FEI Weekly

January 8, 2018

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on compassionate management, clock ticks on government shutdown. 

Forget the 'Bomb Cyclone'—'Meltdown' and 'Spectre' Could be Nightmares For All of Us

Vox

While everyone else had eyes on the “bomb cyclone” descending on the East Coast, computer security researchers and tech workers were worrying about something else: massive security flaws discovered that potentially affect the vast majority of personal computers and smartphones ever built. Two security flaws, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre by researchers, allow processor exploits to steal passwords and other sensitive user data from almost any device made in the past 20 years. Now software companies are scrambling to push out updates.

Mitch McConnell Optimistic We Will Avoid a Government Shutdown

The Hill

Lawmakers return to Washington today with just 11 days left until the next deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Democrats’ demand to increase defense and non-defense spending equally has emerged as a key sticking point in the talks. Republicans argue that years of spending cuts have hollowed out the military, leaving it inadequately equipped to respond to a myriad of international challenges.

Corporate Tax Rate a Lose-Lose for CEOs

Accounting Web

A new study published by the American Accounting Association revealed that CEOs are most likely to lose their jobs when company tax rates are high compared to similar companies, with a 20% higher job loss than the average for companies in the three middle tax brackets. On the other hand, CEO turnover also is high when company tax rates are too low – with about 15% higher CEO turnovers than for CEOs at companies in the middle three tax brackets.

Share Buybacks Benefit Executives

CFO

Share buybacks are used mainly for improving reported earnings per share (EPS) by reducing the number of shares outstanding. This, critics argue, is simply a way to manipulate EPS and, in the process, benefit executive compensation formulas. Not only is that hardly a return of capital, it’s particularly upsetting to those that subscribe to the stakeholder model of corporate behavior — that is, the corporation must exist for greater purpose than just maximizing profit to benefit executives and shareholders.

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on Compassionate Management

Stanford Business

An interview with LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner was among Stanford Business' most-viewed video on the year. Weiner shared his thoughts on the impact of new technologies, staying focused on the well-being on his employees, and how customers and employees make buying and career decisions based on a company’s culture and goals.