep supervoting rights that were due to expire next year for another decade. The episode was a test of how much power investors are willing to cede to founders in order to gain exposure to tech stocks with strong prospects. The answer: quite a lot. Käärmann’s co-founder, who has left the company, tried to whip up a shareholder revolt. But on Monday, shareholders, including Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, backed Wise by a wide margin. 

AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. is moving to deploy its nuclear-reactor technology into the United States, a surprise push one analyst said could bolster the company’s revenue and exposure to American investors if it manages to clinch deals against growing competition. The Canadian engineering company has “begun to explore opportunities for alternative large nuclear reactor technologies, notably Candu reactors, in the U.S.,” Joe St. Julian, president of the nuclear operations at AtkinsRéalis, said in an e-mailed statement Monday. Talks have started with U.S. regulatory agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Nuclear Security Administration, to assess licensing and other potential concerns, the company said. The Financial Times was first to report on the corporation’s plans.

Canadian boards of directors could face lawsuits and regulatory penalties if their companies fail to account for a wide range of nature-related risks, from biodiversity loss to destructive weather to policy changes, a law firm warns in a detailed new opinion. Companies have been focused on concerns specific to climate change, but dealing with more immediate dangers that involve land, water, air and Indigenous territories is being heaped onto the fiduciary duties of directors in numerous industries, according to the legal opinion, written by Toronto-based climate and energy law firm Resilient LLP and commissioned by British-based Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative. The CCLI is backed by several international and Canadian law schools and advocacy groups, such as the Canada Climate Law Initiative.

Palo Alto Networks is in talks to acquire the Israeli cybersecurity provider CyberArk Software in what would mark one of the biggest technology takeovers so far this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Palo Alto Networks could finalize a deal for CyberArk as soon as later this week, the people said. Assuming a typical deal premium, a deal could value CyberArk well above its roughly $20 billion market value. Palo Alto Networks has been on an acquisition hunt, vying to build up a bigger company that can handle a client’s full-range of security needs to better fight threats from artificial intelligence. But it has never done a deal as big as CyberArk. “This is precisely why industry must change the paradigm, shifting away from today’s fragmented security landscape and towards consolidation,” Chief Executive Nikesh Arora said in May.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’ll impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India’s purchasing of Russian oil. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that India “is our friend” but its “Tariffs are far too high” on U.S. goods. The Republican president added that India buys military equipment and oil from Russia, which he said has enabled the war in Ukraine. As a result, he intends to charge an additional “penalty” starting on Friday as part of the launch of his administration’s revised tariffs on multiple countries. The new tariffs could put India at a disadvantage in the U.S. market relative to Vietnam, Bangladesh and, possibly, China, said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

Le Banque du Canada maintient son taux d’intérêt directeur inchangé à 2,75 %, pour une troisième décision consécutive de statu quo par son Conseil de direction. Dans son communiqué matinal, la Banque du Canada indique que « dans ce contexte où l’incertitude [des mesures commerciales américaines] reste élevée, où l’économie canadienne montre une certaine résilience et où des pressions sur l’inflation sous-jacente subsistent, le Conseil de direction [de la Banque du Canada] a décidé de laisser le taux directeur inchangé. » « Nous continuerons d’analyser l’évolution et la force des pressions sur l’inflation – celles à la baisse dues à l’affaiblissement de l’économie et celles à la hausse découlant de la montée des coûts attribuable aux droits de douane et à la réorganisation du commerce. »

L’arrivée de Claudine Bouchard à la tête d’Hydro-Québec n’a pas calmé le jeu à la table de négociation pour établir les nouvelles conventions collectives. Un tribunal vient d’ordonner à la société d’État de ne plus s’ingérer dans les activités d’un syndicat qui représente près de 5500 employés. Dans une ordonnance provisoire rendue le 26 juillet, le Tribunal administratif du travail (TAT) force Hydro-Québec à « ne pas entraver ni s’ingérer dans les activités » du Syndicat des spécialistes et professionnels d’Hydro-Québec, section locale 4250 (SCFP 4250). Il est maintenant interdit à la société d’État de s’adresser directement aux salariés dans le cadre des négociations qui s’étirent depuis 18 mois. La semaine dernière, le SCFP 4250 a déposé une plainte contre Hydro-Québec pour négociation de mauvaise foi et entrave aux activités syndicales.

