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Business Pants

Business Pants

By: Free Float Media Inc.
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Whether you love business news or feel like you’re supposed to know it but hate it, Business Pants is business news for humans. Snarky and irreverent, deeply researched and factual, a podcast devoted to market quirks and the humans that make up companies. Investing isn’t a what, it’s a who.

2024, Free Float Media Inc. Economics Personal Finance Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Executives hate their boards, Musk out donations, Walmart eating tariffs, and W is for Woke

    Executives hate their boards, Musk out donations, Walmart eating tariffs, and W is for Woke
    May 20 2025
    The 5:5:5 Good Game of Stupid Edition: Normal/Trump/Funny (to me)Normal93% of U.S. Executives Desire Board Member ReplacementsIn a recent survey conducted by PwC and The Conference Board, a substantial majority of senior executives in the U.S. expressed a desire for changes within their company's board of directors.The study revealed that 93% of the 520 top managers surveyed want at least one board member replaced, marking a record high in the survey's five-year history.The findings highlight growing tensions between management and boards, as 32% of executives reported board members interfering in day-to-day operations, a significant increase from 16% the previous year.Concerns were also raised about directors' performance being hindered by age and overcommitment, with 56% and 47% of respondents citing these issues, respectively.Tejon shareholders vote in activist investor, remove longtime directorAndrew Dakos received 19,785,261 proxy votes in favor to 17,338,888 against, which allowed him to unseat 24-year director Michael Winer, who received 821,536 in favor and 2,974,871 againstNew Jersey activist group Bulldog InvestorsPhillip Goldstein (19,757,851/17,342,618); Chair (2015-) and Director (1998-) Norman Metcalfe (81) somehow reelected (19,807,311/3,547,606) Shell Faces Fresh Legal Challenge Over Development of New Oil and Gas FieldsDutch environmental group Milieudefensie said by developing new fields, the oil and gas giant is in breach of legal duties to cut carbon emissionsStarbucks doubles down on baristas, not AI, to fix its customer crunchElon Musk says he will spend ‘a lot less’ on future campaign donationsElon Musk commits to leading Tesla for next five yearsTrumpTrump tells Walmart to 'eat the tariffs' instead of raising pricesLA Port shipments fell 30% in early May after Trump tariffsMeet the New York Times CEO: She’s outmaneuvering tech, Trump, and an industry in crisisMeredith Kopit Levien: the youngest person and second woman to lead the institution in its 173-year history.Business owners with unfortunately named companies face fallout thanks to Trump's war on wokeDavid Markley called his business DEI. which stands for Design Engineering Inc., long before the Trump backlash took off.Another business named DEI is the restaurant supply company owned by Ricardo Gomez.Trump signs bipartisan Take It Down Act to fight ‘revenge porn’ and deepfakesTrump said that under the law, “anyone who intentionally distributes explicit images without the subject’s consent will face up to three years of prison.In addition, this law establishes new civil liabilities for online platforms that refuse to take these images down promptly upon request. We will not tolerate online sexual exploitation.”Funny (to me)Engineers Reveal Robot That Takes Care of Old People So You Don’t Have toNetflix Faces Backlash From Conservatives After Picking Up Sesame Street: 'W Is for Woke'UBS deploys AI analyst clones UBS has started using artificial intelligence to turn its analysts into avatars, sending videos of the simulated bankers to clients in a move the lender said would free up staff to focus on more productive tasks.JPMorgan CEO Dimon Still Intends to Step Down in Next Few Years. ‘It’s Up to the Board.’ Henry Schein Appoints Dan Daniel to Board of DirectorsFirst name is actually Williamformer EVP of Danaher Corporation
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    49 mins
  • Sir Witty avoid fraud probe, the anti-woke think Exxon is woke, investors are confused about Harley

