Administration May 5, 2007

Executives Fired over Stock Option Dating Issue

May 17, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. has terminated its chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) as a result of its internal probe into possible improper dating of stock options.
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Executive Vice President Eugene Hovanec has been terminated in addition to CEO Louis Tomasetta and CFO Yatin Mody.   The three had been suspended in April, a decision the company said was related to the “integrity of documents” involving its stock option program.

Vitesse later delayed its quarterly report and hired a turnaround firm after it said its board had discovered additional accounting issues that called into question more than three years of financial results, according to the WSJ.

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Analysis of options awards at some companies has shown that executives benefited from extraordinary timing, getting grants dated at times when share prices hit lows. The “strike price” on options generally is equal to the market price on the day they are granted by a company’s board. The lower the strike price, the greater the chance for future profit, the news report said.

The SEC is examining whether the effective dates on some of those options were deliberately and improperly backdated.   Earlier in the month UnitedHealth said the SEC was conducting an informal inquiry into its stock option practices (See UnitedHealth Under Fire for Stock Options).

According to the WSJ, several weeks ago, the CEO and two other officials of Comverse Technology Inc. resigned during a board probe of possible backdating of stock options grants.

Tomasetta and Mody were replaced by Christopher Gardner, the acting CEO, and Shawn Hassel of Alvarez & Marsal LLC, the acting chief financial officer.

Break from the Grind May 4, 2007

A Little Friday File Fun (05/04)

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words....
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Well, here’s a couple of thousand:

From a mobile location, “Dinner in the Sky” offers a dining experience for those who expect more from their restaurants than four concrete walls and a solid floor – – – diners perch around a massive table, which is suspended from a crane high up in the air – – – about 150 feet up in the air – – – you can see this “experience” at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=451569&in_page_id=1770

Ever wonder what things will be like a hundred years from now?   Well, here’s some postcards from 1900 – – – that purported to offer a picture of what things would be like in the year 2000 that can show just how far off those projections can be.   MORE at http://paleo-future.blogspot.com/2007/04/postcards-showing-year-2000-circa-1900.html

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This is kind of an odd thing – but someone has gone to the trouble of helping us imagine what some of today’s beauties look like – – – bald.  MORE at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=451020&in_page_id=1773

They used to be cheerleaders – – – Madonna, Paula Abdul, Jessica Simpson, Halle Berry, ok – but Michael Douglas?   President George W. Bush?   Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?  MORE at http://www.local6.com/slideshow/entertainment/13010870/detail.html 

Those with a view of New York Harbor might recently have seen something you don’t see every day – – – a sinking ship – – – but one that was designed to “sink” – – – the “Dockwise Swan” is a heavy transport and product carrier that is actually a “semi-submersible,” which means that it can lower its deck to below water level to pick up and drop off cargo – – – check out the video at http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_120111301.html

OK, we’re all getting older – but there’s nothing to say that we can’t still “rock.”   Here’s a version of “My Generation” that would make Pete Townsend proud.  MORE at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfFrCUrEbY&mode=related&search =

– – – In Yorktown, Indiana , David E. Monroe, 51, allegedly told his wife Carolyn to sit in a chair in their living room in front of the picture window of their home – – – “I’ll be right back,” he reportedly said – – – then, according to police, David drove his 2003 Ford F 150 pickup truck through the picture window – – – but without hurting anyone besides the house – – – you can see a picture of the result at http://thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/NEWS01/70430020

– – – In West Omaha, Nebraska , David W. Nelson, 23, is facing a number of charges after crashing his pickup truck into a home – – – going completely through the house before coming to a stop as it crashed through the back wall – – – the truck, reportedly traveling at 64 mph at the time – – – came out on the deck above the ground – – – check it out at http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/7171626.html

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