Missing clause in stock plan sinks an executive windfall, and offers lessons. SEC issues guidance for companies to strictly follow accounting and disclosure rules for restructuring charges. Warner-Lambert sends letter to shareholders, defends planned merger with American Home Products. SEC issues accounting bulletin on revenue recognition. A stockbroker tries to avoid jail by taking advantage of a prosecutor's error.
Retail investors get access to internet roadshows.
The retail investors covered under the no-action letter is limited to customers who have a Charles Schwab Signature Series account at gold level or above. Independent advisers and their clients also are covered, but their clients must also meet the criteria for a gold series account. Simon Lorne, an attorney for Charles Schwab, says that while it is an incremental step, it is an important first step in democratizing the IPO process. Seattle attorney Brad Furber, of the Van Valkenberg Furber Law Group, says that limiting the roadshow to the wealthiest and most sophisticated investors serves no public policy and instead poses selective disclosure problems. Furber says that by expanding the roadshow audience, the class of potential plaintiffs also is expanded.