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Impactive Capital's board challenge at payment processing and information management services company WEX may hit a speed bump after the company said this week the activist investor has not filed potentially critical paperwork. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions (UDFI) said Impactive may need to submit applications to press on with its proxy fight, but that it has not yet done so. Impactive spent nearly a year laying the groundwork for what is shaping up as a closely watched and bitter board fight in which the hedge fund wants shareholders to kick out sitting directors and vote in four newcomers, including one of Impactive's co-founders, Lauren Taylor Wolfe.
Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear program would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the U.S. and Israel to go to war on Feb. 28. With a fragile ceasefire in place, the U.S. and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. The U.S blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store the oil.
Few companies have benefited from Warren Buffett’s wisdom as a director, apart from Berkshire Hathaway, the financial conglomerate he chairs. But new developments in generative AI make it possible for many more boards to distil, replicate and interrogate the veteran investor’s collected wisdom, simply by uploading all Buffett’s letters to shareholders and other public pronouncements to a large language model. That suggestion, from a FTSE 100 client of Diligent, prompted the software group to add “long-term value investor” to the list of personas created for its new AI Board Member. Launched last week, this screen-based tool offers directors “a digital colleague in the boardroom”. Trained on board materials, news and research, it can be tailored to offer specialist views, on demand, from personas, including an AI-Buffett (though the company says it is not based on any specific individual’s work), an activist, and experts on cyber security or geopolitics.
Eli Lilly said on Monday it would buy privately held blood cancer treatment developer Ajax Therapeutics for up to US$2.3 billion in cash. Ajax’s lead asset, AJ1-11095, is an experimental once-daily oral treatment that is in early-stage testing for previously treated patients with myelofibrosis - a rare, chronic blood cancer where scar tissue builds up in the bone marrow, disrupting normal blood cell production. “We look forward to the presentation of clinical proof-of-concept data later in 2026, rapidly advancing AJ1-11095 into registrational clinical trials, and using our expertise in blood cancer to hopefully deliver another important new medicine to patients and hematologists,” said Jacob Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology. Lilly said the total deal value includes an upfront payment and subsequent payments upon the achievement of certain clinical and regulatory milestones.
En route to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday evening at the Washington Hilton, President Trump told associates he was excited to deliver his speech, calling it the “hottest ticket in town,” a person familiar with the matter said. He and his advisers had packed his prepared remarks with jokes, including jabs at members of his own cabinet. Instead of taking the mic as planned, Trump would be whisked offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after shots rang out near the cavernous ballroom. What was meant to be an evening of celebration devolved into chaos. The shooter hit a law-enforcement officer wearing a bulletproof vest in the chest. The officer has since been released from the hospital.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will launch its first ever national sovereign wealth fund, an investment account that he says will ensure all Canadians reap the rewards of government support for major new projects. The Canada Strong Fund will begin with an initial endowment of $25-billion. The Prime Minister made the announcement Monday, one day before his government releases a spring economic update. A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment account that is typically independently managed. “This will be a Government of Canada fund, but more importantly, it will be a people’s fund. It will be your fund,” Mr. Carney said at a news conference in Ottawa at the Canada Science and Technology Museum, according to his prepared remarks.
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services said WEX shareholders should elect two of activist investor Impactive Capital's candidates, echoing a similar recommendation from other proxy advisory firms. ISS, whose reports are closely watched by investors, backed the hedge fund's co-founder, Lauren Taylor Wolfe, and technology and payments executive Kurt Adams for election in what is shaping up to be one of the year's most bitter board fights. It's recommendation, seen by Reuters on Saturday, urged investors to withhold votes from company directors Nancy Altobello and Stephen Smith at the May 5 annual meeting. Rival proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended electing Taylor Wolfe and Adams and urged shareholders to remove Stephen Smith and CEO Melissa Smith from the board.
Japan is moving to tighten the criteria for submitting shareholder proposals, signalling a growing backlash from companies frustrated by intensifying pressure from activist investors calling for change. The push for legislative change is being driven by lawmakers and business lobbies who argue that current rules have allowed what they describe as abusive proposals, forcing companies to divert resources away from long-term growth to deal with short-term investor demands. An influential group of lawmakers from Japan's ruling party plans to recommend raising shareholder proposal thresholds and restricting proposals on business execution to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi next month.
It took a few days to close thousands of Middle East oil wells early in the Iran war. The prolonged closure of the Persian Gulf means it will take months or even years for energy flows to recover. Traffic in and out of the Persian Gulf remains close to a standstill, with the U.S. and Iran locked in a tanker war and diplomatic efforts on ice. Brent crude prices shot back above $100 a barrel this week as oil-hungry sectors across the world came to grips with a closure that is lasting much longer than originally feared. Analysts and oil industry executives say prospects for a speedy resumption of Gulf crude supplies are worsening. Even if the strait opens tomorrow, the damage to the global economy will be long lasting.
