Proxy

Adrienne Ferguson had retribution on her mind as she made her way along West Jefferson Boulevard clutching a stack of papers. She wasn't reacting to a perceived injustice done to her. She was taking action for a stranger who claims to have a beef with the C&H Auto Center, a small automobile body shop down the street. Ferguson and a partner operate Alibis & Paybacks, a Los Angeles firm that describes itself as "the ultimate revenge" service, offering paybacks both large and small.

WASHINGTON - As lawmakers return to the Capitol this week, Congress will launch into a summer of political gamesmanship that will turn floor fights into proxy battles for the presidential campaign. The votes will do little to resolve crucial issues facing the country. But they will establish themes that help define President Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, in the minds of voters. Democrats will seek to portray Republicans as protecting the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

A federal appeals court invalidated a controversial Securities and Exchange Commission rule that made it easier for shareholders to force out company directors. Acting on a suit by business groups, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously tossed out the rule Friday. The judges said the SEC did not adequately consider the rule's effect on companies. The rule let large shareholders place their board nominees on company-mailed proxy ballots along with the management's preferred candidates instead of being required to spend the money to send out separate ballots.

Yahoo Inc., in an attempt to “reshape and refocus” itself, appointed three new independent directors to its board, including a top executive from American Express Co. But the move isn't passing muster with activist investor Daniel Loeb, who plans to launch a proxy battle unless he's personally appointed to the board. The fight will be costly and a “distraction,” executives at the Internet company said in a statement Sunday after naming as board members John D. Hayes, AmEx's executive vice president; Peter Liguori, former chief operating officer of Discovery Communications Inc.; and Thomas J. McInerney, the outgoing chief financial officer of IAC/InterActive Corp.

Yahoo Inc., in an attempt to “reshape and refocus” itself, appointed three new independent directors to its board, including a top executive from American Express Co. But the move isn't passing muster with activist investor Daniel Loeb, who plans to launch a proxy battle unless he's personally appointed to the board. The fight will be costly and a “distraction,” executives at the Internet company said in a statement Sunday after naming as board members John D. Hayes, AmEx's executive vice president; Peter Liguori, former chief operating officer of Discovery Communications Inc.; and Thomas J. McInerney, the outgoing chief financial officer of IAC/InterActive Corp.

Re "Failing a terror test," Opinion, Sept. 12 Natan Sharansky claims that Hezbollah receives $100 million a year from Iran and is therefore a proxy for that state. Israel receives billions of dollars from the United States every year. Does that make Israel a proxy for the U.S.? If so, we should apologize to the people of Lebanon -- and bring our own proxy to heel. SAREE MAKDISI Los Angeles

Barnes & Noble Inc.'s heated battle with Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle continued Thursday as a judge dismissed his lawsuit against the bookseller that sought to expand his stock holdings. The decision by a Delaware judge came hours after the bookstore giant announced that it had not reached a settlement with Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. to avert a costly proxy fight after news reports said the companies were close to a deal. "Yucaipa was battling to get control, and Barnes has essentially successfully defended against that as of this hour, or so it seems," said David Schick, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. "This is a tennis match and this is one game in the match.

With about $725 billion in stock mutual funds, American Funds wields considerable clout in the annual proxy votes that all publicly traded companies conduct. Its recent holdings included 9 million shares in toy maker Mattel Inc. and 99 million shares in drug maker Pfizer Inc. But despite its big stick, American Funds prefers to speak softly. The funds, managed by Los Angeles-based Capital Research & Management Co.

If you invest in individual stocks, you're likely to notice some significant changes in this year's proxy statements. Proxies, which are annual reports of pay and shareholder proposals, were revamped to comply with new Securities and Exchange Commission regulations that grew out of investor furor over exorbitant executive pay packages. Most proxies issued after January, 1993, must include new prose and charts that make company salary information far simpler to comprehend.

Yahoo Inc.'s board is urging shareholders not to sign or return proxy cards sent to them in connection with activist investor Carl Icahn's efforts to replace the company's current directors. In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internet icon said its board urged shareholders "to disregard any proxy card sent to you by the Icahn entities or any person other than Yahoo."

