Options Trading Tutorial - Restricted Stock Options Knowledge Base

Restricted Stock Options Knowledge Base

What's the difference between "restricted stock" and "stock options" from accounting perspective? A quick search on "stock options" shows that many companies are switching from "stock options" to "restricted stocks" as an employee compansation vechicle. Below is what I learned from my research. It could be wrong though. The sales of "stock options" are usually reported as loss. It reduces the company's tax liability, but also adversely affects the company's profit. From 2006, most companies are required to disclose the impact of the "stock options" sales to the public. My questions, When a company issues "restricted stocks" and the employee sells them, is the proceeding counted as "loss" like "stock options"? Why companies don't switch until recently? Does it have anything do to with the new SEC reporting requirement? Thanks,

What's the difference between stock options and restricted stocks?

ESPP, Stock Options, Restricted Stock Units, and taxes? ESPP -> Got them one day, sold them the next day to maximize the 15% discount. Since the basis was post-tax dollars, only the gain needs to be calculated. Stock Options: One day buy-and-sell. What is the cost-basis: is it my option price or market price per share? What is the taxable part? The (sale price - option price) or the sale price? Restricted Stock Units: Got x amounts of RSU. Taxed immediately, so I only got (2x/3) of the granted amount. Again, where do I start with the stock price since these are "free" shares? Any examples will be helpful. I do not want to go and get the IRS Tax Publication workbook from my local IRS office. Thanks.

I'm leaving my job for another company. I have stock options and restricted stock, should I sell it? The stock is at $50.00. I've lost money on most of the options.

How many of these restricted shares (stock options) have vested? Example: A company issues an employee 200 shares upon starting with the firm, 100 shares after 3 months and 100 shares after 9 months. At the one year point, the employee has 400 shares. Assuming a 1 year cliff and a 4 year total vesting period how many shares have vested after 12 months? Is it simply 400/4=100 or does the 4 year vesting period restart for each issuance? (I know it depends, but typically what is the answer)

When a company gets acquired, what usually happens with unvested stock options and RSUs? My company is about to get acquired, and I was wondering what will happen with my yet to be vested stock options and RSUs (restricted stock units). And while we're at it, what about the vested stock options?

what's the definition of restricted stock? I know about preferred, common and stock options, but companies are now rewarding their directors with "restricted" stock. What's that?

When restricted stock vests, should the taxble income (included in Box 1, 3, 5…) also be reported under ‘Box12? When restricted stock vests, should the taxable income (included in Box 1, 3, 5…) also be reported under ‘Box 12 Code V—Income from the exercise of nonstatutory stock option(s)?’ Or, are there no reporting requirements, allowing the employer to include it in Box 14 at their discretion?

What does it mean to "increase the number of Issuable Option Shares and Restricted Stock"? Would it decrease the stock value?

What happens to ESPP and Options after Leaving My Job? I'm about to change jobs and i have some options, restricted stock units (RSU) AND shares of stock i bought via an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). What happens to these shares once i leave the company?

How much of stock options Google gives out to new employees? What's the total market value of the initial grant (shares x grant price) at time you joined Google? $300K or $3M? I don't care about how many shares. It does not matter. I also heard of that 1/3 is in restricted stocks these days. Is that right? BW

Do you have to exercise stock options? I currently work for a company that gives restricted stock awards/grants. I have been offered a position with a company that is offering me both restricted stock awards/grants and stock options. I have never dealt with stock options before, but I think that I do know how they work. If I agree to the stock option plan, I will have the option to purchase 1,000 shares that will vest over 3 years and expire within 10 years. I realize that if the price of the stock is $10 when the plan goes into effect and I exercise the vested options at $30, I will pay the $10 a share and "earn" $20 profit per share. My question is, if the stock price never goes above the price of the shares when the plan goes into effect, do I have to exercise my options and end up losing money? Might be a stupid question, but I don't know the answer! Thanks!

Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) Tax Reporting? Like many companies mine issues RSUs (restricted stock units) in lieu of stock options. They are essentially shares of stock with a value of the date issued. When they were issued a portion of them were automatically sold to cover the taxes associated with them as they are income. When I received my W-2 this year in Box 14 it made a simple mention of 3,000 - RSU, which implies that I received 3,000 in income from RSUs. However, no mention was made of the taxes paid through unit sales. Finally the question... Do I need to add to my tax 1040 form income or taxes fields when filing? I have not sold them yet and some have not vested. Naturally, irs.gov and my local state (Mass) are useless. My tax software indicates that I should consult my tax professional. They all just run you in circles. Any ideas if (a) I need to add the amount of tax/income and (b) what boxes? Again I haven't sold anything... Thanks!