Ottawa will restore the position of envoy for women, peace and security in the coming weeks, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Thursday, reversing a decision that allowed the position to expire more than a year ago. Speaking at the Ottawa Civic Space Summit, Anand said the role links Canada’s longtime support for sexual rights and combatting gender-based violence with a new focus on defence. “In the coming weeks I hope to announce a new women, peace and security ambassador for Canada,” Anand said. “This is an area where we’re able to combine the importance of women and girls in our foreign policy with defence and security.”
Canadian AI company Cohere has signed a deal with Germany’s Aleph Alpha in a bid to create an independent alternative artificial intelligence company. Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available. The companies say it will function as a transatlantic AI powerhouse, anchored in both Canada and Germany. Aidan Gomez, Cohere’s co-founder and chief executive, says combining the strengths of Cohere and Aleph Alpha accelerates their global expansion and advances their mission to deliver sovereign AI to countries around the world. The companies aim to deliver a secure alternative for customized AI in highly regulated sectors.
BP faced a shareholder revolt as investors used its annual general meeting to express their frustration, rejecting two of the energy major’s resolutions. The oil major’s chairman, Albert Manifold, was elected Thursday with 81.8% of the vote at his first AGM, according to preliminary data. His election comes as BP is in the process of a strategic reset and is pouring money back into fossil-fuel exploration and production. At the meeting, investors expressed frustration over the company’s approach to climate disclosures and corporate governance, rejecting two of its proposals.
Warner Bros Discovery shareholders on Thursday backed the company's proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, but cast an advisory vote against executive compensation plans tied to the deal. Under the pay packages proposed to executives, CEO David Zaslav could receive up to $887 million if the sale is completed. Proxy advisor ISS had said Zaslav's potential payout was "extremely large". "Management now faces a twofold challenge: securing (regulatory) approval for the deal and proving it can create long-term value without fuelling concerns around excessive pay," PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said. With shareholder approval secured, attention now turns to regulatory authorities, with both Washington and London expected to examine the merger's impact on competition.
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London-based activist fund Palliser Capital has made a "significant" investment in Japanese factory automation firm SMC and has proposed it make a $3.8 billion share buyback, according to a letter sent to the company. Palliser believes SMC, which makes machinery used in chipmaking, has shown foresight in investing in production capacity but said the company is undervalued and should focus on improving utilisation and margins, the letter, reviewed by Reuters, showed. SMC has capacity to conduct a 600 billion yen ($3.8 billion) share buyback over the next two years and maintain a consistent dividend payout ratio of at least 40%, the activist fund said in the letter. The letter did not provide further details on the stake, and Palliser declined to comment. SMC said it had received the letter and would announce earnings on May 14.
Triton Uranium is considering a U.S. listing through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in 2026, its president Scott Evans told Reuters, as the company seeks to tap rising demand for nuclear fuel and bolster domestic supply. The Canada-based company has begun development work at its Atlas Project in Uranium City, Sask., where it controls about 46,742 acres of mineral claims. Triton has raised nearly $16 million in private funding, which it plans to use to advance exploration ahead of a potential public listing. The company would consider a future stake sale to either the U.S. or Canadian government, reflecting growing policy efforts to secure supply chains for critical minerals, Evans said. Interest in nuclear power has picked up as electricity demand rises, driven in part by data centers supporting artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure.
The deadline to apply for an open seat on the Supreme Court of Canada is Monday, and Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to have more candidates to choose from the West compared with the region’s previous vacancy on the top court. Justice Sheilah Martin, from Calgary, announced her retirement in mid-January. Her last day is May 30. Mr. Carney, who picks the new judge, has said he will make the appointment before the court’s fall session. By convention, two of nine Supreme Court judges are Westerners. A process implemented in 2016 requires new Supreme Court judges to be “functionally” bilingual. In 2023, the last time there was an open seat on the top court from Western Canada, the rule prompted some complaints that it shut out otherwise qualified candidates.
French auto parts supplier Forvia has agreed to sell its automotive interiors business to Apollo Global Management in a deal that values the unit at around $2.1 billion, including debt. The company’s interiors business supplies products including instrument panels, door panels and center consoles to auto manufacturers through its global network of manufacturing and engineering sites across Europe, North America and Asia. Forvia said it has agreed to sell the business to Apollo-managed funds for an enterprise value of 1.82 billion euros ($2.13 billion), allowing it to sharpen focus on high value-added, technology-driven activities, while shoring up its balance sheet and boosting financial strength by cutting at least 1 billion euros of net debt.
