SPECIAL REPORT
MOST SHARED
- Greece to Leave Euro Zone on June 18: Wealth Manager
- European Firms Plan for Greek Unrest and Euro Exit
- Banks Recapitalization Is a 'Necessary Evil': Strategist
- Euro Rallies as Greece's Pro-Bailout Parties Gain Favor
- Italy 2-Year Borrowing Costs at Peak Since December
- Blair Says Feared Provoking British Media Wrath
- Europe’s Stronger Powers Must Reveal Plans: Ex-BoE Official
- Oil and Gas Sectors Power Aveva Profit Lift
- Newedge to Leave Greek Stock Market
- How Boaz Weinstein and Hedge Funds Outsmarted JPMorgan
- A New Look at the ‘New Poor’
- Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
- Greek Exit Could Trigger 50% Fall in Euro Stocks: Analyst
- Under Pressure, FHA Skews to Wealthier Home Buyers
- Big Stock Upside for Hudson City Deal: Analyst
- 5 High-Yield Stocks Ready to Boost Dividends
- Yoshikami: Four Things You Need to Know About Gold Now
- Steinbock: The Euro Zone Endgame Begins
- Option Bulls Take Another Shot on Idenix
- Public Pensions Faulted for Bets on Rosy Returns
- Will the Euro Misery Give Rise to Another Soros?
- Greece to Leave Euro Zone on June 18: Wealth Manager
- Italy 2-Year Borrowing Costs at Peak Since December
- Euro Bond Wins Supporters, but Details Remain Vague
- German, UK Bond Yields Will Go Even Lower
- Labor Board Member Resigns Over Leak to GOP Allies
- Banks Recapitalization Is a 'Necessary Evil': Strategist
- Loan Scheme Launches for Youth Business Start-Ups
RSS FEED
Pharma's Market
Text Size 
Pfizer Shareholders & Its Rodent Get a Morsel
 |
AP |
Yeah, it's got a lot of cushiony language in it like "non-binding" and "advisory resolution," but CNBC's resident proxy expert, Mary Thompson, says it nonetheless amounts to a victory for shareholders. A few years ago PFE [PFE
Loading...
()
] investors were outraged when the previous Chairman and CEO Hank McKinnell was sent packing with an enormous golden parachute. Shareholders also passed a measure to let an investor who has at least a 10 percent stake in the company to call for a special meeting. That's down from a 25 percent threshhold approved last year.
With PFE shares down about one-third over the past year, Chairman and CEO Jeff Kindler reportedly told the crowd that he feels their pain. "We all know Pfizer's share price is not where we want it to be." I seem to recall him saying something along those lines at last year's meeting, too. The world's biggest drugmaker cut its dividend when it announced last January that it was buying Wyeth. The stock's down about 26 percent since Kindler did that deal.
Meantime, a few months ago I blogged about an in-your-face "public service announcement" regarding counterfeit drugs that Pfizer produced for the UK and was showing before movies at theaters, er, theatres. In an informal, unscientific "Pharma's Market" poll that day readers voted by a better than two-to-one margin that the spot was effective versus disgusting. And now an ad watchdog group in the UK has weighed in saying it agrees with the majority. Despite receiving 64 complaints about the PSA, the group believes the video raises awareness more than it offends.
Drugs, rats, shareholders and CEOs all in the same blog. And I resisted all temptation to connect them.
Questions? Comments? and follow me on Twitter at mhuckman
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
