Subprime mess prods new shareholder proposals

[flashl]

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Corporate America, watch out: Anger is in the air as shareholders gear up for annual meetings after weathering a seemingly unending stream of bad news from companies ensnared in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Investors are on track to file about 1,200 shareholder proposals to public corporations in 2008, roughly the same as the record set last year. This year, however, the mortgage mess will be front and center at the annual gatherings of many financial services companies.

"What we're likely to see this year is more confrontation and less engagement than we have seen in the last couple of years," said Pat McGurn, special counsel at corporate governance services and risk management firm RiskMetrics Group RMG.N.

Banks, lenders, home builders and other companies tied to the subprime mortgage industry are coming under scrutiny as shareholders who have seen the value of their investments plummet seek to hold boards more accountable.

Reuters

[crazymans economics]

1. Yep, good luck with that