Can someone give me an example on how stock options work? and what's the difference between them and restricted sticks?

I was awarded restricted stocks. How does this work? I work at a large banking institution and was awarded $10,000 in stock options, which I can take out in March 2009. How does this work? Does my company buy however many stocks it can with my 10 grand and then thats that? I am just not sure to expect when I try to take this money out. Should I expect a good amount of cash, or was this just a way to keep me at the company? :)

Severance Options/Negotiations - fairness and in good faith? 1 year ago I had 2 job offers. Job A had a higher title, offered a higher salary and bonus but only offered stock options. Job B had a lower title, lower salary and bonus but they offered restricted stock grants (RSUs). I went with job B as the RSUs had significant value - yet there was a 3 year vesting cliff. The company that offered me Job B is now giving me a choice of taking a different job (less responsibility - not a job would have accepted originally) on the other side of the country or take a severance (12 weeks pay) and no vesting of the RSUs. Is there another option? I feel I gave up a higher title (limiting new job opportunities), more salary and bonus for this company's promise of RSUs. What is the probability of negotiating a severance package different than the standard package they are giving to everyone else? My RSUs are currently valued at $300,000 What would you do? take the 12 weeks and walk away or????????

Stock offer in a new Job, Serious answers please.? I just got a new job and in the offer letter, one of the paragraphs says: Restricted stock: 100 initial shares of restricted stock, and an additional award of company restricted stock with a value of $20,000, awarded on the last business day of the month following your hire date. In addition, you will be granted a minimum value of $20,000 of restricted stock not later than August 1, 2010, and an award a minimum value of $35,000 not later than August 1, 2011. In each case the value and corresponding number of shares to be awarded will be calculated using the closing stock price as of the last business day of the month prior to the month of the award, and will vest at 25% per year over a four year period). We view stock ownership by every employee as an important part of sharing in the company’s success! Please, can someone break this down for me, I 'm new in this financial stuffs. Is that an optional stock option that I can invest that much from my salary, or it is an additional bonus/incentive that I will automatically own? if it is, is it money I have to leave in the company or I can withdraw it and use it as cash. Please help me explain. Thank you.

Question about Yahoo stock? I just started working for Yahoo around November of 2007 and as a starting bonus, received "stock options" and "restricted units". I went to the Fidelity website and it seems I have to activate them. Is this the kind of thing that I want to wait for the current stock to be very low to activate? Or does it not matter? Lately, with the news, the stock has jumped up. So I wonder if I need to wait for it to go down before activating. Any help is appreciated!

Do workers in India have no rights? Why do they work for nothing when their CEOs make millions? See the compensation for this company that has 99% of its work force in india: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CTSH Top Compensated Officers Mr. Francisco D'Souza Chief Executive Officer, President and Direct... Age: 38 Total Annual Compensation: $432.0K Then check his total compensation: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=386042&symbol=CTSH.O Total Annual Compensation$432,000 STOCK OPTIONS* Restricted Stock Awards$66,175 All Other Compensation$7,750 Exercised Options70,000 Exercised Values$2,935,975 Exercisable Options832,500 Exercisable Values$22,251,975 Unexercisable Options187,500 Unexercisable Values$43,125 Total Value of Options$25,231,075 Total Number of Options1,090,000 TOTAL COMPENSATION* Total Annual Cash Compensation$778,651 Total Short Term Compensation$432,000 Other Long Term Compensation$73,925 Total Calculated Compensation$1,777,883 He is making almost 2million a year! What are his workers making? Are there no unions in India? Do the workers have no rights? What is a fair wage? Sports stars- they make so much money because if they didn't get it, it would go into the owners pocket. They are the product, they deserve as much money as anyone. Same with workers and their rights. Tell me what a fair wage is? If they are reselling the services for $80/hr in the states, then wouldn't a fair wage be $20/hr? It is 1/4 of what is taken in You can check what the CEO of Coca Cola makes and Cognizant. You can even see how long you would have to work to match their salaries. Just be sure to enter in the figure you are making in India http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ceou/database.cfm#C Here is the link for the cognizant ceo: http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ceou/database.cfm?tkr=CTSH&pg=1 raju, What kind of elitist attitude is that ? The workers are valueless without their head In the case were the workers are the product, like IT, nothing could be further from the truth. In IT, workers are not compartmentalized into engineers, and assemblers, so their individual importance is marginalized. You are marketing the people and their skills. They are everything. They deserve a fair rate based on the market the customer is doing business in. It is called prevailing wage. Unions demand this on their job sites, and workers should be demanding the same for their work. You should read something about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevailing_wage

