NEWS

HOUSTON, May 19, 2004 (Summary of Reuters Article) - Four activists were arrested at Halliburton's annual shareholder meeting in Houston as hundreds of protesters chanted "war profiteers." The four activists were charged with trespassing after handcuffing themselves to railings at a hotel where the meeting was held. Thirty protesters attempted to block city traffic in front of the company's headquarters, located two blocks from the hotel. Protesters said Halliburton had become a symbol of the Iraq war and questioned its relationship with former CEO, Dick Cheney. "I think this is the worst example of cronyism. It sends a terrible message around the world," Medea Benjamin, co-founder of women's group Code Pink, told Reuters. At the meeting, shareholders rejected a proposal by the New York City Police and Fire Departments to require Halliburton to study the financial and reputational damage that has been done by company operations in Iran. Shareholders also rejected a proposal to split the job of chairman and CEO into two separate jobs. CEO David Lesar currently holds both jobs. But shareholders did approve a proposal to increase the company's outstanding shares by 67 percent to 1 billion shares. Shareholders also approved the issuance of 5 million preferred shares.