NY Times: North Dakota Asks, What Recession?

[star2city]

Even with commodity prices dropping, hopefully ND's economy can hold steady or continue up:

As the rest of the nation sinks into a 12th grim month of recession, this state, at least up until now, has been quietly reveling in a picture so different that it might well be on another planet.

The number of new cars sold statewide was 27 percent higher this year than last, state records through November showed. North Dakota

[ScottM]

Not exactly on topic, but here's a bit of interesting news that could bode well for the future in some respects.

Only two publicly traded companies are incorporated in North Dakota. But last year lawmakers there -- prodded by out-of-state activists including Carl Icahn -- enacted the nation's most shareholder-friendly corporate-governance law.

They did a similar thing to repeal rate ceilings at the behest of US Bank and Wells Fargo in the mid-90s.

John Chevedden, a longtime activist investor in California, filed a proposal urging Oshkosh Corp. to move its incorporation to North Dakota from Wisconsin. Mr. Chevedden also helped shareholders at Hain Celestial Group Inc., Whole Foods Market Inc. and PG&E Corp. draft and file similar proposals.

The North Dakota law is part of an effort by shareholder advocates to generate competition among states for company incorporations based on governance rules. More than half of publicly traded companies are incorporated in Delaware, which has long courted such business. Critics say Delaware law favors management over shareholders.

Duh. That's the main reason most companies incorporate in Delaware or Nevada.

The North Dakota law is unlikely to draw much business to the state soon, experts say. The four reincorporation proposals are nonbinding and unlikely to win approval, says Carol Bowie, director of the Center for Corporate Governance at proxy adviser RiskMetrics Group Inc. Activist investors say the North Dakota law adds fuel to the debate over shareholder rights and oversight, which has intensified during the U.S. financial crisis.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1228520510...us_marketplace#

[FightingSiouxnerd]

GO NORTH DAKOTA! that's all I have to say about that.