Transcript
oh, are we in Australia? We live from Australia. What is this? What are we doing later tonight later tonight? Live. Float is in Oz time tonight. Yeah. Go from the West Hartford Fire Department magazine reading Nook. What the hell is that? It's the life full in there. It's yeah, another manic Monday edition of business pants. Join is always by our lord of the BS. That's lowered of the board. Super metrics. Matt mascardi. That's me and today's ESG stained back of materiality called March 27th. 2023, sexy story update. A lot of those. So yeah. So we have that's that's enough. That's why we kill the nerd alert. We didn't kill it. It's just killed himself, he was got time. Who's got time to do that? Who's doing that stuff? Let's introduce some news. Let's make this entertainment people. Dance monkey. Here we go. No particular order. Let's start off with bank. A loser palooza. Oh. Seems like it should be one. Can we trade? Thank you lose palooza. Palos Bank of Bank palooza. Yeah. First Citizens buys Silicon Valley bank. Now owns 17 branches of svb. And paid 72 billion dollars for the California lenders assets. It's pretty amazing. That Silicon Valley Bank was worth. 25 times. Credit. Suisse, okay. Credit, Suisse got bought for 3.6 billion dollars. Somehow Silicon Valley Bank got 72 billion. As a favorites Weiss has been failing in front of our eyes for years svb, had a bad day because Peter Thiel started tweeting stuff and Taking the money. He was to show you. That's just goes to show you that there's no Rhyme or Reason. Like we're talking about a bank crisis, it's not a bank crisis, it's a liberty and crisis, the board saber metrics data shows math, the First Citizens Bank. I mean, you know, we don't force you don't even really need boards ever metrics for this one, but still, he should buy it. It's a family firm. That was a hard sell know, I know. Well actually here's what we can tell you because the regular ESG data providers will just tell you it's a family firm and that maybe that's true. So few directors connected to the family but that's boring. But we can tell you that these three directors at First Citizens Bank control, 75% of the influence on the board. So first it isn't is just a bunch of family members. It's worse because, you know what else, we can tell know what else we can tell you. We can tell you that they do have a risk committee, so good for them. Okay? But they do not have any risk experts on the board with this is sort of as an industry Norm or finding out. No, apparently released. Sorry, it's a norm with the banks that are failing failing or suck. No, I mean, that's most of them, okay. Let's just say that this part is not the norm. the collective influence of the risk committee members is 5%. Okay, but I already told you that the family control 75% influence. So we're really only talking about the remaining 25% here, right? I mean, still you somehow manage to make 20% like you could have that was not going to care if they don't care. Matt. You, you should have really put the rest of the board on the risk committee. That's the only way that would work. Even though, even then If the family don't care, you know. But but it is, it is telling that svb actually is a governance Paragon in compared to First Citizens like svb had a risk X on the board, not on the risk committee and the risk committee had some influence and there wasn't large executive presence. On the board is only 20% of the board. Now, they got bought by a company that like three dudes control from one family, That's like the opposite of a governance upgrade. Yeah, luckily the girl is Peter. Thiel tweeting now that like First Citizens is going to lose them all their money. Luckily the governor's world has us. First of all I love that the family's name is holding h o h, o d. I kind of It kind of cute in a governance. See way, right? Yeah because they hold all the share. I don't know. I kind of cute, we're doing the whole thing, but can I just say that the issue World should be thankful that we exist? Because we're, I still think. We're the only one who look at Family control. Firms controlled companies, and we scream in horror. Yeah, yeah we do. So, let us be listened to you, too. That were the only ESG providers research. People should ever listen to who are horrified by your governance. Other bank, a loser pullers, credit suisse's. Top Executives could face a probe over their role in the banking Giants, collapse. According to the swoosh, the Swiss watchdog finma. Could could, well, she did say that, they're not a criminal Authority but they're gonna look into into, you know, the here's what I pulled her quote, I like these quotes because it makes me feel like she's a big who's this, who's this? She Marlene or arms, Armstead from finma. She said Credit. Suisse had a cultural problem that translated into a lack of accountability often. It was not clear who was responsible for what this is, what you're talkin always talking about with risk assessments right at these big. Come on, man. What do you mean? And she said, this favored a negligent handling of wrists. There you go. But we we know, we're clear on who was responsible for what we could tell you the influence on the board. Here's the funny part about this. Okay, there are 11 Executives listed on the executive committee at Credit, Suisse there's still listed there even though it's UBS. Now four of them are women, okay? So, if they're going to face top execs face a probe, then there's 11 Executives for which are women, but there are all Commerce know all four women started in 2022. What are they gonna