When the Medici family, who invented modern banking, wanted to intimidate rivals they did it with food. Sumptuous banquets that displayed their wealth and power.
Nic Moore's Macquarie Group might have been taking a leaf out of the Medici book at Thursday's shareholder meeting. Or, was it Niccolò Machiavelli.
More BusinessDay Videos
- Video duration
- 02:29
RBA's Philip Lowe ducks low wages issues
RBA's Philip Lowe ducks low wages issues
Loweâs speech to the annual Annika Foundation lunch spectacularly failed by somehow omitting two important factors that anyone operating in the real world is aware of. Michael Pascoe comments.
Up Next
ASX winners and losers - a snapshot
- Video duration
- 00:43
- Video duration
- 00:43
ASX winners and losers - a snapshot
ASX winners and losers - a snapshot
The stand out listings traded on the ASX captured at key moments through the day, as indicated by the time stamp in the video.
Up Next
Can earnings shake life back into the ASX 200?
- Video duration
- 03:01
- Video duration
- 03:01
Can earnings shake life back into the ASX ...
Can earnings shake life back into the ASX 200?
What to expect this week as the corporate reporting calendar starts. This video was produced in commercial partnership between Fairfax Media and IG Markets.
Up Next
AustralianSuper flags equities risk
- Video duration
- 00:59
- Video duration
- 00:59
AustralianSuper flags equities risk
AustralianSuper flags equities risk
Expecting the global equities market to cool down, AustralianSuper CEO Ian Silk said his fund is looking to invest more money in US infrastructure.
Up Next
Aussie dollar rally might not be over
- Video duration
- 02:06
- Video duration
- 02:06
Aussie dollar rally might not be over
Aussie dollar rally might not be over
The Australian dollar has dipped back below US80 cents, but there is a chance the Aussie may rebound even higher.
Up Next
Twitter shares tumble
- Video duration
- 01:12
- Video duration
- 01:12
Twitter shares tumble
Twitter shares tumble
Twitter shares plunged after the microblogging company disappointed investors with stagnant monthly active user growth in the second quarter.
Up Next
Tech slides on Wall Street
- Video duration
- 01:26
- Video duration
- 01:26
Tech slides on Wall Street
Tech slides on Wall Street
Technology and transportation shares dragged the S&P; 500 lower Thursday. Amazon shares dropped in after-hours trading.
Up Next
Apple iPhone turns 10
- Video duration
- 01:24
- Video duration
- 01:24
Apple iPhone turns 10
Apple iPhone turns 10
Steve Jobs promised a product that combined the best of the iPod with a phone and a connection to the internet. A decade later, it's Apple's most important product.
RBA's Philip Lowe ducks low wages issues
Loweâs speech to the annual Annika Foundation lunch spectacularly failed by somehow omitting two important factors that anyone operating in the real world is aware of. Michael Pascoe comments.
The millionaires' factory – or vampire kangaroo, as it has now been dubbed in the UK – put on an AGM spread that was described by a CBD colleague as the most sumptuous they had ever seen.
Friands, muffins, chick pea salad, fruit platters, quiche, sushi, ham and cheese croissants, and sausage rolls. There's the value of a Macquarie share – $87 and rising, in case you were wondering – right there.
Three tables of food in two rooms, with the entire board mingling with the pleb shareholders.
But the most ingenious twist was the fact that this all occurred before the full-time buzzer.
That's right, Macquarie was taking the innovative approach of feeding up its investors AHEAD of that pesky vote on its remuneration report.
Safe passage was far from assured given proxy advisor, ISS, had recommended a vote against the report on the basis of the poor disclosure and transparency around its incentive payments. And we know how hefty the incentive payments are at Macquarie.
The combined salaries of Nic and his top dozen reports did not even trouble the $10 million mark, but their total remuneration exceeded $126 million. It's enough to make Australia Post's departing boss, Ahmed Fahour, blush.
So, did the strategy work?
When investors waddled back in, the subsequent food coma did not prevent a black eye – the final score was a 15 per cent vote against the remuneration report – but it looks like most of this reflected proxy votes which had already been cast. Which means other companies might want to consider this machiavellian menu manoeuvre.
Full credit
Speaking of blushes in investment banking circles, CBD thought we'd dig up some of the recent financial results of Macquarie's rival investment banks. And the recent(ish) financial performance of Credit Suisse's Australian operations took our fancy.
Zurich HQ must have been very impressed with what was a cracker year – ending December 31 – for Campbell Lobb's local crew.
Net profit after tax rocketed from a paltry $3 million in 2015, to $44.5 million last year.
"The improved result was driven by strong activity in M&A;, underwriting and advisory activities," gushed the investment bank in the accounts lodged with ASIC as it dispatched a $25 million dividend to its Swiss overlords.
And the most amazing line item in the report – in an era where investors are agitating madly for a better correlation between pay and performance – was that its "paid management fees", which equates to its employee pay, actually fell last year to $74.3 million despite fee income recording a 50 per cent rise to $139.5 million.
Is it time for the local minions to revolt, or, for a union to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again?
Health check
Amazon is rattling our local retail industry so much that even Gerry Harvey's nemesis, Ruslan Kogan's online retailer Kogan.com, is diversifying into insurance.
That's right, you can now buy unbranded Chinese electronic goods, or insurance, from these guys.
It probably makes perfect sense to Gerry Harvey who has taken his Harvey Norman investors into dairy farming in 2015 – take a look at Murray Goulburn if you're wondering how that investment is faring. And before that he took a punt on the booming resources party in 2012, buying into a dongas business – which made transportable mining camp accommodation – just as the bust loomed on the horizon.
Molop oh
Cash box Molopo Energy can't seem to put a foot right with banned company director, Nick Bolton, attempting to trip up its every move.
CBD had thought the Takeovers Panel decision had rid Molopo of its Bolton problem, and left the company to focus on acquiring an actual business to operate before the ASX chucks it off the bourse.
But the day that the company announced it had finally found an investment for some of its $67 million cash hoard, the Bolton-backed Aurora Funds Management gazumped it with an intention to make a $45 million cash and scrip offer to "unlock the inherent value in Molopo and its cash assets".
The cash is capped at $5 million, which means Molopo investors would have to take $40 million worth of units in Aurora's Fortitude Absolute Return Fund (AFARF). If they prefer cash they can then "request redemption of the units off-market at the prevailing net asset value based redemption price in accordance with AFARF's constitution and fund updates", said the release from Aurora.
The bid, if it materialises, would be hampered by the fact that Aurora cannot buy the 39.5 million Molopo shares that the Takeovers Panel has ordered Bolton's team to offload.
But it might be enough to stop Bolton's team from losing money on these shares, which an ASIC-appointed broker will have to sell before Christmas. They paid up to 17.5¢ for the 39.5 million Molopo shares that will soon be sold.
Follow CBD on Twitter. Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au