Corporate governance - Vigil

Le Canada devra au minimum doubler sa production d’électricité pour respecter sa promesse d’atteindre la carboneutralité d’ici 2050, révèle un rapport de l’Institut de l’énergie Trottier obtenu par La Presse. L’électrification massive de l’économie nécessitera des changements majeurs et rapides dans les infrastructures du pays, notamment en matière de transport, de réseau électrique, de réfection de bâtiments et de captation du carbone. La demande en électricité sera si forte « qu’on ne pourra pas économiser ça en diminuant notre consommation. Il faut commencer à bâtir dès maintenant [de la nouvelle production électrique] », dit en entrevue Simon Langlois-Bertrand, cosignataire avec Normand Mousseau de ce rapport sur les infrastructures. Il a été rendu public ce mercredi.

Malgré les droits de douane élevés sur ses exportations d’acier et d’aluminium, le Canada ne contribue pas beaucoup aux revenus générés par la politique tarifaire américaine qui commence à générer des milliards de dollars dans les coffres de l’État. Le taux effectif des droits de douane imposés sur les produits en provenance du Canada est actuellement un des plus bas parmi les partenaires commerciaux des États-Unis, selon une analyse récente des économistes de la Banque Royale. Le taux effectif est défini comme le taux des droits de douane en vigueur appliqué aux importations américaines de l’année dernière. Il est généralement inférieur au taux annoncé en raison des délais dans l’application des droits de douane, des exemptions qui s’appliquent à plusieurs produits et de la baisse des importations dont le prix a augmenté.

BP on Monday appointed Simon Henry, former finance chief of Shell, to its board as a non-executive director effective September 1. Henry, who worked at Shell for over three decades, was its chief financial officer between 2009 and 2017 and is currently a non-executive director at Rio Tinto, from where he will step down in the second half of the year. Under Henry's watch as Shell CFO, the oil giant acquired BG Group in a $54 billion deal, making it one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) traders. Pamela Daley, non-executive director, will step down from the BP board for personal reasons effective immediately, the British firm added.

Blackstone is reportedly exploring a joint bid for French telecom operator SFR in a potential $35bn transaction, underscoring private equity’s accelerating appetite for core infrastructure assets across Europe. According to sources familiar with the matter, the US investment giant is in early discussions with prospective partners, including SFR rivals, as it weighs the operational complexity of a deal. The process remains preliminary, with no formal offer made to date. The deal, if pursued, would support the debt-reduction efforts of Altice France, SFR’s parent company. Altice recently reached an agreement to slash €8.6bn in liabilities, nearly a third of its overall debt, while maintaining control of SFR. A partial stake sale could provide further relief and attract strategic or institutional investors. Bouygues, Iliad, and Orange are among the local players expressing interest, with Middle Eastern investors also eyeing the opportunity.

Activist shareholders are poised to push harder for corporate changes in the coming months, finding fresh confidence to launch campaigns as the pace of dealmaking picks up again. Bankers, lawyers, and investors forecast a spike in fights over corporate leadership, operational improvements and spin-offs in the second half of 2025. Many global corporations will gird for costly and time-consuming battles, they said, even as some activist investors may be willing to compromise. "Activity in the back half of the year will be more significant," said Alfredo Porretti, global co-head of Shareholder Engagement and M&A Capital Markets at JPMorgan Chase. (JPM.N), opens new tab "Activists are aiming more carefully but are not pulling the trigger yet."

Hershey on Tuesday named burger chain Wendy’s chief Kirk Tanner as its chief executive officer, effective Aug. 18, replacing Michele Buck. The chocolate maker had announced the departure of Buck, who has been at the helm for more than seven years, earlier in January. Tanner will depart Wendy’s on July 18, the burger chain said in a separate statement, adding that it has appointed its chief financial officer, Ken Cook, as its interim chief. Wendy’s has also launched a comprehensive search process to select a permanent CEO.

The U.S. megabill that President Trump signed into law on July Fourth favors obsolete gasoline-powered cars and hands Chinese electric-vehicle companies a win globally, said the head of a Chinese auto industry group. “Chinese homegrown brands’ exports will see significant growth in the next few years, and the U.S. bill should give China greater room to develop in overseas markets,” said Cui Dongshu, the secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, on Tuesday. He said the country’s companies would offer “intelligent EV models against the obsolete technology of internal-combustion-engine vehicles.” 

Genetic testing company 23andMe can proceed with a US$305-million sale to the company’s co-founder Anne Wojcicki after a U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected California’s bid to delay the sale while the state appeals over privacy concerns related to the deal. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brian Walsh, who previously approved Wojcicki’s buyout of the company, said in a court hearing in St. Louis that California’s appeal was “likely to fail” and that California customers would not be “irreparably harmed” if the sale went forward while the state appealed. “They remain free to delete their accounts and data at any time,” Walsh said of 23andMe’s California customers. 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, seeking to sell its business after a drop-off in consumer demand and a 2023 data breach that exposed millions of customers’ genetic data.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is eager to have all U.S. tariffs lifted before the end of the month, but Canadian businesses are already turning away from their biggest trade partner by launching operations in other countries and setting up financing arrangements to enter new export markets. To work around U.S. President Donald Trump’s whipsawing tariff policies, businesses are renegotiating supplier contracts, establishing new facilities outside of Canada, and seeking complex financing arrangements to cover higher costs, according to bankers and trade financiers. Even if Canada inks a new trade deal with the U.S., they say businesses will no longer risk relying solely on their neighbour to the south to fill their supply chains.