Un nouveau rapport montre que le coût moyen mondial d’une violation de données a diminué pour la première fois en cinq ans, mais pas au Canada. Le coût moyen d’une violation entre mars 2024 et février 2025 s’élevait à 6,4 millions, contre 6,6 millions un an plus tôt, selon une étude publiée mercredi par le géant technologique IBM et le Ponemon Institute, un centre de recherche en cybersécurité basé aux États-Unis. Alors que les coûts mondiaux baissent en raison de cycles de vie plus courts des violations, les dépenses liées à ces attaques ont augmenté au Canada, souligne Daina Proctor, responsable de la sécurité chez IBM Canada. Le coût moyen d’une violation au Canada a grimpé de 10,4 % pour atteindre 6,98 millions au cours de la dernière année étudiée, contre 6,32 millions l’année précédente.  

Activist campaigns continue at record levels but companies are increasingly willing—and able—to fight back effectively. In an era of intensifying shareholder scrutiny, shareholder activism is a growing threat for many companies. At our recent Board Forum, Howard Brownstein, CEO of The Brownstein Corporation and former board member, P&F Industries, A.M. Castle and PICO Holdings; Pat Tucker, Americas head of M&A, activism & governance at FTI Consulting; and Derek Zaba, partner, co-chair, shareholder activism and corporate defense practice at Sidley Austin led an interactive session walking board members through the anatomy of a proxy fight, outlining critical steps to prepare, respond and—if necessary—defend under pressure.

Harley-Davidson is in talks with Pacific Investment Management Co and KKR & Co. to sell a stake in its financing unit and existing motorcycle loan portfolio in a deal worth $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Shares of the company were up 1.9% in extended trade. Conversations are ongoing, and a deal may be announced within weeks, while details and size of it may change, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. KKR and PIMCO declined to comment, while Harley-Davidson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Harley-Davidson Financial Services, which helps dealers finance their investory and provides retail loans, primarily for the purchase of HarleyDavidson and LiveWire motorcycles, accounted for 20% of the company's revenue in 2024.

Berkshire Hathaway sold about one-third of its stake in VeriSign an internet infrastructure and domain name registry company that Warren Buffett's conglomerate has invested in since 2012, VeriSign said on Monday. The sale of 4.3 million VeriSign shares at $285 each generated gross proceeds of about $1.23 billion, reducing Berkshire's ownership stake to 9.6% from 14.2%. Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here. VeriSign, based in Reston, Virginia, said the sale was intended to reduce Berkshire's stake to below 10%, a threshold that triggers regulatory obligations. The price was a 6.9% discount to VeriSign's closing price of $305.98. In after-hours trading, VeriSign shares fell 5.9% to $288.00. Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

Oil and gas equipment supplier Baker Hughes has clinched a $13.6bn all-cash deal to buy Chart Industries, gatecrashing an earlier agreement to merge with rival Flowserve. The acquisition gives Baker Hughes, the $46bn oilfield services group, a stronger foothold serving crucial industries such as liquefied natural gas, nuclear energy and data centres and helps to boost its fast-growing industrial and energy technology division. The deal to buy Chart, which specialises in handling gas and liquids at extremely low temperatures mainly for industrial clients, displaces an agreement the company made earlier this year with rival Flowserve to combine in a $19bn all-stock merger. That agreement, which was framed as a merger of equals, will be terminated as a result.

The Trump administration is considering a plan to raise tens of billions of dollars with a new fee that would transform the patent system, a radical move that would likely fuel pushback from businesses. Commerce Department officials are discussing charging patent holders 1% to 5% of their overall patent value, a shift that could dramatically increase fees, according to people familiar with the matter. The idea is being considered by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as part of his plans to raise revenue and narrow the government’s budget deficit. The new structure would be a major change in the 235-year old practice of applying for a patent, a bedrock process in the U.S. economy. Companies and researchers use patents to protect inventions and make money from them. Because they are public, patents let others in the same field build on previous work. 

Union Pacific said on Tuesday it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern NSC-N in an $85 billion deal to create the nation’s first coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the country. If approved, the deal would be the largest-ever buyout in the sector and combine Union Pacific’s stronghold in the western two-thirds of the U.S. with Norfolk’s 19,500 mile network that primarily spans 22 eastern states. The two railroads are expected to have a combined enterprise value of $250 billion and would unlock about $2.75 billion in annualized synergies, the companies said. The companies said on Thursday they were in advanced discussion for a possible merger.

Procter & Gamble PG-N CEO Jon Moeller is stepping away from the top job after four years in the role, and the consumer goods giant said he would be succeeded by chief operating officer Shailesh Jejurikar. Moeller will become executive chairman and “provide advice and counsel to the CEO on company matters,” P&G said in a statement on Monday, a day before it was scheduled to report its quarterly results. The company did not disclose the reason for the change in leadership in its statement, but P&G chief communications officer Damon Jones told Reuters Moeller’s departure was part of a planned and orderly transition made by the board. There were no health concerns leading to Moeller’s departure, he said.