CEO Richard D Fairbank of Capital One Financial made $249.42 million dollars in 2006. Are these men worth it? HOME BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MARKETS ENTREPRENEURS WORK PERSONAL FINANCE LIFESTYLE LISTS OPINIONS Home > Lists > CEO Pay > Sort the List CEO Compensation Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Rank Name Company Pay ($mil) 5-Yr Pay ($mil) Shares Owned ($mil) Age Efficiency 1 Richard D Fairbank Capital One Financial 249.42 448.58 187.5 55 167 2 Terry S Semel Yahoo 230.555 258.292 61.1 63 NA 3 Henry R Silverman Cendant 139.96 279.21 159.1 65 178 4 Bruce Karatz KB Home 135.53 227.37 124.7 60 124 5 Richard S Fuld Jr Lehman Bros Holdings 122.67 375.81 642.2 60 117 6 Ray R Irani Occidental Petroleum 80.73 198.44 38.6 71 102 7 Lawrence J Ellison Oracle 75.33 868.93 16,702.4 61 175 8 John W Thompson Symantec 71.84 131.65 25.1 57 33 9 Edwin M Crawford Caremark Rx 69.66 161.85 3.9 57 39 10 Angelo R Mozilo Countrywide Financial 68.955 160.14 46.3 67 68 11 John T Chambers Cisco Systems 62.99 103.44 70.5 56 176 12 R Chad Dreier Ryland Group 56.47 150.22 33.2 58 45 13 Lew Frankfort Coach 55.99 208.34 148.9 60 NA 14 Ara K Hovnanian Hovnanian Enterprises 47.83 89.04 260.9 48 22 15 John G Drosdick Sunoco 46.19 93.52 28.3 62 NA 16 Robert I Toll Toll Brothers 41.31 134.70 674.7 65 115 17 Robert J Ulrich Target 39.635 104.56 52.4 63 154 18 Kevin B Rollins Dell 39.315 NA 0.5 53 NA 19 Clarence P Cazalot Jr Marathon Oil 37.48 52.68 25.8 55 NA 20 David C Novak Yum Brands 37.42 81.75 30.5 53 92 21 Mark G Papa EOG Resources 36.54 51.70 54.0 59 23 22 Henri A Termeer Genzyme 36.38 83.62 43.8 60 71 23 Richard C Adkerson Freeport Copper 35.41 73.203 30.0 59 NA 24 Kevin W Sharer Amgen 34.49 75.56 9.2 58 NA 25 Jay Sugarman IStar Financial 32.935 132.26 110.6 43 99 Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Methodology: Compensation rank is based on total compensation for latest fiscal year. Total compensation for each chief executive includes the following: salary and bonuses; other compensation, such as vested restricted stock grants, LTIP payouts and perks; and stock gains, the value realized by exercising stock options. Efficiency rank is based on our chief executive's performance/pay score. Ranks are given only to chief executives who have a six-year tenure and six-year compensation history. The most efficient rank is 1 and least efficient is 189. Compensation rank is based on total compensation for latest fiscal year. Footnotes: Total returns and value of stock owned (including all classes) is based on Mar. 30, 2006 stock price. Compensation percent change is based on combined salary and bonus. Annualized total return during tenure covers the tenure of the executive or from the time of the IPO or available stock history. Relative to market is the ending value of $100 invested in the stock, divided by the ending value of $1 invested in the S&P 500 (a score of 100 = the S&P 500). NA: Not available or not applicable. NM: Not meaningful. 1Annualized. 2Four-year total. 3Three-year total. 4Less than 0.01%. 5Prior-year data. 6New chief executive; compensation may be for another executive office. 7Less than $100,000. 8Received options or restricted stock in lieu of portion of salary. 9Received options or restricted stock in lieu of portion of bonus. 10Includes shares indirectly held. Sources: Latest available company proxy statements; FT Interactive Data via FactSet Research Systems; Hemscott, Inc.(www.hemscottdata.com) A D V E R T I S E M E N T