La ministre des Affaires étrangères, Anita Anand, se rendra au Japon et en Malaisie alors que le gouvernement Carney définit son approche diplomatique et commerciale dans la région indo-pacifique. Mme Anand rencontrera son homologue japonais à Tokyo cette semaine, alors que les deux parties finalisent un accord sur le partage d’informations en matière de défense et la stimulation des échanges commerciaux. Jeudi et vendredi, la ministre Anand participera à une réunion avec l’Association des nations de l’Asie du Sud-Est (ANASE) en Malaisie. Le Canada souhaite signer un accord commercial avec l’ANASE cette année. En 2023, il a conclu un partenariat stratégique avec le bloc, avec pour objectif de favoriser l’expansion des entreprises, les échanges éducatifs et les projets de lutte contre les menaces biologiques.

Le président américain Donald Trump a promis lundi une surtaxe douanière d’au moins 25 % à plusieurs pays, dont le Japon et la Corée du Sud, nouvelle étape dans son offensive bouleversant les échanges économiques internationaux. Le dirigeant a distillé pendant la journée, sur sa plateforme Truth Social, 14 lettres quasiment identiques envoyées à des pays essentiellement asiatiques. Trump avait précédemment programmé l’entrée en vigueur de ces droits de douane additionnels à mercredi, mais a repoussé l’échéance au 1er août via un décret présidentiel publié lundi soir. Nouvelle échéance sur laquelle il a aussitôt laissé planer un doute : « Je dirais qu’elle est ferme, mais pas ferme à 100 % », a-t-il répondu aux journalistes qui l’interrogeaient sur cette date lors du dîner avec le premier ministre israélien Benyamin Nétanyahou.

Nationwide is under fire for refusing to give members a binding vote on a 43% pay rise for its chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, that could mean her pay package reaches up to £7m. Campaigners say it leaves the building society’s members with fewer rights than shareholders of listed UK banks and exposes a worrying “loophole” in building society rules. Nationwide says that after its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money, Crosbie’s pay should compete with that offered by banks such as Lloyds and NatWest. However, the board is offering members only an “advisory” vote at its annual general meeting (AGM) on 25 July, meaning there are no repercussions if they reject it.

C’est au tour du cuivre, l’un des principaux produits d’exportation du Québec, de se retrouver dans le collimateur de l’administration Trump. Entretenant le flou, la Maison-Blanche fait miroiter des droits de douane de 50 % sur ce métal rougeâtre, sans dire quand ils pourraient entrer en vigueur. S’il passe de la parole aux actes, le président Donald Trump viendrait mettre des bâtons dans les roues d’une filière qui représente, dans la province, quelque 3800 emplois directs et indirects. « Je pense que nous allons porter les droits de douane sur le cuivre à 50 % », a-t-il déclaré, dans le cadre d’une réunion de son cabinet. Le niveau des droits de douane a été confirmé lors de la réunion par le secrétaire au Commerce, Howard Lutnick, qui a déclaré plus tard à la chaîne de télévision CNBC que cette surtaxe pourrait être imposée rapidement, « fin juillet, peut-être le 1er août ».

France's state-owned EDF has appointed several new directors to its board and will reorganise the group's operations in anticipation of its plans to build six new nuclear reactors and increase investments in hydropower, it said on Tuesday. "This evolution aims to strengthen the Group’s industrial performance in support of the revival of nuclear power and hydropower ... We must organise ourselves to better define and deliver on our commitments over the long term," EDF CEO Bernard Fontana said in a statement. Xavier Gruz, EDF's nuclear programme director, will join the executive committee immediately and propose a strengthened ownership structure for the new nuclear projects, reporting directly to the CEO and chairman.

Baxter International on Monday named Andrew Hider as the medical device maker's new top boss, succeeding longtime CEO Jose Almeida. Hider previously served as CEO of ATS Corporation a company that designs and builds machinery for industries including medical devices, food and beverage, and pharmaceuticals. During his eight-year tenure at ATS, Hider oversaw multiple product launches and led acquisitions of companies such as Avidity Science, Heidolph, and Transformix Engineering, strengthening ATS’s life sciences portfolio. He also spent 10 years at Danaher, a life sciences and diagnostics company, holding various leadership positions.

