Corporate governance - Vigil

Energy infrastructure company Enbridge Inc said on Tuesday it had reached a final investment decision to invest US$900-million on a 600 megawatt solar power project in Texas, as demand for clean energy from tech companies drives growth in renewables. Meta Platforms has signed a long-term contract to purchase 100 per cent of the project’s renewable output to help power its regional operations. Meta is among the several large tech firms investing in renewable energy to power their data centres. The Clear Fork project, located near San Antonio, is expected to become operational by 2027.

Deux rapports de la Banque du Canada ont indiqué lundi que l’incertitude liée aux droits de douane a continué de peser sur la confiance des entreprises et des consommateurs au deuxième trimestre, mais que les pires scénarios commerciaux anticipés semblent moins probables. L’enquête de la banque centrale sur les perspectives des entreprises souligne que la confiance des entreprises est « encore modérée », mais qu’elle s’est améliorée par rapport aux fortes baisses enregistrées en mars et avril 2025. Ainsi, 28 % des entreprises se préparent désormais à une récession au Canada, contre 32 % au trimestre précédent, mais toujours en hausse par rapport aux 15 % des deux trimestres antérieurs, peut-on lire.

Une enquête a été déclenchée suite à une brèche de cybersécurité chez Groupe Colabor, un distributeur et grossiste alimentaire de Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville. Cette entreprise inscrite à la Bourse de Toronto dit avoir identifié dimanche un incident ayant eu un impact sur ses systèmes technologiques internes. Les dirigeants ont précisé lundi soir ne pas connaître encore toute l’étendue, la nature et l’impact de l’incident, ni la mesure dans laquelle les données des clients, des fournisseurs ou des employés ont pu avoir été consultées. L’entreprise vaut une centaine de millions de dollars en Bourse et cet évènement survient alors que les dirigeants doivent présenter jeudi la plus récente performance financière trimestrielle de la compagnie.

Face à la menace de droits de douane de Donald Trump sur le secteur pharmaceutique, le géant britannique AstraZeneca annonce investir 50 milliards de dollars d’ici 2030 aux États-Unis pour y fabriquer des médicaments et financer ses programmes de recherche. Cet investissement « renforce notre confiance dans l’innovation américaine […] et notre engagement envers les millions de patients qui ont besoin de nos médicaments en Amérique et dans le monde », assure le directeur général d’AstraZeneca Pascal Soriot dans un communiqué publié dans la nuit de lundi à mardi. Au nom du rééquilibrage des relations commerciales au profit des États-Unis, Donald Trump a imposé en avril une surtaxe plancher de 10 % sur les importations. Les médicaments en sont exemptés, mais l’administration Trump avait lancé le même mois une enquête sur les importations du secteur.

Les romances au bureau suscitent la fascination, surtout quand elles sont extraconjugales et filmées en direct. Est-ce que l’adultère consentant d’un président et d’une vice-présidente des ressources humaines filmés à un spectacle de Coldplay doit absolument être puni ? Jusqu’à coûter son emploi au grand patron ? Des spécialistes se prononcent. Le conseil d’administration ne peut pas rester les bras croisés dans une crise de la sorte, affirme Alexandra Langelier, vice-présidente exécutive de l’Institut sur la gouvernance d’organisations privées et publiques (IGOPP). Les membres doivent se rencontrer rapidement, explique-t-elle, et afficher publiquement les actions qui sont mises en place. « Le C.A. doit montrer rapidement qu’il est conscient de l’enjeu de réputation pour l’entreprise, voire de sa pérennité. »

Cross-border payments provider IFX Payments said on Monday that it is considering withdrawing its takeover offer for Argentex, just days after the British currency risk management company appointed administrators due to a funding shortfall. Argentex, one of the early casualties of market turbulence sparked by trade tensions, said on Friday that it had decided to appoint administrators after its main trading unit halted operations due to a failure to secure funding. The company experienced a near-total collapse in market value after it suspended trading in April. It later agreed to a takeover deal with UK-based IFX, under which shareholders would receive 2.49 pence per share, valuing Argentex at about 3 million pounds ($4 million).

Brussels is ratcheting up pressure on national governments to stop blocking bank consolidation, issuing twin broadsides this week against meddling by the Italian and Spanish governments in banking tie-ups. Several commission officials told the Financial Times that warnings to Rome and Madrid were connected, as Brussels steps up efforts to encourage banking consolidation and boost the bloc’s ailing economy. “The problem is that this is pure political posturing and the rules are clear and governments have no formal power to prevent these mergers from happening,” said one senior European official. “The question here is who are you really competing with . . . our competitors are not inside the EU, they are outside the EU.”

Figma is targeting a fully-diluted valuation of up to US$16.4 billion in its initial public offering, as the cloud-based design software firm prepares for a debut on the NYSE that could inject fresh momentum into a resurgent market for tech listings. The San Francisco-based company, along with some investors, is eyeing proceeds of up to $1.03 billion by selling nearly 37 million shares priced between $25 and $28 each, it said on Monday. The listing could be a major milestone for Figma, coming more than a year after its $20 billion sale to Adobe ADBE.O failed due to regulatory hurdles in Europe and the U.K. An equities rally and a bunch of strong debuts recently have helped remove the IPO market overhang. 