How to decide when to sell off my stocks? Hi. I am an employee of Applied Materials Inc, listed as AMAT in NASDAQ. My company provides me the following stock plans/grants: 1. ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) 2. NQSO (Non-Qualified Stock Option) 3. RSU (Restricted Stock Units) In ESPP, we get shares at 15% discount. We can purchase shares twice a year(On last day of feb & august). The max amount one is allowed to invest in this scheme is 10% of my basic. In NQSO, we have an expiry period of 5 years. Shares would vest over a period of 3 years. (33% would vest at the end of 1 year, 33% next year and so on) Here, we get shares at a fixed rate of $8.6 In RSU, we get a grant of 40 shares every year. It does not require any investment. Another factor is i earn in Rupees (INR), but stock is traded in US Dollars($). So Exchange Rate of that date of transaction is applicable. Now, the trouble i am facing is how to decide when to sell how many shares? Considering that i have purchased stocks in all the schemes over past 2 years, and dollar has appreciated from 40 to 50 Rs. roughly, and some of the shares i own have been granted to me for free. how to decide when to sell how many shares?

Want to keep User Experience designer on the team? My partner and I (who hold all the equity in the company) are developing a social network and have really liked the user experience designer we are using. He is an independent contractor and we are paying him a good hourly rate. We won't be able to bring him on as an employee and pay him a salary until we get angel money hopefully shortly after we launch. What is the usual way to incentivize a person like this to stay on the team? Can I give him stock options even though there is no stock option plan? Should I give him restricted stock? Any sense of how much I should give? He is an independent contractor so technically I could let him go tomorrow and find someone good to replace him, so I think I have quite a bit of leverage. But I want him to be happy and want to stick around. Thanks. To be clear, the idea is not to threaten to terminate his independent contractor agreement if he doesn't come on as an employee. That's ridiculous. The question is what would we need to do to make this guy want to stay with us.

Criteria for approval of Online options trading? Currently I have a brokerage account with E*Trade, but I am restricted to only buying/selling stocks and selling covered calls. I was wondering why all online brokers don't allow people to buy puts/ calls from the start since the maximum the investor can lose is the premium (defined risk). Right now I'm a college student so I don't have a constant stream of income but I am willing to speculate with the money I do have. I also feel I have a higher level of understanding regarding options compared to other traders (I can calculate option price using BS formula, simulate stock prices via lognormal distribution, know the put-call parity, etc. since I'm studying for the actuarial exams). MY main question is: what do you think are the minimum requirements to have options trading enabled on an account. All the questions on the form have to do with what your current income is, you net worth, liquid net worth, etc. The most information about opions it asks is: have you traded options before? I feel like this is a pretty stupid way to get approval...

What is the meaning of the following statement on Scottrade regarding Money Direct Funding? "For the first three business days, clients will be restricted to purchase only marginable securities priced at or above $4.00 per share (No options or non-marginable securities)." Does this mean that for 3 days: A) I can't buy any stock less than $4.00? B) I can only buy that stock with margin? C) Does this occur every time I deposit money into Scottrade, or only the first time? Thank You!

After seeing the latest John McCain Video do you feel that deregulation is a good thing? Watch the video. http://vodpod.com/watch/1061207-keating-... I worked for United Airlines for 35 years. During the last 15 years of my employment UAL threatened to send our jobs overseas. Deregulation gave them the power to do this. Because of that the unions countered with becoming an employee owned company. The ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program) provided that we take no raise in wages or benefits but accept stock instead. For twelve years the company would show more profits than any time in its history. After 911 however, things changed. United filed bankruptcy. United threatened us into retiring threatening that they planned to scrap our medical if we didn't retire by July 1st, 2003. As my wife is disabled we couldn't risk loosing the medical. After retirement, United through bankruptcy dumped our retirement on the Government. The PBGC or Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp, was set up to insure pensions in this country and make sure that profitable companies funded retirement plans. We found out that they failed to do that. While the Companies were making huge profits and giving out bonuses to management as well as stock options and golden parachutes, they failed to collect monies for the retirement. . This meant our retirement was cut by 20 percent I originally owner $374,000 in employee stock. The company bankrupted on that an paid me $1374.23. Shortly after coming out of Bankruptcy this is what showed up in the news paper. It is the same gread that you saw in the Lehman Brothers hearings in congress today. Here is what the DEREGULATED airline did to me. You can’t give corporate Execs unbridled Greed. CHICAGO (AP) ― United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton could receive stock and options worth $15 million, base pay of more than $600,000 annually and a bonus that could double his salary when the carrier emerges from bankruptcy next month, according to company documents. Tilton would get 545,000 restricted shares and 822,000 options, or just more than 1 percent of the $1.9 billion in equity United intends to issue, if a bankruptcy judge approves. Overall, United plans to set aside 8 percent of the equity it plans to issue -- at a value of around $152 million -- for about 400 salaried and management employees. They should all go to Prison. Join us for real change.

