State-level political pressure is increasingly poised to shape the boundaries of “acceptable” financial risk analysis in the US, with direct implications for the consistency and independence of credit ratings.

US political and legal pressure on DEI is creating a growing disconnect with investor expectations, forcing boards to navigate conflicting risks between regulatory exposure and shareholder governance norms.

A cluster of interventions on sustainability-linked stewardship landed in the three weeks when trustees have the least capacity.

On 31 March 2026, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that quietly but decisively rewrites the language of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

A California court has ruled that two Elon Musk tweets during his 2022 acquisition process of Twitter unlawfully depressed the company’s share price, opening the door to an estimated U$2.6 billion damages claim.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and As You Sow have filed a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) challenging the controversial overhaul of its ‘no action’ request process adopted in November 2025.

The Coca-Cola Company appears to have filed no ‘no action’ requests for the first time since 2020 despite changes from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) giving companies greater power to exclude shareholder proposals.

Indiana’s recently ratified House Bill (HB) 1273 arrives at a moment when several US states are testing how far they can go in shaping the information that underpins stewardship information and shareholder voting.

A clash over a BP shareholder resolution, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) retreat from traditional proposal review and ExxonMobil’s planned move to Texas all point to the same trend: management and regulators are testing the boundaries of shareholder scrutiny.

The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM) has been formally relaunched with more than 250 signatories just over year after the project was paused following the exit of several major institutional investors.

US telecommunications giant AT&T has U-turned on its decision to exclude a diversity, equity and inclusion-focused (DEI) shareholder proposal from its 2026 proxy materials following a lawsuit from investors.

Starbucks shareholders have called on their fellow investors to vote against the re-election of two company directors at its 25 March AGM due to “sustained oversight failures of labor relations”.

Shareholders have sued US telecommunications giant AT&T for excluding a DEI-focused proposal as heightened risks created by the US SEC’s change in approach to ‘no action’ requests are highlighted.

US SEC Chair Paul Atkins has launched a campaign to roll back what he calls “regulatory creep,” outlining a plan to “make IPOs great again” during recent testimony to the US House Financial Committee.

A challenge to US President Donald Trump’s high-profile executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes has been rejected by an appeals court.

Disney has revealed that three shareholder proposals from anti-ESG proponents will be voted on at its 2026 AGM amid concerns over litigation should resolutions be excluded following controversial changes to the ‘no action’ process.

Major shareholders have stressed concerns to the SEC about significant changes to the use of its EDGAR filing platform and exempt solicitation notices, as well as other developments that undercut shareholder rights.

A Texas federal judge has struck down one of the US’ most prominent anti-environment, social and governance (ESG) laws, ruling that prohibiting state investment in companies avoiding financing fossil fuels is unconstitutional.