British PM says executive pay to be put to shareholder vote
Posted in Uncategorized | March 5th, 2023
Monday, January 9, 2012
British shareholders will be able to veto executive pay packages according to statements yesterday by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mr Cameron said he wanted to allow shareholders to make a “straight shareholder vote on executive pay packages”. Shareholders can only submit a non-binding advisory vote on executive remunerations under current law. The move comes amid growing political pressure and public criticism over excessive pay for chief executives even when a business has failed.
Details of such a scheme may be revealed with an anticipated package of reforms under the portfolio of Business Secretary Vince Cable.
Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition, said the public would not accept the government’s policy. “Does anyone really believe that David Cameron came into politics to create more responsible capitalism?” he asked rhetorically.
The Labour Party has also called for measures to monitor and reel in exorbitant executive salaries. On Saturday, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said a “better capitalism” needs greater transparency. Mr Umanna said this could take the form of publishing pay ratios of chief executives compared to their employees.
The Liberal Democrats have pledged support for reeling in executive pay.
Celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan dies in car accident aged 50
Posted in Uncategorized | March 4th, 2023
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Dr. Frank Ryan
Plastic surgeon to the stars Dr. Frank Ryan has died in a car accident at age 50. It is reported that the Jeep Ryan was driving crashed over the side of the Pacific Coast Highway and landed on rocks. Lifeguards were first on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to rescue Ryan. It is thought that no other vehicle was involved in the incident.
Dr. Ryan, a celebrity in his own right, performed plastic surgery on several stars including Janice Dickinson, Gene Simmons, Shauna Sand and Adrianne Curry. He appeared on several television shows and became one of the first people to perform plastic surgery on television in 1995.
A representative for Janice Dickinson released a statement about the death of Ryan. She said “Janice is deeply, deeply anguished! She is stunned and wants the world to know what a genius Dr. Ryan was.”
Ryan was traveling with his pet dog at the time of the crash; the dog was found seriously injured in the ocean and was transported to a local veterinarian. Dr. Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene.
Australian government to tackle banks on mortgages
Posted in Uncategorized | March 4th, 2023
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Department of the Treasury, Canberra. Image: Adam Carr.
In response to higher than expected mortgage rate increases last week, Australian treasurer Wayne Swan flagged changes to banking regulations to increase competition between lenders on home mortgages.
Swan announced yesterday he had sought a Treasury report on the banking sector ahead of talks over the next fortnight on reforms to make it easier for bank customers to move mortgages between lenders by forcing banks to reduce exit fees, to “make the market more competitive”.
“Everybody knows we’ve been impacted upon by the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis that has pushed up the cost of money,” Swan said.
“But, as I said last week, some of the increases we saw by the banks were not justified. In my view, they were excessive. I urge people to vote with their feet. If there are obstacles to people voting with their feet, switching their accounts, we’ll have a look at those.”
The banking industry, however, insists that loan refinancing is not a complicated process currently, according to the head of the Australian Bankers Association (ABA), David Bell. “There is a competitive marketplace for home loans and the Cannex website shows the many products that are available,” said Bell. “Regarding the switching of transaction accounts, the Australian Payments Clearing Association is conducting a community consultation process on this issue. ABA member banks support this process.”
The £16 billion Crossrail Scheme, that will run through London, Berkshire and Essex was given the go ahead; construction will begin by 2010 and it is expected to be finished by 2017. The line, that will provide 24-hour trains to the centre of London from the east and the west, will provide a better rail link to the West End.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said “It was a great day for London, Crossrail and the economy” with the project expected to add £20 billion a year to the UK economy.
The government is providing a third of the money with the rest made up from borrowing against future fares and a levy on London business rates.
The news was also welcomed from the railway union RMT, who had been protesting to the government to go further for a new north to south high speed rail link.
Crossrail is also hoped to reduce the overcrowding to airports such as Heathrow and many others.
The Kennedy Center announced that its 30th presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors would go to pianist Leon Fleisher, comedian Steve Martin, singer Diana Ross, director Martin Scorsese and musician Brian Wilson. The Center was opened to the public in 1971 and was envisioned as part of the National Cultural Center Act, which mandated that the independent, privately-funded institution would present a wide variety of both classical and contemporary performances, commission the creation of new artistic works, and undertake a variety of educational missions to increase awareness of the arts.
In a statement, Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman said that “with their extraordinary talent, creativity and perseverance, the five 2007 honorees have transformed the way we, as Americans, see, hear and feel the performing arts.”