Scottrade Day Trading Restriction- Stock Market? Alright well I have a Margin account with Scottrade and recently violated the 3 day trade in a 5 day period rule. This was my first offense and they said I am going to be restricted from Margin for 90 days. I need this margin, so what are my options. Should I open another account with Scottrade? Is that allowed? Or should I transfer to another broker? Any suggestions?

planning to roll 401k into ira,whats the best out there for trading stocks short term? i can keep plan where its at but restricted to switching around between their funds with no stock buying ability,i like day trading on paper and want this option for real thru ira..anyone doing this and with whom?

Was and is this the America you and your ancestors fought/fight for ? August 30, 2005: 12:24 PM EDT By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN/Money senior writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – If sky-high executive pay at publicly traded companies gives you vertigo, you might want to read this sitting down. In 2004, the ratio of average CEO pay to the average pay of a production (i.e., non-management) worker was 431-to-1, up from 301-to-1 in 2003, according to "Executive Excess," an annual report released Tuesday by the liberal research groups United for a Fair Economy and the Institute for Policy Studies. That's not the highest ever. In 2001, the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay hit a peak of 525-to-1. Still, it's quite a leap year over year, and it ranks on the high end historically. In 1990, for instance, CEOs made about 107 times more than the average worker, while in 1982, the average CEO made only 42 times more. The cumulative pay of the top 10 highest paid CEOs in the past 15 years totaled $11.7 billion. And though the specific individuals in each of those annual top 10 lists changed year to year, many bosses did pretty well throughout the entire period. Citigroup's Sandy Weill, for example, has made $1.1 billion since 1990. "Pay" in this instance refers to total compensation – including salary, bonuses, restricted stock awards, payouts on long-term incentives and the value of options exercised during the year. The report also compares the growth in average CEO pay – which was $11.8 million in 2004 – to the growth in the minimum wage. Had the minimum wage risen as fast as CEO compensation since 1990, the researchers calculated, it would now be $23.03 an hour instead of just $5.15. And the average production worker would be making $110,126 a year instead of $27,460 http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/26/news/economy/ceo_pay/ --------------------------------------- Most people will have read the recent reports of how Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has had his personal net worth soar over 100 billion dollars and then drop down to 55 billion. He certainly knows how to make (and lose) money. (Note: This article was written in 1998, Bill's Fortunes have dropped a touch since then.) Consider that he made this money in the 25 years or so since Microsoft was founded in 1975. If you presume that he has worked 14 hours a day on every business day of the year since then, that means he's been making money at a staggering million dollars per hour, around $300 per second. http://www.templetons.com/brad/billg.html ----------------------------------- About one-third of the adult homeless population have served their country in the Armed Services. Current population estimates suggest that about 154,000 veterans (male and female) are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year. Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of their poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and dismal living conditions in cheap hotels or in overcrowded or substandard housing. http://www1.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=1 1. What is The Carlyle Group? The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $91.5 billion of assets under management committed to 66 funds as of September 30, 2008. Carlyle invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services and telecommunications & media. Since 1987, the firm has invested $52.7 billion of equity in 866 transactions for a total purchase price of approximately $225 billion. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1000 people in 21 countries. In the aggregate, Carlyle portfolio companies have more than $109 billion in revenue and employ more than 415,000 people around the world. http://www.carlyle.com/Company/item1678.html --------------------------------- By Bob Willis Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week rose more than forecast, signaling companies stepped up the pace of firings at the start of the year. Initial jobless claims jumped by 54,000 to 524,000 in the week that ended Jan. 10, from a revised 470,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The total number of people collecting benefits decreased from a 26-year high. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aWEkoFNXb3.E&refer=us ----------------------------------------------------- The estimated population of the United States is 305,466,894 so each citizen's share of this debt is $34,768.32. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ It is believed President-elect Obama's inauguration will be the costliest in history — around $50 million — despite the recession. President Bush has declared a state of emergency to free up federal funds to help the district cop