    Sir Witty avoid fraud probe, the anti-woke think Exxon is woke, investors are confused about Harley
    May 16 2025
    Story of the Week (DR):UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down for 'personal reasons' MM DRUnitedHealth Under Investigation: UnitedHealth Group is facing a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice for potential Medicare fraud related to its Medicare Advantage program. The company is also dealing with a civil fraud investigation and has suspended its 2025 financial forecast amid rising medical costs. CEO Andrew Witty resigned unexpectedly this week.Steve will receive a golden hello again consisting of a one-time $60M option award. While the company claims there will be no additional annual equity awards during the first three years of Steve’s employment, there are no performance hurdles tied to this award meaning Steve could make a boatload of cash even if the stock market goes up independent of his work as CEO.A Kohl's board member resigned because she was 'continually disappointed' by governance and a lack of transparency MM DRKohl's Director and Compensation Committee Chair Christine Day resigned from the board on May 5, 2025.Kohl’s initially claimed: “Ms. Day’s decision [to resign] was not due to any disagreements with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.”Day later sent an email (included in SEC filing) saying:I want to stress my concern that this is an inappropriate way to handle this. All shareholders deserve the same access to the same information. [ . . .] and for us to not respond to ISS is not good governance. In the 8K filing, for my departure, it would not be accurate to say I have no disagreements with the board. Unfortunately I have been continually disappointed with the level of governance process. The 8k needs to reflect this.”In another email she called out Board Chair Michael Bender: “There is no delegation to committees or chairs, Michael “handles” everything, maybe speaks to one person or 2, then “tells” everyone what the decision is. Some people know more than others leading to board members feeling alienated, out of the loop, and worse—developing a culture where real discussions rarely occur.”In a meeting held yesterday (may 14), only 5% of Kohls shareholders said NO to Board Chair Michael Bender while 45% said NO on Pay while average director support was 92% YESJohn Tyson joins Tyson Foods Inc. board, 9 months after criminal charges led him to step down as CFO MM DRDespite being part of the controlling family, The Tyson children will be paid $315,000 annually like all other non-employee directors.FedEx board member David Steiner to lead US Postal ServiceLD since 2009; CEO Waste Management; $15M in sharesGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Boulder’s landmark lawsuit against Suncor, Exxon can proceed, Colorado Supreme Court rulesMM: NLPC Urges Exxon Mobil Shareholders To Vote Against Election Of CEO Darren Woods For Board On Exxon Mobil's 2025 Proxy Ballot DR MMThey are running a vote no campaign on Darren Woods… for being too woke! After suing his own shareholder who wanted him to be woke!Assholiest of the Week (MM):NasdaqNasdaq Supports Texas Senate Bill 29, Strengthening Corporate Governance and Business Growth in the State DREd Knight of Nasdaq says: “Senate Bill 29 is a milestone for corporate governance in Texas. By embracing smart, innovation-focused regulation like SB 29, Texas is showing the world what it means to lead on economic growth and modern, clear governance principles,” said Ed Knight, Executive Vice Chairman of Nasdaq. “We commend Senator Bryan Hughes, Representative Morgan Meyer, and Governor Greg Abbott for advancing legislation that strengthens Texas’ position as a global center for capital formation.”The major features include a Musk “board independence” rule that allows an evidentiary hearing by a court to say a committee overseeing a transaction is “independent”, then they can exclude any lawsuits or challenges to the committee findings/approval - say, on something like a massive pay package - without the ability of a shareholder to get recourseThey also can refuse books and records if they THINK you might sue them, and they only allow derivative lawsuits for groups with 3% or more of the sharesEd Knight biography: A Texas native, Knight received his Bachelor of Arts, with honors, in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.Stewardship teamsHarley-Davidson Leaders Survive Proxy FightThe company didn’t reveal the preliminary vote total during its shareholder meeting. About 48% of shares voted withheld support from Zeitz, while about 40% withheld support from directors Thomas Linebarger and Sara Levinson, two people familiar with the tally said.Harley’s bylaws require directors to resign if more than 50% of shares voted withhold support.Seriously investors? Seriously? Levinson has been a director since Clinton’s FIRST TERM - AND SHE HAS A CHECKMARK ...
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Andrew Witty gets paid, steps down, stays on, John R Tyson sucks at his job, gets board seat, and other nuggets