The IT company CEO captured in a widely circulated video showing him embracing an employee at a Coldplay concert has resigned. Andy Byron resigned from his job as CEO of Cincinnati-based Astronomer Inc., according to a statement posted on LinkedIn by the company Saturday. “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” the company said in its post on LinkedIn. The move comes a day after the company said that Byron had been placed on leave and the board of directors had launched a formal investigation into the jumbotron incident, which went viral. A company spokesman later confirmed in a statement to AP that it was Byron and Astronomer chief people officer Kristin Cabot in the video.

Alberta’s government has contributed $2.8-billion to a provincial wealth fund that now stands at $30-billion and fleshed out the board of directors for a new corporation that was set up to make the fund grow faster. Premier Danielle Smith’s government created the new Crown corporation, called the Heritage Fund Opportunities Corp., or HFOC, late last year. It will oversee a plan announced in January that aims to boost the assets held by the province’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund to at least $250-billion by 2050. The new infusion of cash, announced Friday by Ms. Smith and Finance Minister Nate Horner, was made up of $2.6-billion drawn from the province’s surplus, with an additional $200-million from the government to bring the fund’s assets to $30-billion.

Microsoft Corp. has issued an alert about “active attacks” on server software used by government agencies and businesses to share documents within organizations, and it recommended security updates that customers should apply immediately. The FBI on Sunday said it is aware of the attacks and is working closely with its federal and private-sector partners, but offered no other details. In an alert issued on Saturday, Microsoft said the vulnerabilities apply only to SharePoint servers used within organizations. It said that SharePoint Online in Microsoft 365, which is in the cloud, was not hit by the attacks.

The European Union is exploring a broader set of possible counter-measures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable trade agreement with Washington fade, according to EU diplomats. An increasing number of EU members, including Germany, are now considering using wide-ranging “anti-coercion” measures which would let the bloc target U.S. services and other sectors in the absence of a deal, diplomats say. The European Commission, which negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the 27-member bloc, had appeared on course for a agreement in which the EU would still have faced a 10 per cent U.S. tariff on most of its exports, with some concessions.

Le président américain Donald Trump a promulgué vendredi une nouvelle loi réglementant un type de cryptomonnaie, une étape majeure pour un secteur qui tente de renforcer sa légitimité et son influence politique. La loi GENIUS établit les premiers garde-fous et autres protections des consommateurs pour les cryptomonnaies stables, celles qui sont liées à des actifs comme le dollar américain, afin de réduire la volatilité des prix par rapport à d’autres formes de cryptomonnaies. Elle a été adoptée par la Chambre des représentants et le Sénat avec une large majorité bipartite.

Investissement Québec, Desjardins, et Fondaction joignent l’actionnariat du producteur d’énergie renouvelable Innergex, qui a été privatisé par la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. La Caisse en a fait l’annonce, lundi, dans un communiqué. L’institution avait fait connaître son intention d’acquérir Innergex en février dernier pour un montant de 13,75 $ par action et de 25 $ pour les actions privilégiées, ce qui conférait une valeur de 10 milliards à l’entreprise de Longueuil en tenant compte de la dette.   Au moment de l’annonce, le premier vice-président et chef des Infrastructures de la Caisse, Emmanuel Jaclot, avait indiqué, en entrevue avec La Presse Canadienne que l’institution voulait trouver d’autres investisseurs pour une participation d’environ 20 %.  

Un sénateur américain appelle le premier ministre Mark Carney à agir rapidement pour abroger la taxe sur les services numériques. « Vous avez tous, et c’est tout à votre honneur, déclaré que vous ne la percevriez pas. J’ai demandé au Canada d’agir au plus vite pour faire adopter une loi au Parlement garantissant sa suppression définitive », a affirmé lundi Ron Wyden, sénateur démocrate de l’Oregon, aux médias après une rencontre entre M. Carney et une délégation bipartite de quatre sénateurs américains à Ottawa. « Le premier ministre s’est montré réceptif à cette idée, a ajouté M. Wyden. Il a dit qu’il s’en occuperait à l’automne. »

Schneider Electric le dit d’emblée : les États-Unis et le Canada sont deux de ses marchés les plus importants. Le rapatriement à Brossard de la fabrication de certains composants électriques qui se faisait jusque-là aux États-Unis n’a rien à voir avec la conjoncture politique, assure-t-elle, mais est plutôt motivée par l’anticipation d’un investissement massif dans la transition énergétique partout au Canada. « Au Canada et au Québec, la production et la demande d’électricité vont être au cœur de la croissance de l’économie », dit son vice-président, développement durable et initiatives stratégiques et innovation, Frederick Morency. « Notre investissement à Brossard s’inscrit dans notre reconnaissance de cette demande, qui devra être desservie pour au moins la prochaine décennie. »