WILL SOMEONE DO ME THE BIGGEST FAVOUR EVER? Please could someone summarise these paragraphs to make it shorter. I will make it a best answer and i will answer your questions back to the fullest of my ability?PLEASE!! But Staggs may have made his most important statement about the company without saying a word, observers say. He sold 75,000 Disney shares for $1.9 million, or about $25.38 per share on average. The insider sales were the first at the company since September, when Staggs sold $2.6 million in shares through a selling plan he had adopted. Staggs now holds about 200,000 shares, and options for about 1.8 million shares. Together these holdings represent less than 1% of Disney's outstanding shares. Staggs' sales have tended to encounter falls in Disney's stock price, according to Thomson Reuters. The last 12 times Staggs has sold, shares have fallen about 8% in the following six months. Thomson rates Disney a three out of 10 in regards to insider opinion (measured by buying and selling), with 10 being the most obstinate. Jason Raznick, vice president at StreetInsider.com, says Staggs' sale is bad news for the company's stock. "I would not want to be a buyer of Disney when the CFO is selling such a large percentage of his holdings," Raznick wrote in an e-mailed response to questions. "If investors have enjoyed the recent run in Disney, I'd join the CFO and take some of my position off." Disney stock increased 12% after the company released better-than-expected second-quarter earnings after the market closed. ESPN helped support the company despite a difficult environment for advertising. The company's cable programming accounted for 75% of operating income, despite accounting for only 27% of revenue, according to Wunderlich Securities analysts who upgraded the company to Hold from Sell after the announcement. But the company has suffered from poor showings at the box office and weak DVD sales. And it had to offer large discounts to entice tourists to its theme parks, though attendance at the parks was low, per-capita spending was down 6% from the year before. Staggs has worked his way up the ranks at Disney since joining as a manager of strategic planning in 1990. He worked on the company's gain of Pixar and ABC and has focused on cutting costs as the economy has soured. "A number of them represent temporary measures in response to the downturn, but many of them are structural and, therefore, more permanent changes to our cost base," he said. Staggs signed a new contract in 2008 that included an "inducement" of 250,000 restricted stock units that vest in 2013. He earned $9.2 million in total compensation for 2008, including a $4.1 million bonus. One company benefit offered to Staggs and two other top executives has upset some shareholders. Disney has a Family Income Assurance Plan that entitles family members of executives who die to three years' worth of the executive's salary (though the family would get 75% and 50%, respectively, in the second and third year). Detractors call the plan a "golden coffin" -- a representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees told shareholders at the company's annual meeting in March that "it's time to drive the nail into Disney's golden coffin."

I own a few stocks that pay dividends, however, I own them through Scottrade.......Do I still get dividends? Do I still receive dividends when they are paid out even though I own my stocks through Scottrade? Does it just come in money form or does the amount of shares I own automatically increase? If I am being restricted from receiving dividends then why am I using Scottrade and how do I purchase stocks and receive the dividends on those well paying stocks? Are there options that are as cheap as Scottrade ($7 a transactions)? If you can answer any of the questions then please help. Thank you.

Why would Obama consider a salary cap? It didn't work for Clinton and it won't work now. It will however run talent to other countries. What is the adage about repeating history? 1. Capping CEO pay This isn't a new concept. In 1993, then President Bill Clinton signed a law restricting the tax deductibility of executive pay to $1,000,000 effectively giving those in that stratospheric pay range a huge incentive to find other means of compensation. Enter the creative mind of the financial world. People were given more perks that got around the cap - giving them bonuses in stock when they hit certain goals. This is where stock options really hit their stride - and, thanks to the bull stock market of the 1990s, made everybody far wealthier than they would have been using the old pay structure. So, the last time the government got involved in CEO pay, we got fabulously wealthy CEOs, and now we don't like it. See what I mean about unintended consequences? http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/salary_caps/

