Hindenburg Research is mad that in the 36 hours since it released its damning report, Adani has not yet responded to the 88 questions raised. If you have ever worked in public accounting, you would know that getting a response from a client is difficult when the client is paying you for the service. Good luck getting a prompt response when you are digging up things from the 90s.

The lowdown

• ⚔️ Adani goes ahead with equity raise while under short seller attack.

• 🚗 Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is stepping down, handing the role to Lexus chief Koji Sato.

• 🐝 BuzzFeed share price increases 120% on reports of a deal with Meta and the use of AI to generate content.

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Can Salesforce turn things around?

Elliott Management is one of three activist investors that has taken a multi-billion-dollar position in Salesforce and is looking to overhaul the company's board. Elliott is likely to put forward numerous candidates to join the Salesforce board, ahead of the nominating window opening on February 12, and is focused on nominating high-quality candidates with diversity in mind.

The activist attention comes as Salesforce struggles with its performance and profit margins in the wake of its acquisition of data analytics tool Tableau for $16 billion and messaging tool Slack Technologies for $27bn ($) – both deals now look expensive.

Activist investors are piling on everywhere at the moment, but they can be good for shareholders, improving corporate performance by pushing for changes such as cost cutting measures, increasing efficiency and improving governance. On the other hand, activist campaigns can also be disruptive and costly for the company, and may not always lead to positive outcomes for shareholders. The encouraging point to note here is that these activists see upside. Not the case with Adani.

The content we're consuming today

• FT: EY auditors escape potential Wirecard sanctions after leaving profession ($).

• Acquired podcast: The NFL.

• WSJ: Campbell Soup Names New CFO as It Looks to Continue Strong Growth.

Off-balance sheet items

• You may sometimes be asking yourself, is this a newsletter for ambitious finance teams or members of the Succession fan club? Well, it’s both. And so I’m obligated to inform you that a teaser trailer for Season 4 just dropped. 

The bottom line