La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec fait son premier investissement direct dans une centrale nucléaire. Elle met l’équivalent de 3,2 milliards dans le projet de centrale nucléaire Sizewell C au Royaume-Uni. La stratégie d’investissement de la Caisse fait une grande place aux énergies renouvelables, mais l’institution n’avait jamais fait un investissement direct dans une centrale nucléaire, note son premier vice-président et chef des Infrastructures, Emmanuel Jaclot, en entrevue. « Beaucoup d’études montrent qu’on va avoir besoin du nucléaire, si on veut atteindre la carboneutralité en 2050 au niveau mondial », explique M. Jaclot.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is prepared to work with the Labor Department to establish guardrails for investors if they gain greater access to private markets in retirement plans, the agency's chief said in a CNBC interview on Monday. "We can work with the Department of Labor to help to have good guardrails" for people to offer greater access to private markets for individual investors, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said when asked about reports that President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order to make private-firm investments more accessible in retirement plans. Private firms do not have the same level of required disclosures as public companies and are prone to valuation issues, so the SEC has historically restricted their access to mainstream investors.

Wise is facing a shareholder rebellion after the fintech’s co-founder condemned governance changes within the company’s proposals to shift its primary listing to the US. Taavet Hinrikus, who co-founded the company in 2011 and still owns 5.1 per cent of the shares, urged shareholders to block proposals to switch the listing from London, on the basis that they contained important amendments to shareholder voting rights. Wise, which specialises in cheap international money transfers and listed in London in 2021 at an almost £9bn valuation, announced the plans last month, dealing a blow to the UK market.

As Canada-U.S. trade talks intensify, Canada’s premiers are kicking off three days of meetings in Muskoka today, led by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Provincial and territorial leaders will start gathering around midday Monday. The focus of their talks will be protecting the domestic economy, advancing nation-building projects and boosting internal trade by breaking down barriers, as the trade war with Canada’s closest ally and largest trading partner continues. To kick off this conversation, this afternoon premiers will be meeting with the leaders of national Indigenous organizations “to have focused discussions on economic development, economic reconciliation and other key priorities.”

Blank-check company Dynamix is merging with another entity to create a new company known as the Ether Machine. The combined company plans to manage over $1.5 billion in ether, the largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin. It is a bet that investors will continue to reward businesses that pour money into crypto holdings under the industry-friendly Trump administration. The deal was announced Monday morning, confirming an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal. It will be backed by a group of crypto investors including exchanges Kraken and Blockchain.com contributing more than $800 million in equity financing at $10 a share, the companies said.

BP PLC named outsider Albert Manifold, the former boss of building materials producer CRH, as its new chairman on Monday, as it grapples with a major strategy reversal in an attempt to turn around a weak share performance. Manifold, who has not previously held a senior position in the energy sector, will succeed Helge Lund from October as BP slashes planned renewables spending under persistent takeover and break-up speculation. During his 11-year tenure at CRH, the Irish company’s shares soared nearly fivefold as it reshaped its portfolio and moved its primary listing to New York in 2023. “Manifold’s experience should serve him and BP well as they are embarking on a similar journey,” said Allen Good, an analyst with Morningstar.

Nvidia Corp’s CEO Jensen Huang is no stranger to Beijing, but his most recent visit, his third to China this year, cemented his rock star status in the country, where fans mingled freely with the AI titan on the streets of the capital. It was a rare sight for a chief executive of one of the world’s most powerful companies to roam around Beijing, engage in wide-ranging interviews, take selfies with excited fans and even sign leather jackets – a signature clothing item of the billionaire – for his devoted followers. The tycoon at the helm of the world’s most valuable company arrived in Beijing for a supply chain expo last week just days after meeting U.S. President Donald Trump and announced the AI giant would once again be able to sell its H20 chips in China following a U.S. ban in April on national security concerns.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. on Monday said it was resuming its share repurchase program days after the Circle K-parent scrapped its $46-billion attempt to buy Japan’s Seven & I. The company said it would repurchase up to 77.1 million shares worth about $4.2-billion as it works to shore up shareholder value after the months-long effort to buy the Japan-based convenience store chain fell apart. Couche-Tard, which has a market capitalization of about $15.95 billion, had said last week that it was scrapping its bid for Seven & I as the Japanese retailer refused to engage constructively on the deal. If it had been successful, it would have been Japan’s largest-ever foreign buyout. Couch-Tard’s stock closed up 8.3 per cent on July 17 when it scrapped the deal for Seven & I. The stock is down about 5 per cent so far this year.

A central figure in former president Joe Biden’s effort to make the United States a clean-energy superpower believes Canada needs to get more assertive about trying to attract low-carbon investment and innovation now being displaced south of the border. Jigar Shah, previously one of his country’s most high-profile cleantech entrepreneurs, was director of the Loans Program Office (LPO) in the U.S. Department of Energy from 2021 until early this year. That meant he oversaw approximately US$400-billion in lending authority through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act – a key driver in the surge in U.S. investment in renewable electricity, the electric-vehicle supply chain and the scale-up of new technologies, all aimed largely at challenging Chinese dominance.