say? They literally threw ladies to clean up the mess. That's what I mean. They they just literally found the executive washroom. So, how they gonna know, can you imagine being one of the ladies who just started on this executive committee? And now Finn was probing you and asking you what did you know, how did you know it? And you're just like I literally just got here. This, they asked me to clean this up, like I don't know what's going on. You know how companies are always playing the directors or independent despite the fact of the give him hundreds of dollars? Yeah. Do you think that they do, they get to use the executive washroom or do they use the crummy public bathrooms? I actually think they make them go downstairs into the cafe and like, take the key holder, right? Because they're independent, that's otherwise if they're peeing in the facility there. They're not. That's Compromising and filing our bank of Palos or looser. I don't know the segments called anymore. He okay. I just want to call this article from the financial times. I don't know if I'm angry or pleased, I don't know. You can help me out with this. The article is called time to ask what the directors were doing at these failed Banks. Some of the stuff from the article, the fragility of financial institutions, suggests serious, lapses and corporate governance and Banking and Beyond to date, there has been only a superficial debate about governance at these Banks. Matt I read through this article. I read the whole article actually, it kind of sounds like a business pants, Mega fan. A free float. Mega fan abortion metrics. But I don't see any. I don't see a sighted anywhere. What's going on? Let me tell you what's going on Andrew. Edgecliff, Johnson? Who wrote the article? I was in touch with sure last week. Okay, about the writing of this article, handed him our data and our talking points. And he just did a stellar job of cribbing, our notes, and taking our lines. I feel like I, yeah, there's no other way for me to describe it. By the way, I can timestamp the authenticity of this reporting that I put this in before, I knew that you would reached out to this report, or I I flagged this article before. Matt told me. I don't want anyone to think that we can talk to this incredible know, he's was the sound smart. I actually Damian pulled this and I put in our pre-production notes. You basically, you know, he stole this again. I only hold it. The complain about it because I did not know, but I'm happy at least the financial times realizes that if you want to Understand governance you reach out to us. Andy, You're Welcome to our stuff. In fact, you don't even have to quote us. You just just, I don't know. Just just you don't have to quote, you can just say free floats, awesome. At the end of one of your articles, you're welcome. Well, actually, I want you to say free flow because we have a branding Problem. Free floats, awesome boards. Have a metrics is awesome business, like 19 companies. All right let's move on. Yeah, give me a sound effect for moving on something. Oh you want. Oh here. Okay, Transition, baby transition, jerky Sports Bros this category. Oh really? This is not a business category. Yes the owners and CEOs of their companies. Here we go, Vince McMahon publicly traded company. He's the CEO and owner of Vince McMahon will reimburse the WWE board 17 million dollars for his sexual misconduct investigation. Hello Matt help me out here. Is another one of these insipid leaked companies. The company is Vince McMahon. So what does it mean when you reimburse the board? What does that mean? Like where you check to your own company right? Right I don't I think these come I think WWE then pays WWE By the way, it's, yeah and sec. I know you're listening. Can you come on enough with this controlled company, bulshit? Okay. It's just, it's tiresome man. I spent probably 45 minutes, just trying to find out one thing this morning and that is who was this special Committee of WWE independent board members who investigated The alleged sexual misconduct perpetrated by its CEO and chair. What did you find? I couldn't find anything. It didn't ever named the directors. But then Matt helped me realize that, that's because really, there's only three independent people who is it turns out from our influence. Data. They actually have no, there's no point in them really existing know you can put me on the board, I have the same amount of influence. Let's, it's Vince McMahon, I'm ready by the way, it's his daughter and his daughter's husband and being on that board being an independent director. Is is like, just like telling me that, like I, I am in charge of my children, it's not. I think they run everything. This is why despite looking through 15 different filings that they never named these members, because they know that nobody cares, it wouldn't matter. So silly silliness, actually. It would be Really incredible. If one of the people on that committee was not independent and they called them into that would be the here's how insane control companies really are. I'm looking at you Zuckerberg, this is a quote, from what do you care? What the quote from here we go. WWE's board ultimately found that the payments though made by Mr. McMahon. Personally. Should have been booked as WWE expenses because they benefited the company, right? Wait those payments were settlements to sexual assault accusing. Yes, Basically, hush payments. So the boards finding was that he should have expensed those settlements. Yeah. Because it was better. The board he actually rolls can congrats to WWE for being incredibly