– The SEC is preparing to rescind a Biden-era climate disclosure rule that would have required publicly traded companies to report climate-related risks emissions and spending to investors, according to a notice on the US budget office website.
According to Reuters (paywall), the 2024 rule faced immediate legal challenges from Republican-led states and industry groups and was later paused pending court proceedings.
Under President Trump, the SEC stopped defending the rule in court last year. The regulator’s chair Paul Atkins said the agency aims to return to its ‘core mandate’ by focusing disclosures on information material to investors and within its legal authority.
The proposal is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget. A timeline for final action hasn’t been given.
– Elon Musk’s trust has agreed to pay $1.5 mn to settle a SEC lawsuit over the late disclosure of his Twitter share purchases in 2022.
As reported by The Financial Times (paywall), the proposed settlement, filed on Monday, is far below the $150 mn the regulator originally sought.
The SEC accused Musk of waiting 11 days too long to disclose his growing stake in Twitter, allowing him to buy more than $500 mn in additional shares at lower prices. The agency alleged shareholders were underpaid by at least $150 mn before Musk’s stake became public and Twitter shares jumped more than 27 percent.
Under the agreement, the Elon Musk Revocable Trust would pay the penalty without admitting wrongdoing and Musk would face no personal penalties. Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro said: ‘Elon won, and a trust entity took a small fine, without admitting anything, for being some days late on a filing. Case closed.’
– A former Wells Fargo executive is appealing a decision by the SEC to cut his whistleblower award from nearly $180 mn to $55 mn. Michael Bacon, the bank’s former chief security officer, helped expose Wells Fargo’s fake accounts scandal, which led to billions in penalties.
Court filings show SEC staff initially determined Bacon should receive about $179.5 mn in 2024. However, two weeks after Paul Atkins became SEC chair last year, the agency revised the decision and reduced the award to $54.5 mn. Bacon claims the regulator broke procedural rules and unfairly changed course.
It comes after Wells Fargo paid $2.5 bn to the Department of Justice and $500 mn to the SEC in 2020 after admitting employees opened millions of unauthorized customer accounts. Bacon’s lawyer Vincent McKnight said: ‘This is the definition of arbitrary and capricious.’
– The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of discriminating against a white male employee by denying him a promotion because of his race and sex. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by favoring DE&I goals over merit-based hiring decisions.
According to the EEOC, the employee, a longtime editor with experience in real estate journalism, was excluded from the final interview stage for a deputy real estate editor role in 2025. The position was ultimately awarded to a multiracial woman from outside the company.
EEOC chair Andrea Lucas said: ‘There is no such thing as “reverse discrimination”.’ The New York Times rejected the allegations, calling the lawsuit politically motivated and insisting the hiring decision was based solely on qualifications.
– A coalition of Alphabet shareholders is pushing the company to strengthen oversight of AI risks, arguing the Google parent company lacks clear board-level accountability as AI becomes central to its business strategy.
The proposal, led by the Shareholder Association for Research and Education alongside Parnassus Investments and PFA Pension, will be voted on at Alphabet’s annual meeting in June.
Investors want Alphabet to formally assign responsibility for AI oversight to its audit committee, including risks linked to human rights privacy and governance. The group said concerns have grown after Alphabet removed civil and human rights oversight from its audit and compliance committee in 2025.
The shareholders also pointed to recent legal challenges involving AI-powered products including a $68 mn settlement over claims Google Assistant recorded private conversations without consent.
– Victoria’s Secret has accused major shareholder Brett Blundy and his investment firm BBRC International of seeking a proxy fight after the retailer refused to grant Blundy a board seat.
According to The Wall Street Journal (paywall), the dispute centers on BBRC’s campaign urging shareholders to vote against the reelection of two directors at the company’s upcoming annual meeting.
The lingerie retailer said its board rejected Blundy’s candidacy because it believed his appointment posed ‘serious reputational, legal, conflict of interest and governance risks’. Victoria’s Secret added that it had proposed compromise measures, including appointing a mutually agreed director and expanding information-sharing arrangements, but claimed Blundy would not engage unless he personally joined the board.
BBRC, one of Victoria’s Secret’s largest shareholders, has criticized the company’s governance and strategic direction as it pushes for changes during the retailer’s turnaround effort under CEO Hillary Super.
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...
