– New York City comptroller Mark Levine has joined a coalition of investors, academics and Democratic financial officials calling on the SEC to preserve Rule 14a-8, signing a rulemaking petition that urges the agency to 'fix – not gut' the shareholder proposal process. The petition comes as the SEC prepares to propose changes to the rule later this year.
The petition, led by the Shareholder Rights Group, asks the SEC to reinstate its no-action process immediately, introduce a mandatory two-week engagement period after companies issue exclusion notices and reject any wholesale repeal of Rule 14a-8. Signatories argue that eliminating the rule would weaken one of investors' primary mechanisms for holding boards and management accountable.
The initiative has drawn support from Democratic state financial officials and investor organizations amid concerns that the SEC's planned modernization of the shareholder proposal framework could significantly restrict shareholder rights. Signatories include Steven Rothstein, chief program officer at Ceres; Dave Wallack, executive director at For the Long Term; Josh Zinner; CEO at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility; and Bryan McGannon, managing director at US SIF.
– The SEC has provided greater regulatory certainty for data center securitizations, according to a report from Latham & Watkins. The law firm said recent SEC guidance confirms that asset-backed securities backed by data center assets can qualify for shelf registration under existing disclosure rules, addressing a key area of uncertainty for issuers.
The clarification is expected to support the rapidly expanding market as demand for AI infrastructure drives investment in data centers. Latham noted that securitization has become an attractive financing tool because it allows operators to recycle capital into new developments while offering investors exposure to stable, long-term cash flows generated by data center leases.
Latham said the latest regulatory clarity should reduce execution risk and provide greater confidence for sponsors and investors as digital infrastructure financing continues to grow alongside AI demand.
– Democratic lawmakers are urging the SEC to investigate whether Trump Media & Technology Group's new Truth API service could violate federal securities laws by giving paying Wall Street firms faster access to President Donald Trump's market-moving social media posts.
According to Reuters (paywall), the request follows reports that the company has discussed charging as much as $100,000 a month for the premium data feed, with discounted rates for longer-term subscribers.
In a letter to SEC chair Paul Atkins, Democratic lawmakers argued the service raises concerns around market manipulation, investor protection and conflicts of interest because it would allow subscribers to receive posts milliseconds before the public. They called on the regulator to examine whether the arrangement provides an unfair trading advantage and is consistent with securities laws.
Trump Media has said the Truth API is designed to provide the fastest access to posts from the platform's most influential accounts. The company has not publicly disclosed pricing details or responded to lawmakers' concerns.
– Activist investor JANA Partners is urging Fiserv to undertake a strategic review, accelerate portfolio simplification and continue refreshing its board as it seeks to improve shareholder value.
According to Reuters, JANA has called on the payments company to evaluate its entire portfolio and pursue additional divestitures of non-core businesses, arguing the moves would help rebuild investor confidence following a sharp decline in the company's share price over the past year. The activist investor also wants Fiserv to appoint directors with deeper banking software and payments expertise.
JANA, which owns just under 1 percent of Fiserv after increasing its stake earlier this year, said the company has made progress under its new leadership but added that further action is needed.
– A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by two conservative shareholder groups against Airbnb after the company agreed to put their proposals to a vote at its 2026 annual meeting, ending a dispute over whether the submissions had been received.
According to Bloomberg Law (paywall), The Heritage Foundation and the American Conservative Values ETF sued Airbnb in 2025, alleging the company improperly excluded their shareholder proposals from its proxy materials after claiming it never received documents that had been sent by FedEx. The groups argued delivery records showed the proposals had reached Airbnb's headquarters.
After Airbnb included both proposals on the ballot for its June 2026 annual meeting, both groups voluntarily dropped the case. A federal judge subsequently dismissed the lawsuit, bringing an end to the dispute.
– Shein has disclosed that its US operations are under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), warning the probe could result in 'significant monetary payments' that may materially affect its financial condition and results of operations. The disclosure was made in regulatory filings ahead of the company's planned Hong Kong IPO.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal (paywall), the company said it is cooperating with the FTC's consumer protection investigation but did not disclose the focus of the probe. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the agency is investigating Shein, which has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny in the US over its business practices and supply chain.
Natalie Bannerman
Natalie is a former telecoms and infrastructure journalist, a role she held for nearly seven years. Before this, she worked in the B2C startup space, covering lifestyle, arts and culture reporting. As senior reporter for Governance Intelligence she...
