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Subject: executive stock options

An employee stock option is a call option on the common stock of a company, issued as a form of non-cash compensation. Restrictions on the option (such as vesting and limited transferability) attempt to align the holder’s interest with those of the business’ shareholders. If the company’s stock rises, holders of options generally experience a direct financial benefit. This gives employees an incentive to behave in ways that will boost the company’s stock price.
Employee stock options are mostly offered to management as part of their executive compensation package. They may also be offered to non-executive level staff, especially by businesses that are not yet profitable, insofar as they may have few other means of compensation. Alternatively, employee-type stock options can be offered to non-employees: suppliers, consultants, lawyers and promoters for services rendered. Employee stock options are similar to warrants, which are call options issued by a company with respect to its own stock. (Wikipedia Jan 2010)

Market timing

Buyback news is an unreliable ‘buy signal’

A false 'green light'

Many investors have finally caught on that stock buybacks are a manipulative device used by company management to increase market levels and give value to stock options. Now, there are newsletters that inform short-term traders when companies announce equity repurchase programs. Buying on buyback news might have been a good idea ten years ago; it is certainly no longer a sure-fire, get-rich-quick formula.

The flaw in the buy-on-buyback-notice scheme is market covariance.

Stock Buybacks

Stock option price-rigging reported

It's irrelevant if the pickpocket uses his right or left hand.

In a major article on March 18, 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the possibility that corporate executives were back-dating their stock options to achieve greater profits when these options were exercised.

The article did not mention stock buybacks, nor the link between stock buybacks and the legalized price manipulation that is the key to giving value to executive options.

Corporate governance in 2005

Stock buybacks become less effective

Executive financial gluttony is a deadly sin

Repurchases of company stock, mostly under the safe harbor exemption from market manipulation provided by SEC Rule 10b-18, set an all time record of $366 billion (net) in 2005. This was 260% of levels in 2004 and 880% of buybacks in 2002.

Despite extremely aggressive tactics of corporate management to manipulate stock prices upwards and give value to option and bonus plans, stock prices rose only about 3% in 2005, on average.

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2011-04-01 16:02