    Andrew Witty gets paid, steps down, stays on, John R Tyson sucks at his job, gets board seat, and other nuggets
    May 13 2025
    DAMION1In our 'That's cute, Sam, because I don't want my son to grow up in a world where college dropouts slowly replace human brain function with profit-driven AI' headline of the week. Sam Altman doesn't want his son to grow up with an AI best friend In our 'In other news, Ikea will call its forthcoming store in Boston simply 'Ikea,' sources say' headline of the week. ESPN will call its forthcoming flagship streaming app simply 'ESPN,' sources say In our 'Ex-CBS Director O.J. Simpson not named director after found not guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and because he's dead' headline of the week. Ex-Tyson Foods CFO John Tyson named director after misdemeanoursIn our 'In her acceptance speech, Ms. Boswell said, "I won't sleep until your toilets are 45% less smelly and disgusting, on a year-over-year basis starting in 3Q 2026."' headline of the week. Clorox Announces Election of Gina Boswell to its Board of DirectorsIn our 'The fourth director was referred to as "a bloated idiot who doesn't know the difference between a case of synthetic hydraulic fluids and a Diet Pepsi.' headline of the week. Shareholder advisory firm backs 3 of Elliott's 4 Phillips 66 director nominees In our 'Sir Andrew Witty listed the top three 'personal reasons' in no particular order: "Fuck. This. Place." ' headline of the week. UnitedHealth CEO steps down for ‘personal reasons’MATT1In our 'Universally reviled man pays self' headline of the week. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty was 2024's highest-paid payer CEO. Here's a look at what other execs earnedIn our 'Universally reviled man takes a vacation' headline of the week. UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down, company suspends annual forecastIn our 'Universally reviled man replaced by universally reviled man who replaced different universally reviled man he replaced' headline of the week. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty steps down, replaced by Stephen HemsleyIn our 'Andrew Witty says try cod liver oil and vitamin A' headline of the week. Listeria outbreak sickens at least 10 in California and Nevada and the FDA is investigating Fresh & Ready FoodsIn our 'This week on "Audit Material Weakness: the Game", who will be the material weakness? The ex-prosecutor "financial expert", the ex-interior secretary who wrote "You Report to Me: Accountability for the Failing Administrative State", or the ex-trade representative?' headline of the week. Trump Media said it had ‘material weakness’ in internal controlsIn our 'Anti-woke investors furious at SEC they don't get the chance to vote 1% in favor of a resolution to stop gays from eating sushi, the wokest way to make fish, which is eroding American freedom' headline of the week. Kroger Investor Loses New Bid to Put Plan Before ShareholdersIn our 'After soliciting bids from Punxsutawney Phil, the transformer named Scavenger, and Mark Wahlberg from Deepwater Horizon, the Trump Administration finally found a genius to dig a hole' headline of the week. Elon Musk’s Boring Company Is in Talks With Government Over Amtrak ProjectIn our 'When asked, the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee handed citizens a set of "giant wipers" donated by Tesla for their tears' headline of the week. Community Complains of Choking Fumes From Elon Musk's AI FortressIn our 'It's true, we found a self-important liar who likes hallucinogens so we don't need to hire anyone under 35 with an education anymore' headline of the week. AI may cut the need for younger staff, CEOs say: ‘With the commoditization of intelligence, it’s not about having the smartest people anymore’In our 'It's true, we found a self-important liar who states everything like it's a fact so we don't need to hire anyone over the age of 55 anymore' headline of the week. The vast majority of CEOs are fearful of losing their jobs due to AI, survey revealsDAMION2End with a game: I’ll give you the headline first and you pick the best joke:McDonald's announces plans to hire 375,000 workers with Trump Labor secretaryTraining to Include How to Scream Internally Without Moving Your Face and Why Clocking Out is WokeNew Employees to Be Paid in Nuggets and WIll Receive Free Uniform, A Copy of “Atlas Shrugged” (Annotated by J.D. Vance while wearing a Ronald McDonald costume) and a Mandatory McRib Tramp StampBecause Nothing Says “Labor Rights” Like a Side of DeregulationBoy Accidentally Orders 70,000 Lollipops on Amazon. Panic Ensues.Amazon’s spokesperson said, "While we understand that 70,000 lollipops may exceed the average household’s needs, our algorithm determined that American children are fat and stupid."Mark Zuckerberg said, "Problems like this will disappear with Meta-branded AI children."Amazon Algorithm Now Recommends a Kohler Tall Single Flush 2-Piece Elongated Toilet with 1.28 GPF in White and a Dentist Named Dave
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    22 mins
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