self-aware because basically what they said was, we are a controlled company. Everything that happens to Vince McMahon is having to the company. So Vince McMahon is going to pay off like like accusers and and people he sexually assaulted then he should just do it from the company funds because it helps the company. Imagine being a shareholder of WWE. According to our data, Vince McMahon alone, controls, 67% of the influence of that board, by the way, Ben's I I'm I too live in New England. You're in Connecticut. I will be a board member if you ask me so I can get that train down there regularly. So give me a call. I'm ready? I mean I'm even closer. Yeah, both of us. We could both just Cred Jesse can be on the board. Okay, then you get then you get everyone on but me I I was trying to get in the board man. Everybody just too far away. And also jerky Sports Pro's team owner Washington commanders as they're called No Washington, commanders team owner, Daniel Snyder, has declined to be interviewed investigation. Not only that, not only did I point out this because it's just, you know, how ridiculous it is that an. Oh, he gets the decline, you declines, but you know, who this this investigation is being conducted by is is this is another reason why I want to talk about the story is former s e c chair Mary Jo White. Oh, yeah. That seems good. It seems good, but I dug a little bit into marriage away. I found some fun stuff. First of all, you know, she has represented Sackler family and Purdue farmer in litigation. Oh okay, not great. And I want to plug Senator Elizabeth Warren because she wrote a letter to White indicating that White's leadership of the commission has been extremely disappointing. I just like to the point with things because Mary Jo White to finalize certain Dodd, Frank rules. Okay? Allowed settlements without admission of guilt, you know letting Is, you know, this thing that I always point out, right? Is that they they get They may build anything they pay. I think it's more about their fall, it's not their fault. I love you again. Warren for that one. And also that Mary Jo White frequently, recused herself because her husband, John White was a lawyer at a firm that represented just about every corporation in America. So, Mary Jo White, we've accused herself frequently because of this everything. Yeah, and this other kid bit, Senator Warren asked Mary Jo White to step down immediately because marriage await refused to develop public disclosure rule public disclosure rules of political contributions made by corporations. This is one. This is one of the rules that I am desperate for. I would love this disclosure political contributions made by Corporation. Again, I'm with you, Senator Warren, I'm with you. Just backing up a second. Can we rename Dodd-Frank? Is it time its time? I mean Barney Frank Barney is now I need the money Frank. I feel like it should be Dodd. I need the money like that. A little bit of a fist pump because he's like I knew I should have been listed first. He was like a finally, I'm in charge. No one's thinking of Frank at all. Let's move on to Tech bro. Site. Technology, you want the transition? Here we go. Every time. Audiences love consistency, as the US grills, Tick Tock, CEO, China, welcomes, Apple, CEO. Oh did they hug him? Apple CEO. Tim Cook commented, that Apple enjoys a symbiotic relationship with China. Know that's so what sort of like going on? Why? So why are we so scared of China and China loves? Apple and what's going on, Matt, what's wrong with us? I mean, You could argue that like dogs own a symbiotic relationship with ringworm? Like, I don't know. Like the great ml lurking. I think it's just I think they're they're just trolling. I mean. Like rolling. China's true. I mean like the tiktok CEO came here and said that tiktok was like basically a voyeuristic experience of watching, idiot Americans. Yeah, they're not wrong. And and then simultaneously, Tim Cook's going to China, where they do most of the manufacturing and he's like, bro. Hugging, you know, China is basically bro. Hugging the CEO of Apple being like, we love you, guys. You guys are so cute and funny. What do you think about this report? Matt, there's a 90% chance tiktok will be banned, you know, I don't know, I cannot interpret what that means by the way. 90% chance. What is that means that when it doesn't get banned, you could say well I said 90 not 100 tiktok will be banned in the US unless it goes through with an IPO or gets bought out by a mega cap tech company. What do you think about that one? There's no chance. It goes out goes via IPO and the CEO is 80% of the influence and that CEO is located in China. What are we talking about? Like it IPO doesn't solve it right? What about power dynamics? What about this? What about the excitement of a US Corporation? Buying it? Okay, so let's pick the corporation shall we? Google is controlled by two guys named Larry and Sergey. That's all of these actually, I'm glad you start with Google. They because Zuck really already has all this crap but Google actually seems like a possible logical. Right choice. So we would trade the dictatorship in China that they're worried about for a dictatorship in San Francisco that they're not supposed to have dictatorship. It's only two dudes. So it's true. It's like a it's like a dual Crown like two popes. Yeah. Um but zoc is an option unlikely but they did spend 12 billion dollars on the metaverse last year. So I mean now that I think about it this this would give suck just complete Dominance domination is the bone ever write, you know, everything, I