Stock Options Backdating

Family Dollar Execs Sued over Backdating

K.T. — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:30:09 +0000

Family Dollar Execs Sued over Backdating: "Ten Family Dollar officials and directors, including its chief financial officer, have been sued by a shareholder, accusing them of improperly earning millions of dollars from exercising backdated stock options over six years, according to The Charlotte Observer." [CFO.com]

Neowin.net - Activision sued over stock option grant practices

K.T. — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:29:28 +0000

Neowin.net - Activision sued over stock option grant practices: "An Activision shareholder has sued the video game maker over its stock option grant practices alleging improprieties in the company's issuance of stock options and targeting both former and current executives in the latest backdating scandal. The lawsuit alleges that Activision backdated its stock options to the financial benefit of numerous executives and the detriment of the company and its shareholders. " [NeoWin.net]

Daily Kos: The Options Back Dating Scandal: Overview and Explanation

K.T. — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:28:29 +0000

Daily Kos: The Options Back Dating Scandal: Overview and Explanation: "A new financial scandal has emerged over the last year or so. It's the options back dating scandal. By altering the date when a company officially granted an option, an executive could increase the amount of his actual pay and lower his tax liability on his executive compensation. This week, SEC head Christopher Cox testified before Senate to give Senators an update on the situation. His testimony gives a great overview of what is actually involved with the scandal as well as the status of current enforcement actions." [Daily KOS]

Plugged In: Why options backdating is a big deal - Jul. 26, 2006

K.T. — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:27:46 +0000

Plugged In: Why options backdating is a big deal - Jul. 26, 2006: "For the past several weeks I've been asking experts (to be precise: lawyers) if they think the options backdating scandal is a big deal with major ramifications, a medium-sized brouhaha that will fade after the egregious abusers have been punished, or a tempest in a teapot we'll have forgotten by Christmas.

Wishful thinking aside, almost nobody believes it's Door No. 3, a scandal-of-the-day wiped out by the next news cycle. The question on backdating then remains: pervasive rot in the system or technical malfunction that needs to be cleared up?" [CNN]

ICANNWatch | VeriSign receives subpoena relating to stock option backdating

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 23:03:05 +0000

ICANNWatch | VeriSign receives subpoena relating to stock option backdating: "GeorgeK writes 'VeriSign has reported that they are cooperating with a grand jury subpoena and a SEC inquiry into their historical stock option grants. More can be found here. Backdating of options is essentially a fraud against existing shareholders, as noted in the press or simply searching Google for 'backdating fraud'." [ICANN Watch]

Scandal over executive stock options hits techs hard - May. 24, 2006

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 23:02:09 +0000

Scandal over executive stock options hits techs hard - May. 24, 2006: "Stock options, a perennial thorn in the side of technology companies, have come back to haunt the sector in a big way.

Questions over stock option grants for executives have sparked federal investigations of more than a dozen companies, many of which are technology firms." [Money.CNN]

Stock Options: The Backdating Games

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 23:01:16 +0000

Stock Options: The Backdating Games: "Following a yearlong investigation, it appears the Securities and Exchange Commission is finally beginning to crack down on companies with questionable policies governing stock-option grants. In November, management at Analog Devices Inc. agreed to pay $3 million to settle an SEC investigation into the company's handling of stock-option awards. And three senior managers at software maker Mercury Interactive Corp. recently resigned after an SEC probe uncovered problems with the reporting of stock-option issuances. Published accounts say the commission is looking at about a dozen companies, and appears to be zeroing in on the backdating of grants." [CFO]

Next Step in Stock Option Probes: 'Backdate' Lawsuits

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 23:00:27 +0000

Next Step in Stock Option Probes: 'Backdate' Lawsuits: "Securities class action lawyers are preparing for the next wave of shareholder lawsuits as more companies and their top executives face federal probes and accounting restatements linked to the backdating of their stock options." [Law.com]

Stock Options Backdating Information Center - ISS

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:59:24 +0000

Stock Options Backdating Information Center - ISS: "To keep our clients informed on the latest developments, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has created an Options Backdating Information Center.

The center contains a new ISS white paper, An Investor Guide to the Stock Option Timing Scandal, which offers ISS’ perspective on best practices surrounding option grant policies. Additionally, the center has two recent options backdating studies by Dr. Erik Lie, Associate Professor of Finance at The University of Iowa, and Dr. Randall Heron, Associate Professor of Finance at Indiana University." [ISS]

SEC turns scrutiny to stock option backdating

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:58:16 +0000

SEC turns scrutiny to stock option backdating: "Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said Tuesday that possible stock option backdating is 'a matter of ongoing interest to our enforcement division.'

He said the SEC is also looking at option issues as it considers public comments on a proposed rule that would require better disclosure of executive compensation. 'The manner in which this is reported is one means of tightening up the way in which companies issue this form of compensation,' Cox said after testifying to the Senate Banking committee on financial literacy." [USAToday]

Broadcom problem grows

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:57:06 +0000

Broadcom problem grows: "Broadcom warned investors Friday that its internal review of misdated stock options had uncovered deeper problems that will force it to recognize at least $1.5 billion in expenses -- double the Irvine company's original estimate in July." [MercNews]

MercuryNews.com | 09/10/2006 | Firms tweaking ways of awarding options

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:56:24 +0000

MercuryNews.com | 09/10/2006 | Firms tweaking ways of awarding options: "Some companies are tweaking their stock option plans to better peg payoffs to performance, encourage executives to manage with a long-term view and to make it harder to manipulate the pricing of options. Here's a sampler of changes recently disclosed, according to Equilar, a San Mateo provider of information on executive compensation:" [MercNews]

Authorities probe improper backdating of options

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:55:28 +0000

Authorities probe improper backdating of options: "Federal regulators and academics, scrutinizing a broad pattern of well-timed stock-option grants, are exploring the extent to which companies improperly backdated grants to provide insiders an extra pay windfall." [Post-Gazette]

A study in CEO greed - May. 30, 2006

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:45:19 +0000

A study in CEO greed - May. 30, 2006: "One of the questions crying loudest from the developing scandal of backdating stock options is, Why now?

As new companies announce daily that they're investigating their stock option practices or that they've received inquiries from the SEC or federal prosecutors - United Health Group, Caremark Rx, (Research) and Juniper Networks (Research) are among those that have acknowledged ongoing probes - you have to wonder what sparked the mess. After all, we're talking about pre-2002 behavior, mostly from the '90s." [Fortune]

Options saga heats up as more companies are named - Jul. 12, 2006

K.T. — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:39:44 +0000

Options saga heats up as more companies are named - Jul. 12, 2006: "The list of companies being investigated in the stock-options saga grows longer by the day and could easily climb much higher, according to the professor whose research brought the issue to light.

"More than 50 companies are being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors over whether they 'backdated' or otherwise manipulated the dates they granted stock options to employees to make the options more lucrative, according to Reuters." [CNNMoney]