Corporate governance - Vigil

Nissan is recalling nearly 38,000 vehicles in Canada as part of a wider North American recall due to a potential bearing manufacturing defect that could lead to engine damage or failure. In an email to CTVNews.ca on Wednesday, the company said the issue affects models from the following years:
2021–2024 Rogue
2019–2020 Nissan Altima
2019–2022 INFINITI QX50
2022 INFINITI QX55
In total, 37,837 vehicles are impacted in Canada. In their statement, the company said that a solution is available and affected owners will receive a notification letter starting Aug. 22. Once notified, owners are advised to bring their vehicles to a Nissan or INFINTI dealership for inspection and, if necessary, repair. The company did not report any confirmed incidents or injuries tied to the defect.

A US$7.38 billion bid by a subsidiary of miner Gold Reserve has been selected as the preliminary winner of a U.S. court-organized auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum, according to a document filed by the officer overseeing the sale process and a company release. Proceeds from the auction of PDV Holding are expected to compensate at least a handful of the 15 creditors fighting since 2017 to recover nearly $19 billion in U.S. courts after Venezuela expropriated assets and defaulted on debt. The bid by Gold Reserve’s subsidiary Dalinar Energy Corporation, which will now be evaluated by Delaware Judge Leonard Stark before a final decision, is higher than a $3.7 billion offer by Contrarian Funds’ Red Tree Investments, selected in March as starting bid, but its cash component seems lower than offers submitted by at least two rival consortia.

Tariff threats did not spoil corporate Canada’s appetite for deal making and fundraising over the past three months. Stock sales and merger and acquisition activity both soared in the second quarter, according to data from LSEG Data & Analytics to be released Thursday. Borrowing activity appeared to be the sole casualty of the continental trade war, with corporate debt issuance from early April to late June totalling $22.6-billion, fully one-third below the same period in 2024, though still roughly in line with the most recent 10-year average for the second quarter. “There was a drastic drop in the month of April,” said Patrick MacDonald, co-head of Canadian debt capital markets at RBC Capital Markets, the top investment bank for debt deals during the first half of the year.

Le géant américain des réseaux sociaux Meta (Facebook, Instagram) annonce qu’il va contester en justice une amende de 200 millions d’euros infligée en avril par la Commission européenne pour une infraction aux règles encadrant l’usage des données personnelles. « Cette décision est à la fois incorrecte et illégale, et nous faisons appel », a annoncé le groupe californien dans un message publié jeudi sur son site. Les contentieux avec Bruxelles sont tranchés devant le Tribunal de l’Union européenne, basé à Luxembourg.

Rogers Communications a finalisé une entente pour l’acquisition d’une part de 37,5 % de BCE dans Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), devenant ainsi l’actionnaire majoritaire de l’entreprise. Rogers détient désormais une participation de 75 % dans le propriétaire des Maple Leafs de Toronto, des Raptors de Toronto, des Argonauts de Toronto et du Toronto FC. La transaction de 4,7 milliards a été conclue mardi, après avoir reçu les approbations réglementaires et de la ligue. Le chef de la direction de Rogers, Tony Staffieri, a qualifié MLSE de l’une des organisations de sport et de divertissement les plus prestigieuses au monde.

As 2025 approaches, boards face a business landscape increasingly defined by uncertainty — economic, geopolitical, technological and regulatory. Directors are being called upon not just to monitor risk, but to deepen their engagement on strategy, transformation and leadership. The current economic environment requires scenario planning to evolve from a once-per-year exercise into a dynamic, continuous process. According to John Rodi, co-leader of the KPMG Board Leadership Center, “Scenario planning should be a continual effort to help management teams and boards assess information as it arises, enabling companies to refine their strategies and prepare for sudden disruptions.”

A letter signed by hundreds of high-profile firms, investors and international bodies urges the EU to retain the 500+ employees threshold in the sustainability reporting directive. Almost 200 oganisations have called on the EU to retain the "core" of European sustainability reporting rules and ignore calls for measures to apply only to Europe's largest companies. In an open letter, big names including IKEA, EDF, Nokia and Allianz, call on the EU to ensure the highly contentious Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) applies to companies of 500 employees or more in the "omnibus" process of reforms.