mean like, well so left. You want the snap founder to buy this. He already is the dictator of snap. You want like Spotify Spotify. But they do have a consolidation of Power with the men on the board and the CEO. So I don't know like what do we what are we talking about here? Like, who exactly do you think is gonna buy? Timmy talk, give me a quick prediction. What do you think? What do I think? I think tiktok doesn't get banned because teenagers right now, I think they vote, I think welcome to the 10 percentage prediction and Utah. They just banned teens under 18 from social media. Without parental consent. I gotta say. I do not agree with Governor. Spencer Cox. Yeah, right. You drink coffee, right? People. In Utah. Don't they don't drink coffee, right? I don't agree with him on basically everything. Yeah. But this is not the worst idea. This is, this is kind of good, I'm with it. Dang, you treat social media like cigarettes. Staying with tech brochure a lot. I don't think parents are allowed to give consent to let your kids smoke. Oh I guess if you let your kids smoke in your kitchen, No One's Gonna come in and no one comes. And yeah, I mean like if you're both having Ziggy's together like it's fine, that's the America I miss I don't miss things like like, systemic, racism segregation. I miss smoking with your dad at the kitchen with Dad and no seat belts. Staying with tech brochure Ali, Baba, founder Jack ma returns to China after a year of uncertainty. So I guess he's back in China. I don't know what that means did. He was he in a cello case brought by Tim Cook. Is that how he got in? That's a good question, actually. I'm gonna ask Jesse looking to that Elon Musk Elon Musk. Remember he bought Twitter for 44 billion dollars? Wasn't a new vaguely? Yeah, there's a new valuation of Twitter. You ready for it? Yeah, bring it 20 billion dollars. Oh, so he's already. He's already lost 24 about billion, dollars of value, that was fast. Also, it might be more because the source code for Twitter just was leaked online. Another person who hates Elon Musk. Yeah, the source code is what Twitter is? So like, well again somebody. Yeah, again, this is why, when you're CEO founder, or whatever it is. It this is why, if they're in a hole, it could actually be a long-term risk to your company, which why, what? We do sound stupid map, but I think we're on to really real ESG. Systemic risk here. here's the best part about that, not the valuation that there's nothing funny or interesting about that to me, The best part about the source code leak. Is that it's breaking now? The source code was put on a place called GitHub which is basically Global collaboration. It's a nurse everybody knows GitHub. It's where? Yeah, it's nerd. Hang out. It has been there for months. Oh literally months as in there, you know, almost fired. So many people. At one time and it was so chaotic that they didn't even notice that their own source code for their entire platform. Notice was on a public site, four months, they didn't notice it and when they did notice it then they freaked out my guess. Is that source code has been downloaded like seven times? No one cares. No one wants it. I have some potentially good news. Matt, here's a company that Elon Musk wanted to another company. He wanted to run. Oh he doesn't have enough. But the other co-founders rejected his plan, he wanted according to new reports in 2018. He, he decided he wanted to take over open AI, which of course, is the famous company now for making the chat box, EPT. But they rejected the offer and then he left the Lord in a hit in a history and what he did it his way out. Yeah. What is a hissy fed? I don't even know what that means. Is that I think it's when you like make a cat sound when Emma Saying hissy fit. What I got, I don't think that's that's not gendered or ethnic or racial I think that's just going. So isn't this good news that there's a, there's another company that Elon Musk wanted to run that could have taken over the world that they wouldn't let him. I don't you feel good? Do you think he would have bought Twitter if he was running another time? I mean like what's the breaking point here? Because it's neuralink SpaceX boring company, Tesla and Twitter. Twitter was the last in that tent pole of chaos. I feel like if he was open AI, hey, we'd all be dead because I would have killed us all. And B, he wouldn't have gotten Twitter, so I don't know. Here's what currency of open. AI said about Elon Musk. He said, I mean, he's a jerk. Whatever. Oh, okay, whatever else you want to say about him, and that's a long list of things. But he said, I think he does really care and he is feeling very stressed about what the future is going to look like for Humanity. Yeah. It's I Semitic Cesspool. Yeah. I don't know how I feel about that cold. By the way? I don't know. I don't know if I wanted a jerk. Feel, like, trying to trying to fix. He It's like you're jerk. Dad who really wants you, the good job but also hates that he had you Here's another report in our universe of techbro crap. I don't really know what to say about this, but I'm just reporting the news here. Peter Thiel. Peter thiel's reported romantic partner was found dead in Miami. Pleat, police plan to interview teal, I guess it's a possible suicide, but that's a lot of weird stuff lining up here. Matt, Peter Thiel suicide crypto, Miami. Yep it happened in. Miami of all I mean I'm just saying like this is a crazy headline. I it's a crazy headline but I like look, no, I read the article. How, like, because Peter Teal's married and this is supposedly his like kept