Feds reject Exxon Mobil bid to block shareholder proposal + MORE Mar 25th

Leroux, who will step down next month, was the first woman to lead a top-tier financial services provider

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected Exxon Mobil’s bid to block a shareholder proposal that would require it to disclose how its business will be affected by a 2-degree target limit on global warming.
The SEC Office of Chief Counsel said it disagrees with the Irving, Texas-based oil company that the proposal is “so inherently vague and indefinite” that neither shareholders nor Exxon Mobil could be certain what it requires.
The office also rejected the contention that the proposal can be excluded because the company’s current public disclosures “compare favourably” with the proposal’s guidelines.
The resolution will be included in Exxon Mobil’s proxy document sent to shareholders next month, along with the board’s position opposing it, company spokesman Alan Jeffers said Thursday.
New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli joined with the Church of England’s investment fund and others in filing the proposal…

OTTAWA – The federal government is restoring the tax credit for labour-sponsored investment funds, but investment experts urge caution for investors who may be considering them.
They say tax credits should not drive your investment decisions and that labour-sponsored investment funds have been a risky proposition with a history of disappointing performance.
Professor Eric Kirzner of University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management says they are complex investments that are difficult to understand and carry high management fees.
“Would I recommend these as investments: No,” he said.
Labour-sponsored funds or labour-sponsored venture capital corporations were first introduced in the 1980s as a way for small investors to invest in small- to medium-sized businesses.
Don’t panic about corporate class funds »
Kirzner, who holds the John H. Watson Chair in Value Investing and teaches investment finance, says the idea was that investors would do well and companies that otherwise would not have been able to raise capital would get needed investment…

BILLINGS, Mont. – Federal officials will consider hiking royalty rates by 50 per cent on coal extracted from massive strip mines on public lands under a pending overhaul of a U.S. Interior Department program.
The first outlines of a planned three-year evaluation of the government coal program were released Thursday. Lower royalty rates to stimulate mining also will be considered.
The Obama administration in January imposed a moratorium on new coal leases to address the costs of climate change and ensure a fair financial return to taxpayers. Interior spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw says Thursday’s notice sets “sideboards” for that review.
The royalty increase from 12.5 per cent to 18.75 per cent would apply to coal from strip mines primarily in Western states. Wyoming and Montana are home to many of the largest mines.
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TORONTO – TORONTO (AP) _ Seabridge Gold Inc. (SA) on Thursday reported a loss of $1.8 million in its fourth quarter.
The Toronto-based company said it had a loss of 4 cents per share.
For the year, the company reported that its loss narrowed to $7.1 million, or 14 cents per share.
Seabridge Gold shares have risen 28 per cent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $10.65, a rise of 68 per cent in the last 12 months.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SA at http://www.zacks.com/ap/SA
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Keywords: Seabridge Gold, Earnings Report
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