La Banque du Canada fera part de son analyse des pressions sur les prix liées à la guerre en Iran mercredi, lorsqu’elle publiera son nouveau rapport sur la politique monétaire et annoncera sa prochaine décision en matière de taux d’intérêt. La banque centrale a maintenu son taux directeur à 2,25 % lors de trois décisions consécutives. La plupart des économistes s’attendent à ce que les responsables de la politique monétaire poursuivent cette série cette semaine. Selon LSEG Data & Analytics, les marchés financiers tablaient vendredi sur une probabilité de plus de 93 % que le taux soit maintenu mercredi. Nathan Janzen, économiste en chef adjoint à la Banque Royale, s’attend à un maintien des taux d’intérêt par la Banque du Canada cette semaine, les responsables de la politique monétaire surveillant de près l’impact de la hausse des prix de l’énergie sur l’inflation.
Around 60 governments, including Brazil, Germany, Canada and Nigeria, will hold the first international meeting this week to discuss phasing out fossil fuels, as the Iran war upends global oil and gas markets and sends prices soaring. The gathering of ministers and officials in Santa Marta, Colombia, which starts on Tuesday, will focus on practical steps to shift economies away from fossil fuels, rather than setting new global targets of the kind agreed at U.N. climate summits. "We're not negotiating ambitions, we're not negotiating commitments. This really is about sharing how you do this," said Stientje van Veldhoven, climate minister for the Netherlands, which is co-organising the meeting with Colombia. Governments will discuss "what kind of financial instruments, what kind of regulatory incentives, what kind of planning instruments" are needed to kickstart a phase-out, she said.
Shell is buying Canadian energy company Arc Resources for about $13.6 billion, boosting production and its footprint in the Montney shale basin in British Columbia and Alberta. Under the terms of the agreement, Arc shareholders will receive 8.20 Canadian dollars (US$6) in cash and 0.40247 of a Shell share for each Arc share. That amounts to a total consideration of C$32.80 a share, a 27% premium to the last closing price. The planned deal has the unanimous support of both companies’ boards, and is expected to close in the second half of the year.
The United States and European Union on Friday released an action plan to coordinate trade policies and measures on critical minerals supply chains, with a view to concluding a binding plurilateral agreement at a future date. The plan does not specifically mention China but comes as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to work with Western allies to loosen China's grip on materials crucial to advanced manufacturing. China has used its chokehold on the processing of many minerals as geo-economic leverage, at times curbing exports, suppressing prices and undercutting other countries' ability to diversify sources of the materials used to make semiconductors, electric vehicles and advanced weapons.
Europe's "biggest, most important question" is whether the United States is ready to be a loyal NATO partner in case of a Russian attack, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Financial Times. He also called for the European Union to become a "real alliance" in protecting the continent, reflecting growing worries about U.S. President Donald Trump's unpredictable policies and threats towards his European partners."For the whole eastern flank, my neighbours... the question is if NATO is still an organisation ready, politically and also logistically, to react, for example against Russia if they try to attack," he said in an interview published in the British newspaper on Friday.
Des représentants américains se sont plaints cette semaine de la décision de provinces canadiennes de suspendre la vente d’alcool en provenance des États-Unis. Le négociateur américain, Jamieson Greer, a même menacé le Canada d’autres actions si la mesure de boycottage canadienne persiste, mercredi. Mais Mark Carney n’a pas l’intention de dire aux provinces quoi faire, a-t-il affirmé lorsqu’il a été questionné par les journalistes sur les doléances américaines. Le premier ministre a souligné que le Canada avait ses propres plaintes envers la Maison-Blanche. « Écoutez, vous savez ce qui est irritant ? Des tarifs de 50 % sur l’acier, de 50 % sur l’aluminium, de 25 % sur les automobiles. Tous les tarifs sur les produits forestiers. C’est plus que des irritants. Ce sont des violations de notre accord commercial », a-t-il lâché.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson says the government has approved Enbridge Inc.’s $4-billion Sunrise project in B.C. The plan will see an expansion of the company’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system. The project includes the addition of about 139 kilometres of new pipeline by constructing 11 pipeline looping segments, parallel to the existing line. It will add up to 300 million cubic feet per day of transportation capacity on B.C.’s major natural gas transmission system. The government says the increase will help ensure B.C. has enough gas supply as LNG export facilities like Woodfibre LNG come online. Construction is expected to begin this summer.
Netflix shareholders are set to vote on a number of proposals during the upcoming annual meeting of the Netflix Board of Directors. Including two that focus on subjects that are of great interest to politically conservative groups and critics of the company. The first proposal (proposal #5 on the agenda) asks for the issuance of an ESG ROI report. The proposal requests that the Board of Directors publish a report disclosing the extent to which the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments identified in the 2024 ESG Report were authorized and are maintained based on Net Present Value (NPV) and Return on Investment (ROI) calculations. The proposal argues Netflix is devoting financial resources to ESG projects which don’t provide a reasonable rate of return.
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