The Republican vice presidential nominee, Dick Cheney, said yesterday he was ''fully prepared to forfeit'' oil company stock options that he would otherwise continue to hold after taking office if he and George W. Bush win in November.
Options allow someone to buy a company's stock at a preset price.
Some have urged him not to retain the options because Halliburton's stock price could be affected by actions taken by a Bush-Cheney administration. Unlike stock, options cannot be placed in a blind trust, where the recipient has no control over his or her investments. It's a situation where national concerns are mixed with business concerns,'' Peter Eisner, managing director at the Center for Public Integrity, a government ethics advocacy group, said last month. They also would not take effect until after Inauguration Day. Cheney said he also would give up those options.