NEWS

DALLAS (Summary of CBS MarketWatch Article) -- Halliburton will face shareholders on Wednesday at the company's annual shareholders meeting in Houston. The company expects about 50 to 100 shareholders to attend, as in previous years. It told CBS MarketWatch that it has added security for the meeting. "At Halliburton safety is the No. 1 priority for all company activities," Hall said in an e-mail reported by CBS MarketWatch. "We have always had security in place at the annual meeting, but we have stepped up our precautions in support of these efforts." The company will not discuss the situation in Iraq during the shareholders meeting. Shareholders at the meeting will vote on a proposal by the New York City Police Pension Fund and the New York City Fire Department for a review of and a report on operations in Iran. Another proposal will request that Halliburton split the roles of chairman and chief executive, both of which are currently held by Dave Lesar. Shareholders will also vote on whether to allow the company to increase its total common stock outstanding to 1 billion shares from 600 million as a means to raise money for the company, but it has no current plans to sell any shares. The added shares, which could dilute the value of the company, would also be used to prevent third party's from trying to gain control over the company. Halliburton said it has no knowledge of any such attempts.