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☆ Global Executives Say Greenwashing Remains Rife
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Most global executives think greenwashing is widespread in their industry, and despite customers becoming more vocal about preferring sustainable brands, many companies are cutting corners on their environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives. PREVIEWThe risk of greenwashing is increasing with crackdowns on overstated green claims on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite that threat, the figures are consistent with last year’s findings: Nearly 60% say their own organization is overstating its sustainability methods. Nearly three-quarters of executives said they want to advance sustainability efforts but don’t actually know how to go about doing it. Most executives surveyed—85%—said customers and clients are becoming more vocal about their preference for engaging with sustainable brands.

☆ Banking turmoil questions begin at board level, says Basel's de Cos
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

These events marked the first real stress test of banks since the global financial crisis of 2007-09, de Cos told an Institute of International Finance roundtable in Washington. While it was unlikely a single culprit was to blame, he said the "whodunnit" task should start with bank boards. "A bank’s board, senior management and risk management function should be asking themselves questions in a timely fashion and taking credible measures to shore up resilience," de Cos said. De Cos also said supervisors should also ask tough questions and take "decisive action" to ensure safety and soundness of banks. Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England and former chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the G20 watchdog that drove through post-global financial crisis reforms of banking rules, has called for a rethink of bank liquidity rules.

☆ Leaked document shows Salesforce employees who routinely log over 10 hours of overtime pay will get a talking-to from senior management
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce is scrutinizing overtime, especially for workers who log more than 10 overtime hours a week. Overtime policies were laid out earlier this month in an internal document viewed by Insider. Salesforce is taking a stricter approach to overtime pay, according to an internal document viewed by Insider. It isn't clear how many Salesforce employees qualify for overtime pay, but most large tech companies do have a percentage of their workforce that qualifies. The document reminding employees that overtime pay must be approved and limited comes during a time when the software giant is executing major cost-cutting initiatives.

☆ See the memo detailing JPMorgan's new mandatory office policy for managing directors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

JPMorgan Chase is abandoning a hybrid attendance policy it adopted during the pandemic and requiring executives to return to the office. On Wednesday, JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank by assets, said it will now mandate that all managing directors come to the office five days a week. In 2021, he wrote in his annual note to shareholders that he envisioned many JPMorgan employees returning to the office full-time, while allowing for exceptions. Tracking attendance is not only important to manage hybrid work schedules but also for real estate, resiliency and security purposes. In the meantime, you can find many useful tools and resources on the Hybrid Working page.

☆ Gen Z is the biggest beneficiary of workplace nepotism despite calling it out, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

More than two-thirds of Gen Z have used nepotism to land a job offer, a new study found. They survey of 2,000 workers found 42% said they'd won a role or job offer through nepotism. Even if they disapprove of nepotism, three-quarters of Gen Z workers said they would still use it. Almost half the Gen Z employees that have used nepotism to land a role ended up with a junior title, and a quarter were unemployed beforehand. That was causing Gen Z to devise creative solutions due to these unrealistic expectations, per Fortune.

☆ Google workers in London stage walkout over job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Google employees staged a walkout at the company’s London offices on Tuesday, following a dispute over layoffs. Trade union Unite, which counts hundreds of Google’s UK employees among its members, said the company had ignored concerns put forward by employees. “Our members are clear: Google needs to listen to its own advice of not being evil,” said Unite regional officer Matt Whaley. Last month, workers at the company’s Zurich office in Switzerland staged a similar walkout, with employee representatives claiming Google had rejected their proposals to reduce job cuts. We know this is a very challenging time for our employees,” a Google spokesperson said.

[1/2] A logo of Airbus is seen at the entrance of its factory in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, July 2, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit TessierPARIS, April 3 (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA) is negotiating a new round of plane orders with China, coinciding with a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the economic superpower later this week, government and industry sources said. The potential deal for dozens of jets comes amid worsening relations between Washington and Beijing, which have seen China's usually balanced airplane imports tilt towards Airbus in recent years. Airbus also has an industry presence in China including an assembly plant. Macron is due to conduct the state visit to China on April 5-7, with a delegation of company chiefs from France-based companies, expected to include Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury.

☆ A union said 5 Apple Store workers were fired illegally for trying to organize
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A union said five workers at Apple stores in two states were fired illegally. The Communications Workers of America union filed two Unfair Labor Practice charges. It was the first unfair labour practice charge filed by the CWA against Apple for alleged unlawful termination of workers for union organizing. No one working at Apple should be interrogated, intimidated, or silenced for trying to organize and win our fair share." It is unlawful for any companies to retaliate against workers for union activity, according to the NLRB.

