– CNBC reported that the Trump administration said it will continue using strict guidelines adopted by the administration of former President Joe Biden to review proposed corporate mergers. The decision to retain the guidelines, which have been widely disliked by companies, was detailed by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Andrew Ferguson and a memo by Omeed Assefi, the acting head of the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) antitrust division.
The announcement is a blow to Wall Street, which had been looking forward to more M&A activity under a loosened framework for evaluating proposed mergers. The existing guidelines detail more than a dozen criteria that the FTC and DoJ use to determine whether to seek to block a merger. They include mergers not significantly increasing concentration in already highly concentrated markets.
– The Guardian reported that, according to a new Harris poll, Americans are changing their shopping habits and even dropping their favorite stores in a backlash against companies that have shifted their public policies to align with the Trump administration. Four in 10 Americans have shifted their spending over the last few months to align with their moral views, according to the poll.
Thirty-one percent of Americans reported having no interest in supporting the economy this year – a sentiment particularly felt by younger (gen Z: 37 percent), black (41 percent v white: 28 percent) and Democratic consumers (35 percent v 29 percent of independents and 28 percent of Republicans). More Democrats (50 percent) indicated that they were changing their spending habits compared with Republicans (41 percent) and independents (40 percent).
– According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is directing federal agencies to no longer consider a company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices when deciding whether to procure its goods or services, an announcement from the General Services Administration (GSA) states. The new policy reverses a Biden administration initiative that asked the government to take into account a company’s internal DEI practices as one of many factors when considering whether to purchase that company’s products or services.
The GSA is also ending a federal effort to replace plastic straws with paper straws in federal operations, bringing procurement policy in line with an executive order signed by President Trump. Last year, the Biden administration adopted a goal of phasing out federal procurement of single-use plastics from all federal operations by 2035.
– CNBC reported that, according to a person familiar with the matter, a law firm that represents Tesla and Elon Musk has written proposed legislation that would alter Delaware corporate law. The proposed legislation, drafted by Richards, Layton & Finger (RLF) would amend Delaware General Corporation Law and, if adopted, could pave the way for the reinstatement of Musk’s 2018 CEO pay package at Tesla.
RLF confirmed its involvement to CNBC. ‘Statutory changes are necessary to restore the core principles that have been the hallmark of Delaware for over a century and ensure that Delaware remains the preeminent jurisdiction for incorporation,’ Lisa Schmidt, president of RLF, said in a statement. The bill was introduced in the Delaware General Assembly on Monday and would require approval by the state’s two chambers as well as Governor Matt Meyer before it could become law.
A spokesperson for the law firm said RLF’s role in the legislation draft was not done on behalf of any specific client.
Under the proposed legislation, Musk might no longer be considered a ‘controller’ of Tesla, said Brian Quinn, a Boston College Law professor. Transactions that involve self-dealing with controllers or directors would be subject to less review than they are now, Quinn said. Those transactions range from going-private deals to M&A and board and executive compensation decisions.
Tesla and Musk did not respond to CNBC requests for comment.
– The implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which requires millions of companies to report their true ownership to the government, is back on after a federal judge reversed an injunction he issued last month, the WSJ reported. The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which oversees the enforcement of the law, issued a notice that extended the filing deadline for most companies to March 21and said it recognized that companies may need additional time.
Judge Jeremy Kernodle of the Eastern District of Texas granted the US government’s request to stay a national injunction issued on January 7. Kernodle cited a US Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Treasury issued in January by Justice Samuel Alito that overturned a lower court order that was blocking enforcement of the CTA in another case challenging the constitutionality of the law.
– Reuters reported that the state of Florida sued Target for allegedly concealing the risks of DEI initiatives that led to a customer backlash and lowered the company’s market value. The securities fraud lawsuit by the State Board of Administration of Florida, an agency overseeing public pension funds that own Target stock, was filed in the federal court in Fort Myers, Florida.
Florida accused Target of betraying investors and its core customer base of working families by making false and misleading statements in financial reports and proxy statements about its DEI and ESG mandate. ‘Corporations that push radical leftist ideology at the expense of financial returns jeopardize the retirement security of Florida’s first responders and teachers,’ James Uthmeier, the state’s Republican attorney general, said in a statement.
Target did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The company has said in court papers that it repeatedly warned investors about the risk of consumer boycotts from its social and environmental initiatives.
– The WSJ reported that, according to London-based responsible investment charity ShareAction, of 279 shareholder proposals related to climate, human rights and DEI that were filed in 2024, only four, or 1.4 percent, passed. That is a significant drop from 2021, when more than 20 percent of similar resolutions passed, according to the report.
The findings come as a number of high-profile asset managers and banks have withdrawn from climate initiatives such as the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and the Climate Action 100+ amid political pressure on the industry.
‘This concerning downward trend represents a continued failure of the asset management industry to exercise its shareholder voting power to hold some of the world’s largest companies to account on their environmental and social impacts,’ the report said.
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