Film director Martin Scorsese is among the honorees.photo: David Shankbone
Fleisher, 79, a member of the Peabody Institute‘s music faculty, is a pianist who lost use of his right hand in 1965 due to a neurological condition. He became an accomplished musician and conductor through the use of his left hand. At 67, he regained the use of his right hand. With the advent of Botox therapy, he was once more able to undertake two-hand performances in 2004, his first in four decades. “I’m very gratified by the fact that it’s an apolitical honor,” Fleisher said. “It is given by colleagues and professional people who are aware of what [an artist] has done, so it really is apolitical — and that much more of an honor.”
Martin, 62, a comedian who has written books and essays in addition to his acting and stand-up comedy career, rose to fame during his work on the American television program Saturday Night Live in the 1970’s. Schwarzman praised his work as that of a “renaissance comic whose talents wipe out the boundaries between artistic disciplines.” Martin responded to the honor saying, “I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for finally alleviating in me years of covetousness and trophy envy.”
Ross, 63, was a product of Detroit‘s Brewster-Douglass Projects when as a teeager she and friends Mary Wilson and Florence Ballardis formed The Supremes, a ground-breaking Motown act. She portrayed singer Billie Holiday in the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues, which earned her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award. “Diana Ross’ singular, instantly recognizable voice has spread romance and joy throughout the world,” said Schwarzman. Ross said she was “taken aback. It is a huge, huge honor and I am excited to be in this class of people.”
Scorsese, 64, is one of the most accomplished directors the United States ever produced, whose work includes Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, Cape Fear, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Departed, for which he won a 2006 Academy Award for Best Director after being nominated eight times. Scorsese said, “I’m very honored to be receiving this recognition from the Kennedy Center and proud to be joining the company of the very distinguished individuals who have received this honor in years past.”
Wilson, 65, along with his brothers Dennis and Carl, formed the Beach Boys in 1961. They had a series of hits that included “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Their 1966 album Pet Sounds is considered one of the most influential recordings in American music. “This is something so unexpected and I feel extremely fortunate to be in the company of such great artists,” said Wilson, who is currently on tour.
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As of 10:00 p.m EST November 8, 2006, the Democratic Party is projected to have gained control of both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate in the 2006 United States general elections. MSNBC projects that the Democrats now control 234 seats in the House of Representatives, 16 more seats than the 218 needed to control the House of Representatives as all 435 seats were up for election. In the Senate, where the balance of power is closer, one-third of all seats were up for grab. As of 10:00 p.m. EST, AP and Reuters were projecting that the Democrats had picked up all six seats they needed to retake the Senate, including the seats of incumbents Rick Santorum (Penn.), Lincoln Chafee (R.I.), Jim Talent (Missouri), Mike DeWine (Ohio), Jon Tester (Montana), and Jim Webb (VA). The Tester victory by less than 3,000 votes was projected at approximately 2 p.m. EST after the State of Montana announced the results of overnight recounts. Democrat Jim Webb has prevailed in that race by slightly more than 7,000 votes, though his opponent has not conceded and a recount may still occur.
Victoria Wyndham on Another World and another life
Posted in Uncategorized | February 23rd, 2023
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Image: David Shankbone.
Victoria Wyndham was one of the most seasoned and accomplished actresses in daytime soap opera television. She played Rachel Cory, the maven of Another World‘s fictional town, Bay City, from 1972 to 1999 when the show went off the air. Wyndham talks about how she was seen as the anchor of a show, and the political infighting to keep it on the air as NBC wanted to wrest control of the long-running soap from Procter & Gamble. Wyndham fought to keep it on the air, but eventually succumbed to the inevitable. She discusses life on the soap opera, and the seven years she spent wandering “in the woods” of Los Angeles seeking direction, now divorced from a character who had come to define her professional career. Happy, healthy and with a family she is proud of, Wyndham has found life after the death of Another World in painting and animals. Below is David Shankbone’s interview with the soap diva.
Contents
1 Career and motherhood
2 The politics behind the demise of Another World
3 Wyndham’s efforts to save Another World
4 The future of soap operas
5 Wyndham’s career and making it as a creative
6 Television’s lust for youth
7 Her relationship today to the character Rachel Cory
8 Wyndham on a higher power and the creative process
Shin Corporation, the multi-billion baht telecom and IT giant, has lost its defamation suit against Supinya Klangnarong for her comments in an interview with the Thai Post in July 2003.
In her interview Supinya, secretary general of the Campaign for Popular Media, had stated that Shin corporation gained revenue following the election of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the company’s founder. As a result the corporation sued her and five of the Thai Post’s executives for defamation.
The court’s finding that Supinya has a right to express her opinion, and that it did not defame Shin Corp. followed a number of attempts by the company to settle out of court or otherwise avoid a judgement.
This judgement comes at an inopportune moment for the Prime Minister: his family’s recent tax-free sale of their stake in Shin has acted as a catalyst for the protests calling for Thaksin to resign.
