Tug of war between shareholders and executives

U.S. corporations are sitting on mountains of cash. The checks and balances that keep company executives and shareholders from steamrolling each other are key to ensuring it’s properly managed, John Gapper of the Financial Times argues.

“[N]either side can be trusted, any more than the public could be trusted if someone placed an enormous pile of cash in the middle of the street as people walked by. They are there to watch each other, and to raise the alarm if the other makes off with it,” he says.