Marje Everett, the former chief executive of Hollywood Park who served as a director of the Inglewood horse racing track from 1972 to 1991, when she was ousted after a proxy fight with R.D. Hubbard, died Friday in Los Angeles. She was 90. Everett's longtime caretaker, Dorothy Carter, confirmed Everett's death. The longtime horse racing executive grew up with the sport. Her father, B.F. Lindheimer, owned the Arlington Park, Washington Park and Balmoral tracks in Chicago before she inherited control when he died in 1960.

An influential proxy advisor criticized Walt Disney Co.'s board of directors for naming Chief Executive Robert A. Iger as the company's next chairman, a decision that it claims "reversed a commitment to independent board leadership. " Disney disputed Institutional Shareholder Services' contention in a regulatory filing Thursday, calling it "false — no such commitment was made. " The matter of an independent board chairman dates from a contentious period of the company's history, in early 2004, when 45% of Disney's shareholders heeded the late Roy E. Disney's call to cast a vote of no confidence in then-Chairman and Chief Executive Michael D. Eisner.

  Washington has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that his days are numbered, but it now faces the vexing problem of how to dislodge a defiant leader intent on snuffing out the 11-month uprising against him. One option increasingly under consideration is arming the rebels; another is to just look the other way should its Persian Gulf allies do so. The Obama administration said Tuesday that it would not support giving weapons to...

A federal appeals court invalidated a controversial Securities and Exchange Commission rule that made it easier for shareholders to force out company directors. Acting on a suit by business groups, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously tossed out the rule Friday. The judges said the SEC did not adequately consider the rule's effect on companies. The rule let large shareholders place their board nominees on company-mailed proxy ballots along with the management's preferred candidates instead of being required to spend the money to send out separate ballots.

The premise When teenage socialite Nikki Parkson (Mary Fegreus) dies of an apparent suicide, medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) investigates the death. It turns out Nikki had some serious health issues. Her doctor had been treating her for familial paroxysmal polyserositis, an inherited auto-inflammatory disease also known as familial Mediterranean fever or FMF. As if that weren't enough, Nikki had another genetic disease, beta thalassemia, that kept her from making enough hemoglobin for her red blood cells.

Al Qaeda fighters, mercurial rebels and well-armed secessionists slip through the dangerous deserts and mountains of Yemen, which for years has been held together by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a cunning tribesman with a dagger-gleam smile and a knack for outwitting his enemies. But Saleh's grip on this volatile Arabian Peninsula nation is unraveling after weeks of bloodshed and street protests that have led to the defection of five top army commanders and dozens of government officials.

Billionaire shareholder activist Carl Icahn increased his stake in Motorola Inc. and started a proxy fight for a board seat after demanding that the mobile phone maker return more of its cash to investors. Icahn, who owns 2.5% of the stock, submitted proxy materials for the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company's May 7 shareholder meeting in a regulatory filing. Motorola is reviewing the statement, a spokesman said.

Gateway Communications Inc., an Irvine-based computer company, said Monday that it has agreed to add to its board three directors who will be selected by one of its major shareholders, expanding the board to seven members. The agreement resolves a proxy fight threatened by Adage Inc. of West Chester, Pa., which last year bought 15% of Gateway's outstanding common stock.

Forget billboard battles over the existence of God ? holiday advertising proposed for next week on Seattle buses zeroed in on the mother of all arguments, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Reacting to an international outcry, King County executive Dow Constantine cancelled both the original proposed bus billboards and a retaliatory response. "Israeli War Crimes ? Your Tax Dollars at Work," was set against a backdrop of bombed-out buildings and dazed civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Viacom Inc. and the former owners of the studio that makes its Rock Band video games are enmeshed in a legal battle, wrangling over hundreds of millions of dollars at the same time that sales of the games are plummeting. Former shareholders in Harmonix Music Systems have filed a lawsuit that has triggered a high-stakes arbitration proceeding with Viacom just as the media giant is attempting to sell the video game maker after years of losses. The legal and financial morass is likely to complicate that effort.