☆ Inside a shake-up at the world's 'most feared law firm'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Casey Sullivan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

It's been a tumultuous period for Quinn and the storied law firm he built over the past 37 years — now the world's largest litigation firm with hourly rates that can be north of $2,000. But behind the scenes, a shift at QE has been the talk of elite law firm circles. Indeed, the firm – known as a singular, even freewheeling, institution that brands itself as the "#1 Most Feared Law Firm in the World" — may appear to be less in the image of its founder as a generational shift brings changes. "We all thought it was important that the world understands this is not a one generation law firm." One former firm partner in California says he believes Quinn's inner circle generally got better deals.

Origin, Australia's top energy retailer, on Monday agreed to the long-running takeover offer from the consortium, nearing the conclusion of one of the country's biggest private equity-backed buyouts. Once the deal is completed, EIG's MidOcean Energy will take control of Origin's integrated gas business. Thomas said government policy swings world over are a by-product of the volatility associated with the tension between energy security and the transition to cleaner energy. Origin, Australia's No. Brookfield said it plans to invest a further A$20 billion of capital to fully replace Origin's power generation and its power purchases with green power over a decade.

☆ Fed's Barr says regulators committed to ensuring 'all deposits' are safe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Pete Schroeder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In prepared testimony, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr added that the banking system is "strong and resilient." Barr said SVB's collapse was a "textbook case of mismanagement," citing the firm's concentrated business model, exceedingly fast growth, failure to manage its interest rate risk, and reliance on uninsured deposits. Supervisors told bank senior management in October 2022 of its concern with the bank's interest rate risk profile, Barr said. He added Fed leaders in Washington were briefed on the impact of rising interest rate on some banks' financials, and SVB was highlighted. The Fed is undertaking an internal review of its supervision of the bank, and Barr said he welcomes external reviews as well.

☆ I'm an associate at SVB. I love the culture of this company, but I'm livid at the failures of management.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One current SVB employee is on the front lines of what has been dubbed the worst bank crisis since 2008. The best thing about working at SVB is its tight-knit, supportive culture: "We had a good thing going." I work at SVB, and as you might surmise, the situation sucks. What makes it really sting, though, is how the awesome culture I've experienced here is forever stained by those failures. And even now, it feels like the whole bank has really rallied around trying to show that we're more than just a bank.

March 22 (Reuters) - The management of Silicon Valley Bank "failed badly," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday, but its collapse also underscores the need for better controls despite what had been escalating oversight by the Fed's own examiners. "It does kind of suggest there's a need for ...regulatory and supervisory changes, just because supervision and regulation need to keep up with what's happening," Powell said. RED FLAGSFederal Reserve bank examiners had called out problems at Silicon Valley Bank <SIVB.O> as early as 2019. In all the bank received six citations, Powell said, including both matters "requiring attention" and their escalated cousin, matters "requiring immediate attention." A key part of the bank examiner's toolkit, MRAs and MRIAs are often included in reports following regular examinations of a bank's health, or in a separate supervisory letter.

☆ I've worked on Wall Street for more than 15 years. Here are 5 ways middle managers go wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jenna Gyimesi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Matthew C. Meade has worked on Wall Street for firms including JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. He's seen middle managers struggle when they neglect to get feedback from the people they manage. Mid-level managers must delegate while upselling their team's work to senior management, he writes. As a mid-level manager, your job is to delegate to your team while also upselling your team's work to senior management. Here are five ways I've seen middle managers go wrong.

☆ Deel Speed: The inside story of a $12 billion HR startup's breakneck growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Insider spoke with more than 30 current or former Deel workers about the HR company's extraordinary rise, and the unconventional tactics that made it possible. "I think if you talk to anyone, they would say that Alex is the face but all decisions run through Phillipe," one former Deel worker told Insider. "They lose every employment and labor protection," Valerio De Stefano, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, said of independent contractors. Alex Bouaziz, Deel on Centre Stage during day two of Collision 2022 at Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada. The company didn't have an internal human-resources team until sometime in 2021, by which point it had grown to hundreds of people.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's CEO and CFO were ousted but other bank executives still have their jobs — and they're wooing new customers, acting CEO told clients.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Kali Hays | Darius Rafieyan | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Clients were told that the CEO and CFO are out of SVB, while other managers remain. His message to them: Silicon Valley Bank was fully operational, protected by unlimited FDIC insurance even for new deposits, and all business was functioning normally, as if the bank run on Friday never happened. In this case, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank is a full-service bank." Retaining management is, perhaps, a good outcome for the moment for SVB employees who have been cast in a pall of uncertainty since last week. SVB employees now seem to fall into three groups, according to the recruiter, who has spoken with SVB employees in recent days.

