Sustainable Finance Newsletter - More threats lead to more executive protection

By Ross Kerber

Aug 6 (Reuters) - Crime in the U.S. is down by some measures, but a series of targeted attacks and threats against executives and other institutional leaders has pushed companies to boost their security spending, data and interviews show.

Several colleagues and I looked at the trends after last week's shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper in which four people were killed. A link to that coverage is below, along with other items, including a legal setback for top asset managers, and how U.S. President Donald Trump's move to fire a labor statistics official puts trust on the line.

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U.S. COMPANIES' EXECUTIVE-SECURITY SPENDING HITS RECORD

U.S. companies are spending record amounts to keep their executives safe in response to rising threats and the killings of two high-profile corporate officials in separate attacks in Manhattan over the last eight months.

Corporations have doubled the number of plain-clothed security teams outside buildings in New York City since a shooting last week in which four people were killed, said Glen Kucera, president of the enhanced protection services unit at Allied Universal, a security and facilities services firm.

Ben Joelson, head of security risk and resilience for the Chertoff Group, a security advisory firm, said threats against executives are higher than at any time in the decade he has worked in the field, with social media posts magnifying complaints against institutional leaders. Artificial intelligence is compounding the problem, leading to an "exponential rise" in realistic phishing attempts, Joelson was cited as saying in a report by research firm Equilar.

Equilar also found median spending on executive security for top officers, including CEOs, chief financial officers, and others, rose 16% to a record $106,530 last year, based on a review of financial filings for the 500 largest U.S. public companies by revenue.

You can read more by clicking here.

COMPANY NEWS

Top asset managers BlackRock, BLK.N Vanguard, and State Street STT.N lost most of their effort to have a judge dismiss a lawsuit filed by 13 Republican-led states accusing them of violating antitrust law through climate activism.

A Florida jury ordered Tesla TSLA.O to pay about $243 million to victims of a 2019 crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, which could hurt the company's robotaxi plans and intensify safety concerns about its autonomous vehicle technology.

Three people were detained after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, 2330.TW the world's largest chip foundry, reported former and current employees had illegally obtained information.

ON MY RADAR

Trust in U.S. economic data is easy to lose and hard to restore, an issue Trump put on the line by moving to fire the head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just as demand for reliable economic information is bigger than ever.

The European Central Bank said it will add climate change considerations to its lending operations, looking to create a buffer against the possible financial impact of uncertainties related to climate change.

The Department of Homeland Security, part of the Trump administration, reversed course on requiring U.S. cities and states to rebuke boycotts of Israeli companies in order to receive disaster funds.