After years of being a UK banking also-ran, TSB is suddenly the most popular lender at the party. The British high street bank, carved out of Lloyds Banking Group more than a decade ago, has taken on a crucial role in two separate multibillion-pound takeover battles. In one, TSB is the target. Santander agreed to buy the bank from parent Sabadell for £2.7bn on Tuesday, seeing off competition from Barclays. But Sabadell is also a target of a hostile bid from Spanish rival BBVA, an approach that looks challenged now that Sabadell has agreed to sell its UK trophy. For Santander chair Ana Botín, there are clear benefits to snagging TSB. The Spanish bank would vault HSBC to become the UK’s third-largest current account provider, and have a shot at passing NatWest as the country’s third-largest mortgage lender — banishing doubts about whether Santander’s UK business is too small to compete.

Boeing is set to take over the non-Airbus portion of Spirit AeroSystems' operations in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after attempts to find a buyer for the site fell through, a Spirit spokesperson said on Tuesday. In April, European planemaker Airbus finalized a deal to acquire several Spirit AeroSystems facilities tied to its aircraft programs. Under the terms of the agreement Spirit reached with Airbus, the engineering programs for the A220 wing and A350 engineering program are expected to transfer to the European planemaker, Spirit Aero spokesperson Joe Buccino told Reuters.

AstraZeneca is considering moving its stock market listing from London, where it is the exchange's most valuable company, to the United States, the Times reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources. Any such move would be a major blow to the UK stock market, which has seen a string of delistings and missed out on some major initial public offerings in recent months. It would also appeal to President Donald Trump's hopes of drawing investment to the United States, even as his trade policy has created uncertainty for global companies. He has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.

British scientific instruments maker Spectris has agreed to a takeover offer from U.S. investment firm KKR valuing it at 4.7 billion pounds ($6.46 billion) including debt, and has withdrawn its support for a rival offer from Advent. The battle for Spectris, Britain's largest takeover target this year, heated up after KKR last week tabled a bid valuing Spectris at 40 pounds per share including dividends, 6.3% higher than Advent's 37.63 pound per share offer, which valued the group at 4.4 billion pounds. Spectris said its board has decided to withdraw its recommendation of Advent's offer in favour of the higher bid from KKR, which had made two prior takeover proposals for the London-listed firm. The firm had rejected KKR's second takeover bid on June 13.

Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump that had alleged an interview that aired on CBS’s “60 Minutes” last year with Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent for the presidency, was deceptively edited. The agreement in principle, proposed by a mediator, includes plaintiffs’ fees and costs and — except for fees and costs — will be allocated to Trump’s future presidential library, Paramount Global said in a statement late Tuesday. Paramount is the parent company of CBS. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas and sought $20 billion in damages.

France announced Thursday a record 40 million-euro fine against e-commerce giant Shein over “deceptive commercial practices” after a competition inquiry, saying it misled customers on price deals and on its environmental impact. The French competition and anti-fraud office said the investigation found Shein used “deceptive commercial practices towards consumers regarding... price reductions”, with the fine handed down with the blessing of the Paris prosecutor’s office. The DGCCRF competition office said the nearly year-long probe found that the firm raised certain prices before lowering them. It added that the China-founded retailer had accepted the fine. “These practices of greatly discounted prices and permanent promotions give consumers the impression they’re getting a great deal,” said the DGCCRF.

Auto sector chief executives urged Prime Minister Mark Carney Wednesday during a meeting on the Canada-U.S. trade war to repeal federal regulations that require one in five vehicles sold starting in 2026 to be zero-emission models. The CEOs of Ford Motor Company of Canada F-N, General Motors of Canada Co. GM-N and Stellantis Canada STLA-N met with Mr. Carney in Ottawa as the Canadian and U.S. governments try to reach a trade deal by July 21 that might end Washington’s tariffs on Canadian-made automobiles, among other levies. Automakers are warning that electric-vehicle sales in Canada are waning this year and it would be impossible to reach the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets that take effect starting in 2026.

Calgary warehouse robotics startup Attabotics Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection after running out of cash, despite heavy backing from some of Canada’s largest institutional investors and the federal government. A source familiar with the situation said the company was burning through several million dollars a month when it filed for protection under the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to discuss the matter. On Wednesday Stephanie Lee, an official receiver for the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada, issued a certificate stating that Attabotics had filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal under subsection 50.4 (1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

Activist investor Starboard Value has built an over 9% stake in Tripadvisor TRIP 11.01%increase; green up pointing triangle after the online travel-review company eschewed takeover offers in the past year, according to people familiar with the matter. Starboard, the investment firm run by Jeff Smith, has a stake valued at around $160 million based on Wednesday closing prices, which would make it one of the top shareholders in the company. The investment is expected to be revealed in a regulatory filing Thursday, the people said. Starboard’s plans for the company couldn’t immediately be learned. Tripadvisor’s shares have fallen about 17% in the past year, giving it a market capitalization of about $1.8 billion.