Please help with this accounting homework? 1. The basic limitations associated with ratio analysis include a. the lack of comparability among firms in a given industry. b. the use of estimated items in accounting. c. the use of historical costs in accounting. d. all of these. The major difference between convertible debt and stock warrants is that upon exercise of the warrants a. the stock is held by the company for a defined period of time before they are issued to the warrant holder. b. the holder has to pay a certain amount of cash to obtain the shares. c. the stock involved is restricted and can only be sold by the recipient after a set period of time. d. no paid-in capital in excess of par can be a part of the transaction. Please help by choicing the option. Thanks.

questions about TDameritrade day trading? i heard that most trading accounts with 25k are not restricted by the 3 day transaction time after the sale of a stock since if an account has more than 25k it would qualify as a day trading account. how does that work? do you have to fill out some forms like margins/options etc? does tdameritrade do that as well? cuz i heard that scottrade gives u ur money back immediately if u have over 25k another question i have is the fees said its 9.99 per trade... "Orders executed in multiple lots on the same trading day will be charged a single commission. When an order is partially executed over multiple trading days, the order is subject to a separate commission charge for each trading day." what does it mean by multiple lots? does it mean if i buy 100 shares of abc and another 100 shares of abc do i pay 9.99 or do i pay 19.98? thx for any clarification

Enron's LJM Special Purpose Entity question...? Enron had a special purpose entity called LJM which it used to hide enrons debt off the balance sheet by buying its poorly performing stocks i understand this part because it is pretty simple the part i am having trouble with is how they used Enron's stock as collateral, this is an excerpt about LJM taken from Wikipedia that i dont understand can someone explain this to me In March 1998, Enron invested $10 million for 5.4 million shares of Rhythms NetConnections, a then private broadband provider. After Rhythm went public, shares skyrocketed and Enron found itself with $300 million worth of Rhythm stock in May 1999. However, a lock-up agreement forced Enron to hold its shares until the end of 1999. Owing to Enron's mark-to-market policy, Skilling's worries about Rhythm's volatility led to LJM1 carrying forth a convoluted transaction. First, Enron transferred with severe locking restrictions 3.4 million shares of Enron stock worth $276 million at the time to LJM1 at a reduced price of $168 million. Then, LJM1 capitalized one of its subsidiaries, LJM Swap-Sub, with $80 million of its restricted shares and $3.75 million in cash. Finally, Swap-Sub placed a put option on 5.4 million shares of Rhythms stock owned by Enron. Under the option, Enron could require Swap-Sub to purchase the shares in June 2004 at $56 a share. Hence, Enron's stock price was now tied to Rhythms' stock price. If Enron's stock did well and Rhythms' sank, then Swap-Sub could reimburse Enron using its Enron shares and provide Enron a profit. More importantly, the deal allowed Enron to use this "trapped" value of the Rhythm put option to bolster its income statement and keep its stock price inflated.

Sabres management's bad poker face? The Sabres brass is crying about the Oilers doing this to poor old them like a bunch of incompetent lttle cry babies. It is part of the rules, the option is there for all teams to make runs at restricted FA's, not just the Oilers. Now they are turning it into a personal vandetta, what a joke. They are quickly being the laughing stock of the NHL and I love seeing it unfold. Edmonton didn't even have an interest in Vanek for that money but the Sabres showed their poker face, Edmonton bluffed and the Sabres called. Pathetic. Now they want to whine and go on about how the next time the Oiler's have a big restricted FA they are going to offer him a big contract. Won't it be funny when the Oilers don't match and take their 4 first picks and stick them with another huge OVERPAID contract? Oh, the irony of dealing with morons. As Kevin Lowe said, it is a business. Also, this could have all been avoided if they were smart and locked up Vanek 2 weeks ago..... Like Florida did with Nathan Horton. 6 years at 24 million. They shelled out atleast an extra 20 million dollars on poor managemant and screwed themselves for years to come. So now what do they do? Blame Edmonton, it is their fault that they can't run a team is what they will want you to believe. They should look in the mirror if they want someone to blame. I also find it hilarious that the next few years are expected to be very strong drafts with a ton of future superstars coming along. They even say that one (John Tavares) is the next Crosby. I must say, what a bunch of incompentent babies. Something else that gets lost in this is what it does in terms of players going to arbritation, it gives them more money. They can go into their hearing with the Vanek contract in hand and say, if he is worth this, then I am worth this, driving up their value. Is this Edmonton's fault or Buffalo's fault? I can guarantee you that had Buffalo offered Vanek 7 years/35 million last week.... He would have been signed, sealed and delivered. Again, who's fault is that? Yeah, Vancouver whined too, that doesn't make it right. Also, Edmonton is small market AND, the restricted FA rule isn't just there for nothing. It is part of the CBA, any team can utilize it and Clarke and Lowe did it properly. Etiquette? This isn't a game of golf, it's a business, one that Sabres management obviously doesn't know how to manage. Also, to tell them they would match ANY offer is pure stupidity. 288-good point

