The First Thirty Days

Every public company can or should be considering the implications of the government’s rapidly expanding investigation into allegations that executives received back-dated options at favorable strike prices. The investigations began when the Wall Street Journal published a statistical study suggesting that it was extremely improbable for some executives to have consistently received their options when their company’s stock was at the lowest ebb. Since that time, more than 30 public companies have been associated with the investigation, many of them technology companies based in Silicon Valley.