Governance Center Blog

Nov
30
2011

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Improves

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined in October, improved in November. The Index now stands at 56.0 (1985=100), up from 40.9 in October. The Present Situation Index increased to 38.3 from 27.1. The Expectations Index rose to 67.8 from 50.0.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was November 15th. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
22
2011

Comply-or-Explain Listing Standard Adopted in Hong Kong

In line with the corporate governance regimes in many countries, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited has adopted a “comply or explain” principle as a central element in its regulation of listed issues.  The new comply-or-explain regime was modeled on the UK Corporate Governance Code. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
18
2011

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. Increases Sharply

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.9 percent in October to 117.4 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in September, and a 0.3 percent increase in August.

Says Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board: “The October rebound of the LEI — largely due to the sharp pick-up in housing permits — suggests that the risk of an economic downturn has receded. Improving consumer expectations, stock markets, and labor market indicators also contributed to this month’s gain in the LEI as did the continuing positive contributions from the interest rate spread. The CEI also rose somewhat, led by higher industrial production and employment.”

Says Ken Goldstein, economist at The Conference Board: “The LEI is pointing to continued growth this winter, possibly even gaining a little momentum by spring. The lack of confidence has been the biggest obstacle in generating forward momentum, domestically or globally. As long as it lasts, there is a glimmer of hope.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
17
2011

Improving Board Diversity

Board diversity in the United States has remained relatively unchanged, despite a variety of developments affecting United States public companies, including an increased emphasis on business justifications for diversity and increased disclosure requirements related to diversity,  according to a recent Director Note entitled Revisiting Justifications for Board Diversity published by The Conference Board.   The Director Note also reports, however, that the existence of an outlined strategy for implementing a diversity initiative was an important factor in the overall success of such an initiative, according to one study.

To assist companies seeking to increase gender diversity of their boards, The Conference Board announced this week the release of an innovative scenario modeler developed by The Conference Board and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in partnership with The SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University.  The model draws on historical data from 2,749 U.S. public companies to examine the evolution of gender diversity on U.S. corporate boards each year between 2011 and 2040. The interactive model allows users to adjust board characteristics to assess how departures from today’s prevailing corporate governance trends could accelerate or impede the progress toward greater gender parity in coming decades. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
15
2011

When It Comes to Governance Practices, Size Matters

Last week, The Conference Board issued The 2011 U.S. Director Compensation and Board Practices Report. The report is based on a survey of 334 public companies, jointly conducted by The Conference Board, NASDAQ OMX, and NYSE Euronext between April and June 2011. The report found that, with respect to a number of corporate governance practices, company size matters. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
11
2011

Comply or Explain to Survive EU Action on Corporate Governance?

The European Commission has issued two Green Papers on Corporate Governance: one relating specifically to Financial Institutions and the second covering a revised framework for corporate governance for all EU listed companies.

Historically, the UK and a few other European countries have taken a “comply or explain” approach to corporate governance.  Country law specifies governance practices to be implemented, and companies can decide to comply with the practice (i.e., “comply”), or disclose its rationale for non-compliance (i.e., “explain”).

Since the financial crisis, the Commission has tended to adopt a much more rules-based approach to corporate governance in its proposals, and is skeptical of voluntary and framework models. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
10
2011

Cyber Security in the Boardroom

Cyber security, and the importance of management and board engagement on the issue, has been generating a lot of discussion lately. Indeed, the spate of security breaches has made it clear that no organization is immune and that, as a society, we must develop a level of tolerance for the fact that our information is accessible to those with the determination and resources to go after it.

Even if we resign ourselves to the risk of a breach, however, there are steps that organizations can and should take to reduce the likelihood of a breach and to mitigate the impact and disruption if one does happen. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
08
2011

Annual Survey Reveals Emergence of New Compensation Practices

This week, The Conference Board issued its The 2011 U.S. Director Compensation and Board Practices Report. The report is based on a survey of 334 public companies jointly conducted by The Conference Board, NASDAQ OMX, and NYSE Euronext between April and June 2011. The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance, the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and the Shareholder Forum each endorsed the survey by distributing it to their members and readers. Participants in the survey (corporate secretaries, general counsel, and investor relations officers) were asked to provide information on a wide range of corporate practices, including: board composition and leadership, director election practices, anti-takeover practices, compensation practices, risk oversight practices, CEO succession planning practices, board-shareholder engagement practices, and policies on director performance assessment and retirement. Findings constitute the basis for a benchmarking tool with more than 120 data points searchable by company size (measurable by revenue and asset value) and 20 industrial sectors. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
08
2011

Global Growth to Lose Momentum; Emerging Economies Will Account for Much of the Slowdown

World growth will slow to about 3 percent per year on average, until at least the middle of the next decade, The Conference Board reports today.

Global growth is projected to grow at 3.2 percent in 2012, accelerate to 3.5 percent from 2013-2016, and then show a further slowdown to 2.7 percent from 2017-2025, according to The Conference Board Global Economic Outlook. The report provides projections for output growth of the world economy for 2012, 2013-2016, and 2017-2025, including 12 major regions and about 50 advanced and emerging economies.

At 3 percent, on average, global growth will still be somewhat higher than the period 1980-1995, but between half and a full percentage point below the growth rate from 1995-2008. A recovery in advanced economies will be more than offset by a gradual slowdown in emerging ones as they mature, with the net result being that global growth will slow.

The report notes, however, that the biggest risk ahead for the global economy is not overall slower growth in output, but a slowdown in average output per capita, which will determine how fast living standards can be supported and raised. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nov
07
2011

2012 Global Economic Outlook Released on Tuesday

The Conference Board Economics Team will be releasing its Global Economic Outlook 2012 tomorrow, Tuesday, November 8. Chief Economist Bart van Ark will be appearing on Bloomberg Radio’s “On the Economy” program to discuss the forecast for the coming year with hosts Michael McKee and Sarah Eisen.  Tune in to Bart tomorrow morning between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. Eastern time at http://www.bloomberg.com/radio/.

We will provide a link to an MP3 of Bart’s radio appearance, along with some highlights from his forecast, in an upcoming post.

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