Canadian economic activity expanded in June at the fastest pace in four months and price increases accelerated, Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data showed on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted index rose to 53.3 last month from 48.9 in May, posting its highest level since February. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in activity. The Ivey PMI measures the month-to-month variation in economic activity as indicated by a panel of purchasing managers from across Canada. The gauge of employment dipped to an adjusted 49.5 from 51.1 in May, while the prices index was at 70.2, up from 66.9. The unadjusted PMI rose to 54.6 from 53.8.

amsung Electronics said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement to acquire Xealth, a U.S.-based healthcare platform, as part of its efforts to expand its mobile healthcare services business. The South Korean company did not disclose the value of the transaction. Samsung said the two companies hoped to create "synergy between Samsung’s advanced wearable technology and Xealth’s digital health platform" which runs digital health programs and manages data linking care providers, including more than 500 U.S. hospitals, with their patients. The acquisition comes as Samsung steps up efforts to diversify beyond its core semiconductor and smartphone businesses. Samsung has been betting on the medical sector as one of its new growth engines, along with consumer audio, cooling and heating systems, and robotics.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, along with Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, issued letters to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet on Monday, asking them to present plans by the end of summer to find day-to-day operational savings, according to a spokesperson from Champagne’s office. The move comes as the federal government prepares a 2025 budget set to be tabled this fall. CTV News has learned ministers must find 7.5 per cent savings for the 2026-27 fiscal year that begins on April 1, 2026, followed by 10 per cent in 2027-28 and 15 per cent in 2028-29. A spokesperson for Champagne tells CTV News the goal is to find “long-term savings.”

President Trump’s latest salvo on trade gives U.S. allies three weeks to achieve what they have failed to do in three months: persuade the U.S. to relax tariffs that would be costly for their export-dependent economies. Japan, South Korea and a clutch of other countries were told via letters from the White House that they have until Aug. 1 to agree on new trade terms. Otherwise, steep new levies will be imposed on their imports into the U.S. The longer window for talks buys Asian nations some breathing space to resolve their list of grievances over Trump’s proposed tariffs. The postponement also shows how months of overtures have yet to translate into concessions. 

China-founded fast-fashion retailer Shein has filed for an IPO in Hong Kong to accelerate the listing process and pressure Britain’s regulators to approve its planned London debut, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The company privately filed a draft prospectus last week with Hong Kong’s exchange and sought a regulatory nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Shein filed for a Hong Kong listing partly to pressure the UK regulator into easing its risk disclosure rules and to keep alive what could be London’s biggest IPO in years, the FT report added.

The receiver for Bridging Finance Inc. is suing Ernst & Young LLP for failing to catch signs of fraud being perpetrated at the failed lender, despite serving as its auditor for several years. Bridging receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. is seeking $1.4-billion in damages from EY for breach of contract, negligence and negligent misrepresentation, according to a statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court on June 11. Between 2014 and 2018, EY issued a total of 20 unqualified audit reports for Bridging and several of its funds. Unqualified audit reports are also known as clean reports, meaning any major issues discovered during the auditing process were resolved.

Cinq offres d’achat, sept interpellations écrites et une indemnité de rupture de 2 millions… La tension montait depuis au moins un an entre Transat A.T. et Pierre Karl Péladeau, son deuxième actionnaire, qui a échoué dans sa tentative visant à freiner l’entente qui permettrait à l’entreprise québécoise de réduire sa lourde dette. « Je suis fort inquiet », « les actionnaires de la société risquent de perdre la totalité de leur investissement », « les actions de Transat n’ont plus aucune valeur » : c’est un aperçu des remarques adressées par l’homme d’affaires Pierre Karl Péladeau au conseil d’administration du spécialiste du voyage d’agrément alors qu’il tentait de l’acquérir. C’est un débat survenu vendredi dernier, devant la Cour supérieure du Québec, qui a offert un accès aux coulisses des tractations des 12 derniers mois entre l’actionnaire de contrôle de Québecor et le transporteur à l’étoile.

Un fabricant chinois de systèmes de caméras de surveillance fait appel d’une directive du gouvernement fédéral lui ordonnant de cesser ses activités au Canada pour des raisons de sécurité nationale. Hikvision demande un examen judiciaire de l’ordonnance du gouvernement fédéral du 27 juin exigeant que l’entreprise cesse ses activités au Canada. L’entreprise demande également à la Cour fédérale de suspendre l’ordonnance de fermeture jusqu’à ce que la Cour statue sur le contrôle judiciaire. Le gouvernement fédéral a pris sa décision à la suite d’un examen de sécurité nationale en vertu de la Loi sur Investissement Canada.

Le report de l’entrée en vigueur des droits de douane américains, couplé avec les menaces de Donald Trump d’augmenter ces surtaxes pour plusieurs pays, accroît l’incertitude quant à la dynamique du commerce mondial, a estimé l’ONU mardi. Cette « pause » peut offrir « un certain soulagement », mais elle « prolonge en fait la période d’incertitude, minant les investissements à long terme et les contrats d’affaires », a déclaré Pamela Coke-Hamilton, directrice exécutive du Centre du Commerce International (CCI, une entité conjointe de l’ONU et de l’OMC), lors d’un breffage à Genève. Or « l’incertitude économique a des conséquences concrètes sur les pays et les secteurs », a-t-elle lancé.