boyfriend in Miami or whatever. I'm sure I had a Partners around unless they find the Peter. Thiel, like killed him or drove him to Suicide. This is none of our business. Look, I'm not gonna, I don't know if I should say this out loud, but if I was kept by someone like Peter, Thiel, I probably would be driven to Suicide. I'm just that now, Emma's. But now there's a bus there for from Emma. Which road do you take to get driven to suicide? Is it the, take the highway or you take the side roads? all right, finally Matt, we started off this morning. You asked me, are we gonna cover the protests in Israel? I did ask that. Yeah and so I'm gonna tell you this. Yes. Oh, you know, and here's here's why we're gonna cover it, because here's a story that the business news does not give two craps about and I'm looking at everybody really Forbes business insiders, CNBC not of them, none of them, cover the story. I don't even understand why there's a general strike going on in and Israel and actually from what I've just read, it's working because yeah, they're off, right wing leader. Netanyahu as is agreed to postpone his horrible plan to basically own the Judiciary branch. Um, but but I don't explain to me why the businesses is not covering this. And this is part of the reason why that I'm asking you, because this is a general strike very much represented by workers the largest Trade union group representing a 800,000 workers but also this includes publicly traded companies like of all companies McDonald's, right? McDonald's, agreed to close, its doors to join the strike and wow bank leumi. And as Reality Group, which is a real estate company, that controls a lot of the moles, all the shopping malls, all decided to close down and join the strike. So I don't I don't get why the bank the business press. Okay as Reality Group and bank leumi right there based in Israel. Yeah. But McDonald's feels like a big deal. It does like, Mostly because it took a month to agree our over a month to agree to close the stores in Russia after Russia invades. They weren't Ukraine. They didn't want to do it. It was like, in fact, all the news was how super complicated it was because it was franchises and they can't tell the franchisors to, you know, just shut their doors. They don't have that kind of control. There's all these excuses about, like we can't sorry we can't do it. And now, then they finally figured out how to do it. They sold off their portfolio of whatever. And now it's a new store with a similar logo called like, you know, Burger town or something. I don't remember. What do they call it? Do you remember it's like, Burger e or fun love. Yeah, I was like fun Burger Time. and but somehow in The second 12 hours, they figured out how to close 220 stores. Instant solidarity in Israel. Like how they and, and they're taking a very political stand, right? Like this is extremely overtly political anti-fascist, anti, right Wings stand. Yeah, And where is where is a Vivic right now? Where is asking, probably at a McDonald's, not in Israel, because they're closing Israel. But like, why, why are we not hearing about what maybe McDonald's taking a political stand in Israel? Why we're not hearing about that? Let me before we wrap up, I have two fun bits of board, saber metrics data for you about these Israeli companies that joined the protest as Reality Group, all of a family firm at But here's what I like, it's four directors, this family firm control 82% of the influence. That's three. Why? Three of those are women? Wow, and then Bank leumi, another one 42% of the board influences is female-led, despite the fact that they only represent a third of the boards, they actually have more Influence. Then, there are we constantly talk about how women have less influence than their actual body representation an Israel, something else is going on. I will say the power. They have power to Israel's credit our data suggests that Israeli companies actually do a way better job at this and I wonder and this is pure speculation. But like what we see is women have power commensurate with representation, it's often more more. Exactly. Thank you write more. But what I wonder is because Israel has always been so open to like women in the military and women in positions of leadership, okay. I wonder whether or not it's just like obvious there. Like, there's no question. It's not really, they're not like why are we talking about not having? They're not testing from companies that mentioned, you know, diversity of thought voting exclusively against women in the proxy statement. They're not I'm wondering if good for Israel. See all this Sports. Every metric City got for free. Imagine if you bought it. You can really transform your investment strategy. You really can just take our word for it. Yeah, I got I actually I got told that people might think that board saber metrics is a bit. Is it like a joke that we do? It's not funny. It's not, there's nothing that interesting with. Yeah, or I guess part of our shows is talking about know. I like it directors, but otherwise, if anyone out there is friends with Senator Warren. Can you hook us up? Yeah. She would like this data. She would like to feel like she would, we should have coffee and hang she would love this data. That's all we got. That's Damien Raul assembly. We are free float. Those were bored. Saber metrics are the numbers that you heard any of those numbers. And you should buy them because they're for sale otherwise tune in tomorrow for some corporate business theater. What are they? The corporate theater group. Sure, whatever. Until then goodbye.