Stock options (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Stock options, gathered by BenefitsLink.comOverview: SEC Amendment of Rule 144 and Rule 145 to Allow More Flexibility in Reselling Securities (PDF)- (Found July 5, 2008 ) 2 pages. Excerpt: "On December 6, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued final amendments to Rule 144 to shorten the holding periods for restricted securities. The SEC also made changes to ease the burdens to resell securities under Rule 144 and amended Rule 145 to eliminate presumptive underwriter status in most cases." (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.)http://www.reinhartlaw.com/WebAdmin/publications/412.pdf Guidance Overview SOX Section 304 Clawbacks for Backdated Options- (Found July 5, 2008 ) 3 pages. (Utz Miller & Kuhn, LLC)http://www.utzmiller.com/article_display.html?did=NDY=&article=1 Southwest Employees Say no More Stock Options- (Found July 5, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Southwest Airlines has used stock options to enrich employees during good financial periods, but officials with the Transport Workers Union of America are now seeking more traditional compensation for ground workers." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)http://www.plansponsor.com/pi_type10/?RECORD_ID=40191 Ex-Safenet CFO Gets Prison Term in Options Case- (Found July 5, 2008 ) Excerpt: "A former chief financial officer of information security company SafeNet Inc was sentenced on Monday to six months in prison for manipulating employee stock option grants. Carole Argo also was fined $1 million." (Reuters via Washington Post)http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/28/AR2008012801399.html KLA to Pay $65M in Stock Option Case- (Found July 5, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The settlement will be the second largest paid to shareholders of one of the dozens of companies entangled in a stock option scandal that swept across corporate America during the past two years, with Silicon Valley at the epicenter." (AP via Washington Post)http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012502659.html Guidance Overview Executive Compensation 2008 Planning Tips (PDF)- (Found July 5, 2008 ) 5 pages. The newsletter includes information on: ISO and Stock Purchase Plan Tax Returns; Registration Exemption for Stock Options; Rule 144 Restricted Stock Holding Periods; and, 409A compliance. (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)http://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/news_item/3f80b3de-65f6-460c-a92e-6af6aa5b14d1_documentup... Guidance Overview SEC Exemptions from Registration under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for Compensatory Employee Stock Options- (Found July 5, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The purpose of the exemptions is to provide both reporting companies and private, non-reporting companies guidance and certainty in their compensation decisions and to prevent private, non-reporting companies from becoming subject to the registration and reporting requirements of the Exchange Act prior to the time they have public shareholders. Both exemptions are self-executing if the necessary requirements are met." (Bllank Rome LLP)http://www.blankrome.com/index.cfm?contentID=37&itemID=1401 Opinion Companies with Long-Term Incentive Plans Based on Relative Total Return Need to Re-Examine Their Objectives- (Found July 5, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Many long-term incentive plans for executives have undergone extreme makeovers, often by eliminating stock options and the use of free shares as a substitute. Some companies have made a stab at basing compensation on how well total return stacks up against a group of peer companies." (Bloomberg News)http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aIeC7janNlYk&refer=columnist_c... Guidance Overview California Court of Appeal Upholds Optional Compensation Plan with Restricted Stock Opinions- (Found July 5, 2008 ) Excerpt: "In the first Court of Appeal decision following the Supreme Court's recent decision in Prachaseisoraedj v. Ralphs Grocery Co., Inc., 42 Cal.4th 217 (2007), the Second District upheld a compensation plan that allowed an employee to direct his employer to purchase shares in the company's stock on his behalf with a portion of his cash compensation. The court upheld the plan even though participants forfeited the stock and the money used to buy it if they were discharged or...http://www.thelenreid.com/index.cfm?section=articles&function=ViewArticle&articleI... Yahoo Inc. Implements Generous Severance Pay Benefits to Discourage Microsoft Takeover Attempt- (Found July 5, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Yahoo Inc., owner of the most-visited U.S. website, adopted severance plans for employees that would pay as much as two years of salary to fend off a $44.6-billion bid from Microsoft Corp. . . . Yahoo's plans also entitle departing employees to health insurance, accelerated vesting of options and job-search assistance." (Bloomberg via Los Angeles Times)http://www.latimes.com/classified/jobs/news/la-fi-yahoo20feb20,0,6452639.story |