☆ Prudential says exposure to SVB minimal, sales to China travellers pick up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, March 15 (Reuters) - Asia-focused insurer Prudential's (PRU.L) said its exposure to collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is minimal, and expects little impact on its "conservative" balance sheet. "Our exposure to SVB is de minimis," Turner said. The insurer's stock price ended 1.18% lower in Hong Kong on Wednesday, while the broader market was up 1.52%. Its London-listed shares fell 4.7% by 9 a.m. GMTAnalysts say they expect a stronger pickup in sales from Chinese mainland visitors to Hong Kong, the insurer's key revenue centre. As China ended its Zero-COVID policy, border restrictions were removed last month allowing mainland visitors to go to Hong Kong and buy insurance again.

☆ Prudential's full year profit up 8%, COVID curbs removal a boost: CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, March 15 (Reuters) - Asia-focused insurer Prudential's (PRU.L) operating profit rose 8% in 2022, boosted by new insurance sales despite the coronavirus pandemic, and its new boss said on Wednesday sales had picked up further since China lifted its COVID-19 curbs. Adjusted operating profit from the London and Hong Kong dual-listed company came in at $3.38 billion on a constant exchange rate basis, up from $3.23 billion in 2021, Prudential said in a statement. The result beat a forecast of around $3.34 billion from 22 analysts' forecasts provided by the company. The insurer has now completed the move of its entire senior management team from London to Hong Kong - its new global headquarters - which is closer to its revenue sources. Reporting by Selena Li Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How 'bailout' became a dirty word
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —“Bailout” became a curse word in American politics following the 2008 global financial crisis, fueling backlash among people who felt the risks and potential consequences of capitalism didn’t apply to big corporations or the wealthy. A financial bailout is generally considered to be providing compensation for losses when there was reckless, irresponsible or nefarious behavior at play, he added. “Bailout is a dirty word. The politics of bailoutsBailout politics have returned in response to the Silicon Valley and Signature meltdown. If those depositors are made whole, that would constitute a bailout, he said.

☆ Harvard career expert: The No. 1 'desirable skill' that very few people have—especially men
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Heidi K. Gardner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

These people shouldn't just have different knowledge domains. A groundbreaking study by Harvard Business School professor Boris Groysberg found that workers, especially men, often take their professional networks for granted. Communities created through Slack and similar messaging tools are a great way to spur virtual forms of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and knowledge distribution. Previously, she was a professor at Harvard Business School. Heidi earned master's degree from the London School of Economics, and a second PhD from London Business School.

March 12 (Reuters) - State regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank (SBNY.O) on Sunday, the third largest failure in U.S. banking history, two days after authorities shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) in a collapse that stranded billions in deposits. All of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer," the U.S. Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement. Signature's failure followed Silicon Valley Bank's Friday shutdown, the second largest in U.S. history behind Washington Mutual, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis. Signature Bank's depositors and borrowers will automatically become customers of the bridge bank, the FDIC said. Signature Bank cut ties with Trump in 2021 following the deadly Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill, and urged Trump to resign.

The U.S. Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement on Sunday that all depositors of Signature Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer." Signature Bank reported deposit balances totaling $89.17 billion as of March 8. Representatives for Signature Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FDIC on Sunday established a "bridge" successor bank to Signature Bank, which will enable customers to access their funds on Monday. Signature Bank's depositors and borrowers will automatically become customers of the bridge bank, the FDIC said.

☆ 'That's how capitalism works,' Biden says of SVB, Signature Bank investors who lost money in failed banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the banking crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 13, 2023. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sought to assure customers of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank on Monday that their money was safe — insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund — but said investors in the failed banks' securities aren't going to get the same guarantee. "Investors in the banks will not be protected," Biden said Monday in a White House speech. Signature Bank in New York, which was shuttered Sunday over similar systemic contagion fears as SVB, had been a popular funding source for cryptocurrency companies. Instead the money will come from the fees that banks pay into the Deposit Insurance Fund."

☆ US regulators bail out Silicon Valley Bank customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Federal regulators announced that depositors of Silicon Valley Bank will be paid in fullIn a statement released Sunday, the Treasury, Federal Reserve and the FDIC said they would "fully protect" depositors with funds in the bank. No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer." "Still to be determined is the fate of the assets of Silicon Valley Bank. No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer. As with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, no losses will be borne by the taxpayer.

☆ Signature Bank shut down by regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The crypto-friendly Signature Bank was shut down by regulators on Sunday. Signature Bank's closure comes on the heels of Silicon Valley Bank being shuttered on Friday. Signature Bank's closure comes on the heels of the shuttering of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday. Signature Bank has assets of more than $110 billion as of December 31. We are also announcing a similar systemic risk exception for Signature Bank, New York, New York, which was closed today by its state chartering authority.

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