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| Warren Buffett |
Warren Buffett knows best. That is Berkshire Hathaway’s rationale for rejecting a shareholder proposal for an annual report on how the company manages physical and transitional climate-related risks and opportunities.
BH claims it has been anticipating and responding to major changes in its business since Buffett became its controlling shareholder in 1965 and its CEO in 1970.
In recommending a vote against the proposal, BH said: “Since many of Berkshire’s subsidiaries are already making sound climate-related decisions, and more importantly because the board believes that the shareholder proposal is inconsistent with Berkshire’s culture, the board recommends that our shareholders vote against the shareholder proposal.”
There’s more than a whiff of condescendence there.
The board also patted itself on the back for running the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.
“At BNSF, rail is already the most carbon-efficient land transport mode, and shippers who use rail instead of trucks cut their carbon emissions by up to two-thirds,” said BH.
Buffett owns 32 percent of BH, which will hold its virtual annual meeting on May 1.
US Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark is living in an alternate reality when it comes to defending the Senate’s filibuster.
Clark backs the measure because she feels it allows the time, thoughtfulness and deliberation needed to debate issues of national importance.
But when was the last time that Congress had a thoughtful and deliberate debate on anything?
“Only in Washington could getting 60 out of 100 people to agree feel like an insurmountable obstacle,” Clark said in sticking up for the filibuster.
That’s sad but true. It is an insurmountable obstacle.
The Biden administration could not get a single Republican to vote for the $1.9T American Rescue Plan, which is supported by 70 percent of US adults, according to Pew Research.
He tried "bipartisan" outreach to a group of "moderate" GOP Senators, but they countered with a COVID-19 and economic rescue plan that offered a pittance of what is needed to get the country back on track.
If every GOPer failed to support the popular American Rescue Plan, what chance is there that Republicans are going to work hand-in-hand with Team Biden on other matters?
Bipartisanship shouldn't be defined as Democrats caving to win a handful of GOP votes.
The filibuster is a barrier to any progress that Biden could achieve during the next four years.
The country deserves better.
Bad PR poses a threat to the digital advertising market, said ad tech firm DoubleVerify in its March 17 S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The digital advertising industry has been and may in the future be subject to reputational harm, negative media attention and public complaint relating to, among other things, the alleged lack of transparency and anti-competitive behavior among advertising technology companies,”
Public criticism could trigger increased data privacy and antitrust regulation in the US and overseas, according to the company.
DoubleVerify frets that its social media-related business could be jeopardized by “avoidance campaigns” or ad boycotts on Facebook and Twitter.
“If our customers significantly reduce or eliminate their digital ad spend in response to the public criticism of the digital advertising industry or its related effects, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected,” it said.
The digital ad business will need all the help that it can get from tech and crisis PR people to keep it on track.
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