BIL International's annual meeting, held in Hawaii last week, must have been a relaxing affair for the board.
The Sheraton Surfrider in Honolulu would have provided directors with a change of scene from Bermuda, where the past two AGMs have been held. And the exotic location meant that once again the
company's 80,000 long-suffering New Zealand shareholders could not grill the company on its underwhelming performance or raise questions about the latest annual resolution to increase directors' fees.
Surprise, surprise, this year's 24 per cent fee rise to US$252,000 ($502,860) was approved just as last year's 17 per cent increase was.
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Helen Clark was in fine form at last week's NetGuide awards, bantering with MC Tony Veitch to the amusement of the gathered throng of technology types.
But the PM showed an embarrassing cyber-ignorance during a rave about the launch of the new e-government portal (www.govt.nz). She couldn't even get the simple web address right. Urging the audience to check out the site, she proudly directed them to "dub, dub, dub dot government dot whatever."
Once again, that's dot NZ, Prime Minister - as in "New Zealand".
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Don't be alarmed, corporate agitator Bruce Sheppard assures us he isn't cosying up to the establishment.
A Herald report which mentioned in passing that the Shareholders' Association chairman met Tranz Rail executives privately before the company's annual meeting last week prompted one investor to fire off a "please explain" email to Sheppard, who was happy to do so in a reply copied to the paper.
He said time commitments kept him away from the annual meeting, but the personal tete-a-tete beforehand had been a useful chance to receive an update from the company and take up its invitation to suggest ways to restore shareholder confidence.
"You can be assured that whether I meet these guys in private or not, my interests are firmly on improving governance, information transparency, particularly as it related to strategy, and improving shareholder value," Sheppard said.
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Like many websites, Ngai Tahu's has a useful "contact us" page where surfers can send the tribe a form email. An added bonus of the site: respondents are asked to check a circle to indicate the type of message they are sending: suggestion, praise or problem.
We know which type we'd open first in our inbox.
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David Bonderman knows how to throw a party. The Texas billionaire spent US$11 million ($21.9 million) on a 60th birthday bash he shared with 400 of his closest friends.
The evening began with dinner at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, before the guests were ferried to the local Hard Rock Cafe for a night of entertainment from Robin Williams, John Mellencamp and the Rolling Stones. Despite the formidable lineup of acts, one party guest confided: "It wasn't a wild bash."
Most of those in attendance were conservative businessmen - "A real shirt-and-jacket group, rocking away in their loafers."
And while the bill may seem extravagant, it didn't put much of a dent in Bonderman's bank balance. A specialist in buying and reviving near-bankrupt companies, he is worth US$9.5 billion ($18.9 billion).
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BIL International's annual meeting, held in Hawaii last week, must have been a relaxing affair for the board.
The Sheraton Surfrider in Honolulu would have provided directors with a change of scene from Bermuda, where the past two AGMs have been held. And the exotic location meant that once again the
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