Hydro-Québec confirme que Claudine Bouchard succède à Michael Sabia à la tête de la société d’État. Celle qui devient ainsi la quatrième PDG d’Hydro-Québec en 10 ans doit tenir les rênes d’une organisation en pleine transformation qui compte injecter des centaines de milliards de dollars au fil des ans pour augmenter sa capacité de production d’électricité. Hydro-Québec a confirmé la nouvelle dans un communiqué. Claudine Bouchard, qui a plus de 25 ans d’expérience à Hydro-Québec, était vice-présidente exécutive et cheffe de l’exploitation et des infrastructures depuis 2023. Elle avait accédé pour la première fois à un poste de vice-présidente trois ans plus tôt.

Legal-software company Clio, one of Canada’s largest private software companies, has made its second transformative acquisition this year, paying US$1-billion for vLex LLC, maker of an artificial-intelligence tool that keeps lawyers from accidentally citing fake court rulings. The deal expands Burnaby, B.C.-based Clio (officially named Themis Solutions Inc.), which sells practice management software to lawyers, into a new area and for the second time in 2025 doubles its potential market. It also pits Clio against heavyweight rivals: Canadian legal software giant Thomson Reuters Corp. and Relx PLC’s LexisNexis unit. (Thomson Reuters’s controlling shareholder, the Thomson family, owns The Globe and Mail)

Deregulation has often been deemed a positive for business, removing barriers to growth and facilitating reporting, but current efforts by the Trump administration to eliminate more regulations than it creates may not be having the desired effect on businesses. Diligent Institute and Corporate Board Member’s Q2 Business Risk Index, finds changes in the regulatory environment the top business risk today, according to the 71 general counsel, corporate secretaries, compliance and legal officers polled. Two-thirds (65 percent) of those participating in the survey selected “Changes in the regulatory environment” as what they perceive to be a top risk for their company today, putting it well ahead of the second—and most talked about—item on the list: tariffs.

Board oversight of CEO transition announcements can help set the new executive up for success. The pace of CEO transitions significantly increased in 2024, highlighting how boards are reconsidering their leadership needs to confront persistent uncertainty and lay the groundwork for sustainable, long-term growth. Notably, shareholder activism has emerged as a powerful catalyst for these changes, with S&P 500 CEO resignations linked to activist pressure tripling since 2020. That momentum has carried into this year: January 2025 recorded one of the highest volumes of CEO exits on record. As geopolitical, economic, and societal forces continue to test executive resilience and adaptability, an elevated rate of turnover is likely to persist through the end of 2025 and into 2026.

Top venture capital firms are borrowing a strategy from the private equity playbook, pumping money into tech start-ups so they can “roll up” rivals to build a sector-dominating conglomerate. Among those deploying the approach is Thrive Capital, a backer of OpenAI and Stripe, which is involved in a new $72mn funding round for wealth management start-up Savvy Wealth. The investment values the New York-based group at $225mn, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The funding will go towards buying up smaller advisory firms and hiring individual advisers, as well as embedding artificial intelligence into the group’s operations.

President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency initiative has pushed the U.S. markets watchdog to loosen Wall Street rules around blank-check companies and confidential reporting by private investment funds, according to two people familiar with the matter. DOGE officials at the SEC, who have so far focused on cutting costs, have in recent weeks sought meetings with staff to explore relaxing what some companies have described as burdensome and unnecessary regulations, including reworking Biden-era rules adopted last year on so-called Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, and requirements that private investment advisers confidentially disclose more data so regulators can better spot systemic risk, the sources said.

Intel's new chief executive is exploring a big change to its contract manufacturing business to win major customers, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a potentially expensive shift from his predecessor's plans. The new strategy for Intel's foundry business would mean offering outside customers a newer generation of technology, the people said. That next-generation chipmaking process, analysts believe, will be more competitive against Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co in trying to land major customers such as Apple or Nvidia. Shares of Intel fell as much as 5% on Wednesday morning on the Nasdaq.

Shareholders of Paramount Global which is waiting for regulatory approval to merge with Skydance Media, Wednesday elected all seven directors to the company's board at its annual shareholder meeting. Influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services advised clients to vote against the four directors standing for re-election, including the media company's chair Shari Redstone, citing "a problematic capital structure." The recommendation was symbolic, because the Redstone family controls 77% of the voting shares of Paramount through a holding company, National Amusements, according to LSEG data. Three new directors also join the board, bringing the total number of Paramount directors to seven. A vote tally was not disclosed at the shareholder meeting.