At the end of April, the CBI's chief economic adviser, Ian McCafferty, spent a week in the US.
It was striking to see the extent to which views of the US economy had shifted in the three weeks since Richard Lambert had been here.
In the short term, there was much greater optimism about the end of the recession being in sight. But perhaps as the immediate fears dissipate, the longer-term, structural problems – particularly relating to the fiscal deficit – are coming into focus.
A short, four-page overview of Ian's key findings is available – which can download.
President Obama has revealed his ideas to shake up the way US companies are taxed on their foreign earnings.
The proposal was not well-received by the US business community. Politically, it was only to be expected – during the election campaign, Obama had repeatedly talked about the need to 'level the playing field' in such a way that a company would no longer "pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, N.Y."
Unfortunately, such rhetoric misses one fundamental point about the US tax system. Because America still taxes globally, rather than on a territorial basis like nearly all other developed countries (including the UK, now), it has a system that tries to prevent US companies from paying tax twice. So the tax system that currently exists tries to 'level the playing field' in their direction.
But the Obama administration is convinced that companies are taking unfair advantage of it. We have prepared a background brief on the proposals, and the business response to them so far. If you would like to receive a copy, please contact rachel.federgreen@cbi.org.uk.
The SEC is once again tackling the issue of shareholder rights – for the fourth time in six years.
The Commission voted 3-2 to propose changes to the proxy rules, allowing shareholders greater rights to nominate company directors.
The full text of the proposed changes has not yet been published, but a broad outline is available available here. Interested parties will have 60 days to file their comments.
The SEC is also looking at the issue of directors' remuneration. It's not the only one. Senator Chuck Schumer from New York has introduced a bill (S. 1074) that would force companies to hold a shareholder vote each year on the compensation of top executives, plus additional votes for 'golden parachute' packages.
His bill also calls for the separation of chief executive and chairman positions. Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois has proposed a narrower bill (S. 1006) that would require annual shareholder votes on executive pay. All this, in the context of the ongoing debate about pay restrictions for TARP-money recipients. Some legislative action in this area seems inevitable – and the UK model of non-binding shareholder votes seems to be the likely one.
Click here to go to the Policy work page.