LONDON, Jan 31- Shareholders must be hoping the removal of Aubrey McClendon as Chesapeake's chief executive will end the corporate governance discount attached to the company's share price and unlock superior returns. Shareholder activists like Carl Icahn have focused on governance issues.
NEW YORK-- Transocean Ltd. shares rose Monday on news that billionaire investor Carl Icahn boosted his stake in the oil drilling company and said he plans to push for it to declare a dividend of at least $4 a share.
*Budget airlines fall after Ryanair numbers. The travel and leisure sector was the main drag on the FTSEurofirst 300, down 0.9 percent and led lower by budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet, which retreated after a recent surge.
*EuroSTOXX 50 sets fresh 18- month highs. LONDON, Jan 28- Euro zone blue chips touched fresh 18- month peaks on Monday, with technical charts pointing to a continued slow grind higher backed by tentative signs of improvement in the global economy and corporate earnings.
Jan 25- Activist investor Carl Icahn said on Friday that offshore rig contractor Transocean should declare a dividend of at least $4 per share, and said if it doesn't, he will propose it himself at the company's next annual meeting, according to a regulatory filing.
The argument centered on nutritional supplements company Herbalife Ltd, in which Ackman has had a well-publicized short position that Icahn has slammed. In a tirade that included expletives, Icahn said he would never invest with Ackman and predicted investors in his Pershing Square hedge fund would lose a lot of money on the Herbalife bet.