Whenever I talk to businesses, they tell me that identifying and reporting their human rights impacts is hard. It sure is. But so is serving millions of hamburgers every day. I like to think that sometime in the future, companies won't be able to do the latter without the former.

One of the ways (theoretically) in which businesses are held accountable by the public, or at least those with stock portfolios, is through shareholder activism. However, in practice, shareholder activism can actually be a case of a disease being used to cure an illness.

Shareholder season is upon us, marking the beginning of another round of corporate America's dog-and-pony shows held to placate their cronies and pat each other on the back for another profitable year.

I just returned from a great exchange of ideas organized by the Kellogg School of Management's Public-Private Initiative and the Aspen Institute. A key driver in the behavior of business and capital markets is how we describe -- and measure -- the purpose of the business corporation.

The megabanks should welcome the opportunity to explain to their investors why they benefit from their megabank size and structure. And the SEC should permit investors an opportunity to let their voices be heard.

Cerberus Capital's decision to sell its stake in the Freedom Group, maker of the gun used in the Newtown shootings, is being widely applauded. But divestment is exactly the wrong outcome: Running away from the problem doesn't solve it.

To say corporations are people also unfairly sets them up for ridicule. Some have said, for example, if corporations are people we should ask ourselves what kind of people they are?

In response to the global crisis, policymakers around the world are instituting the broadest reform of financial regulation since the Great Depression.

NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy Co. Inc. and its founder and former chairman Richard Schulze say they have an agreement that will allow Schulze to pursue h...

Aug 14 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc officials won the dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit accusing them of breaching their fiduciary duties by...

Shareholder proxy access is one of the most hotly debated topics in all of business law. Who's right? We can gain some insight from our recent on-and-off experience with comprehensive proxy access.

How on earth is Vikram Pandit supposed to do other important banker things when he is constantly being pestered by you people about his pay?

No matter what anyone tells you, it stands to reason that this European crisis is significant and will be around for quite a while longer. What will markets do?

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (AP) — FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. CEO Mike Duke said Friday that the retailer is committed to integ...

NEW YORK — Profits at big U.S. companies broke records last year, and so did pay for CEOs. The head of a typical public company made $9.6 milli...

By the nature of WellPoint's core business, it is connected to some of the most intimate moments in its clients' lives. WellPoint is in a risky business and by not being fully transparent about how they participate in politics, they amplify their risks even more.

There are moral hazards and agency costs in the allocation of corporate funds. Experience has shown that executives will support policies that diminish shareholder returns. The term "capitalism" refers, after all, to the providers of capital.

Companies should get out of the political spending game and focus on doing what they were created to do: make a profit for their shareholders.

LONDON -- The chief executive of Aviva, Britain's largest insurer, has resigned following a shareholder revolt over executive pay, the company said Tu...

The shareholder revolt against banker pay seems to have fizzled out. Shareholders late last week rejected the pay plan for Sterling Bancorp, a New ...

* Shareholder proposal seeks end to campaign contributions * Company calls proposal imprudent * Comes amid time of risin...

By Katharina Bart ZURICH, May 3 (Reuters) - UBS became the latest bank to face the anger of its shareholders over exec...

* 99% Power groups says Wells Fargo excluded shareholders * Group wants to meet with CEO before May 9 meeting * Activist...