Week of February 1, 2010

Over the past week, there has been much going on in the area of activist investing. One notable issue has been occurring in the natural gas sector. During the last few days, activist investors have been challenging natural gas companies to ensure drilling is done in a responsible manner (Souder). These activist investors hope natural gas companies will protect the environment and increase transparency in their operations (Souder). Activists have filed proposals with 12 companies, including ExxonMobil (Souder). ExxonMobil stock was down 3.3% for the week. I'm sure these activist proposals contributed in some way to the deterioration in the share price. Although, this news probably had a very minimal effect on ExxonMobil's share price. This drilling issue identifies the constant struggle between corporate profits and environmental friendliness. To view more info on this topic, view Souder's article at Dallasnews.com.