By Katharine Webster “Economics Prof. William Lazonick has been sounding the alarm about corporate stock buybacks for years. Since the early 1980s, when the Securities and Exchange Commission eased regulations on buybacks, corporations have increasingly used profits to repurchase their own shares, his…
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A seminar on innovation economics, deconstructing shareholder value & equitable growth, w/William Lazonick Professor UMass Lowell
By Mike Baliman “This week a bumper-packed Tour d’Horizon/Tour de Force. William Lazonick is best known for his iconic “2014 Harvard Business Review’s best article” Profits Without Prosperity: Stock Buybacks Manipulate the Market and Leave Most Americans Worse Off.”… [Click HERE to…
Decoding corporate share buybacks: Is it at the cost of investment?
By Lester Gunnion “Recent years have seen corporations accumulate unprecedented profits and cash reserves. Corporate managers have increasingly used this cash to buy back their own shares. This has attracted the attention of researchers concerned about the perceived focus of management…
SEC nominees must not grant companies ‘safe harbor’ with buyback rule
By Lenore Palladino “Last week, two nominees went before the Banking Committee to get their chance to become the next commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission.”… [Click HERE to read the full article]
Tax cuts—middle class boost or ‘fake math’?
By Hedrick Smith “With Republicans surfacing more details of their tax-cut package and debate sharpening over its likely impact, Trump’s top economist forecasts a boost of $4,000 in annual income for the typical American family but most economists don’t buy…
Ralph Nader steamed as buybacks pick up steam
By Robert Stead “Earlier this month, former presidential candidate and famed consumer advocate Ralph Nader took aim at the $7 trillion of corporate stock buybacks since 2003, declaring the phenomenon a “monster of economic waste.” Mr. Nader notes that prior to the enactment of Rule…
We get sick, they get rich
By Sam Pizzigati “Our current health care system in the United States works just fine — for the corporate executives who run it. Take, for instance, Michael Mussallem, the CEO at Edwards Lifesciences — a California-based company that makes heart…
Farmaci e soldi: le versione di William
By Michele Bocci “Pochi investiementi in ricerca e sviluppo e troppe operazioni finanziarie: emblematico il frequente ricorso al buyback, che consiste nell’acquisto a fini speculativi delle azioni dell’azienda stessa da parte dei suoi top manager. William Lazonick è professore alla…
Walmart’s $20 billion buyback may be bid to forestall potential activists
By Cathaleen Chen “Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s $20 billion stock buyback program could be a bid to quiet dissent among a group of increasingly restive institutional shareholders, even though the massive family-owned retailer doesn’t now face any known activist threats.”… [Click HERE to read the…
How big pharma created the opioid epidemic
By Lynn Parramore “Over a 40-year career, Philadelphia attorney Daniel Berger has obtained millions in settlements for investors and consumers hurt by a rogues’ gallery of corporate wrongdoers from Exxon to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. But when it comes to what…
