Latest
Internet Stocks / Dot Com
& Related Newswire
6/27/2006 9:55:00 PM | Rambus warns of stock option woes 
=(0) Rambus has joined the growing list of companies checking their records for improperly-accounted-for backdated stock options. If options are backdated to maximize profit for the recipient, financial statements must be adjusted to avoid showing an exaggerated profit. This has implications both in the stock price, for investors, and for tax ...
Read More
6/27/2006 5:56:00 PM | CNet Subpoenaed on Option Grants =(0) The SEC as well as a US Attorney are investigating CNet Networks' stock option practices. At issue is whether options granted to executives were back-dated to show a lower share price, thereby maximizing profit for the grantee. While not illegal per se, backdating must be strictly disclosed and accounted for. Over 50 companies are n...
Read More
6/26/2006 5:20:00 PM | Altera Backpedals on Backdating =(0) Chip maker Altera announced it would recalculate its financial statements for the past ten years, to correct any disrepancies due to stock option dating. Backdating options to dates when prices were lower is only legal if it is disclosed and accounted for. Over 50 US companies are now being investigated, or are investigating themselves, ...
Read More
6/21/2006 6:23:00 PM | Nortel settles class-action suits =(0) Nortel Networks has settled two Canadian class-action suits. The suits were brought by shareholders after Nortel revised its financial results for years 2001-2005. This settlement paves the way for settlements of similar suits by American shareholders. ............
Read More
6/14/2006 4:03:00 AM | US seeks RSA files in options inquiry =(0) Three more companies are being investigated on suspicion of backdating stock options, and one other company faces a shareholder lawsuit on the matter. Sepracor Inc. is being sued for breach of fiduciary duties, and RSA Security Inc., Asyst Technologies Inc., and Meade Instruments Corp. have all had document requests from federal authorities.&n...
Read More
6/12/2006 12:47:00 PM | SEC Launches Formal Investigation into McAfee Stock Options =(0) McAfee is being formally investigated by the SEC over the possible backdating of stock options. This type of manipulation, if not disclosed, is illegal. The purpose of the practice is to have the option-holder make a larger profit upon sale of the stock. Dozens of companies are currently being investigated, or are investigating themselves, for smil...
Read More
6/2/2006 11:30:00 PM | BULLETIN: Vonage hit with class-action shareholder lawsuit =(0) Investors in the recent Vonage IPO have filed a class action lawsuit against the company after the shares dived 30% in their first week. A "false and misleading" Registration and Prospectus is alleged, which would be a violation of Federal Securities Law. It was further alleged that the tactic of offering some IPO shares to customers was ...
Read More
6/1/2006 12:02:00 PM | Vonage tells customers to pay up for IPO =(0) An innovative IPO offering has gone terribly wrong for those who invested in Vonage shares. The stock is down 29% in its first week, and not only investors but also customers are angry. Thirteen per cent of the shares were allocated to Vonage customers as a show of "loyalty" but now these customers are among the unhappy, especially since the r...
Read More
5/28/2006 5:10:00 PM | Livedoor prez "not guilty" of stock fraud =(0) The trial of former Livedoor executives has begun in Japan. The company's President, Takafumi Horie, is not among these defendants and will be tried later, but publicly insists he is innocent and did not know what the others were doing. Charges are that the company used unethical methods including lying about profits to artificially inflate it...
Read More
5/25/2006 2:17:00 AM | Bill would crack down on illegal 'naked short selling' =(0) The State of Utah is enacting a law that would protect businesses registered there, such as Overstock.com, from illegal naked short selling. Short selling itself is legal but in these cases, the stocks sold are not delivered, which leads to artificially inflated volumes that can drive down actual share prices. In other words, it's market manip...
Read More
5/24/2006 3:45:00 AM | Court certifies class action suit against VeriSign =(0) A class action suit against the internet registrar VeriSign has been approved in California. VeriSign allegedly engaged in deceptive business practices including false advertising regarding the sale of certain SSL certificates. The company was selling 128 bit encryption according to the allegation, when all browsers have used that encrypt...
Read More
5/22/2006 7:07:00 PM | US telecoms firm investigated over stock options =(0) A new series of investigations is underway in corporate America. This one concerns how companies handle stock options granted to senior executives. Stock options are a common perk, but the problem arises if their exercise price is later backdated and this is not properly disclosed and accounted for. The result may produce a falsely inflated pa...
Read More
4/4/2006 11:08:00 PM | Spitzer sues 'spyware' co. over pop-up ads - =(0) New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has initiated his second lawsuit against an alleged internet adware company, Direct Revenue. The aim is to stop the practice of piggybacking unwanted programs into downloads of other items or having these programs self-install when certain websites are visited. These stealth programs (adware or spyware) may m...
Read More
4/4/2006 5:06:00 PM | Verizon tentatively settles e-mail suit - =(0) A settlement seems to be imminent in the class action lawsuit against Verizon. Pending a judge's approval, the company has proposed a refund structure for customers whose legitimate emails were blocked by their over-enthusiastic spam filter in 2004 and 2005. Verizon claims to have since improved its spam filter system. ...
Read More
4/4/2006 4:30:00 PM | Nortel's governance makeover =(0) This article discusses the implications of the proposed governance reforms to be negotiated as part of the settlement of the outstanding class action lawsuits against Nortel Networks. This is not without precedence but is more complicated in Nortel's case than in the past. Nortel complies with the letter of the law and the rules in both Canada and ...
Read More
3/28/2006 12:28:00 PM | Former networking execs indicted for securities fraud - =(0) Two Clarent Corp. executives were indicted for securities fraud in California. The charge is that they used improper accounting practices in order to artifically inflate the share price of the company. Information about side-deals was not disclosed to the company's independent auditors, the indictment says. The company lost most of its market value...
Read More
3/23/2006 3:03:00 AM | WorldCom Wins Ruling by Federal Judge - =(0) If you're part of a class action, you can't sue on your own, or so ruled the US District Court in throwing out a decision that would have awarded $448,000 to two WorldCom investors in a suit against their brokers. The plaintiffs are also part of the class action suit against WorldCom over that company's bankruptcy.............
Read More
3/21/2006 8:30:00 AM | Court Tosses Conviction of Internet Stock Boom King =(0) The obstruction of justice conviction of investment banker Frank Quattrone was overturned by a US Appeals Court in March 2006. The case centered around his underwriting of IPOs during the dot-com boom. Email evidence suggested that Quattrone had attempted to hinder the federal investigation into IPO procedures. The conviction was overturned on the ...
Read More