Wall St. is done for! How else can I make money? I've been saving my money so that I can have a large sum to start with when I decided to invest in the stock market. I'm 19 and want to live a comfortable life when I transfer to a 4 year college in NYC. However I don't have a ton of money right now, and now my future plan might not be possible. What are some good ways for me to make a ton of cash within the next year? I'm open to more long term options if my given time limit is too restricting. Please note that I do not want to sell weed, or any drugs. Please make suggestions legit and legal.

Any brokerages accepting short orders on C, F or GM etc.? The put-call parity is significantly broken on F, GM, C etc. but my brokerage will not allow short orders on any of these (they are restricted at my brokerage), which is one of the steps needed to take advantage of this arbitrage situation. I suspect that almost no brokerage will allow short order – which is likely the reason the put-call parity (which the market should never allow to be broken this much …5 to 10% just one month out.) Does anyone know any brokerages accepting short orders on these stocks and one that I could get an option agreement (to short puts) opened quickly?

recent college grad 401k? Hi there, I'm a recent college grad and just started my first job. Part of my benefits pkg is the option to invest in a 401k. However, I am an auditor and as such I am restricted to investing in only nondescript funds (i cant pick stocks just low, mid high risk mutuals) my question is should I invest in the 401k, a type of IRA (help on which to invest in) or pay off my school loans with the extra money?

Scottrade - Money Direct Question? Does anybody use Scottrade and the money direct funding option? I used money direct for the first time to make a deposit into my account before the market closed this past friday(the funds were usable before the market closed), and I am wondering if anyone knows when the three day restriction period will be lifted? I have some penny stocks I would like to put a limit bid on before the market opens tomorrow, but as of right now my funds are still restricted and I am unable to place an order on stocks below $4.00. Does anyone have experience with this? I'm just wondering if perhaps this will count as the third business day and my funds will be available by midnight? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

NBA Mock Draft out of boredom...tell me what you think? Bam. 1. LA Clippers- Blake Griffin,PF, Oklahoma-Best player in the draft. Not much explanation needed. 2. Memphis-Hasheem Thabeet, C, UCONN- Rubio won't opt out if he does not go to a big market, so he would not want to come to memphis. Thabeet brings the defensive intensity that memphis needs. 3. Oklahoma City- James Harden, SG, AZ State- No center is here to pick at 3 and harden is arguably the best shooting guard in the draft. Sorry, but thabo is not the answer. 4. Sacramento- Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain- Arguably the most hyped player in the draft, Rubio is compared to pete maravich and jason kidd. Sacramento needs help at the point and building with a future star pg would be a great clutch for them. 5- Washington- Stephen Curry, SG, Davidson- People are probably saying "what the hell?", but hear me out. Recently, the knicks have hyped up stephen curry and curry has talked about his love for NY. As a result, many looked into curry and have recently become infatuated by him up to the point where many are saying that he could go as high as 3. As a result, Jordan Hill has fell. Hence, Curry as 5. 6- Minnesota- Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy- After his recent workouts, brandon jennings stock has sky rocketed due to his high intensity and athleticism, which didn't show through this past year in Italy. Kevin Ollie and Sebastian Telfair are obviously not the answers in minnesota, so he is a good pick for them. 7- Golden State- Tyreke Evans, SG, Memphis- Tyreke is a perfect pick here. He is an uptempo combo guard who fits the warriors system perfectly. They will need a guard considering jamal will be gone this off-season. Tyreke, Monta, and Morrow could be a scary combo in the future. Currently, his stock is slightly higher than Jrue Holiday's. 8- New York Knicks- Jordan Hill, PF, AZ. My knicks. I might get arguments as to why the knicks wouldn't take johnny flynn or Jrue Holiday here, but hear me out. Harrington will be gone after this year and we might trade Lee this off-season, so why not? He is an extremely solid power forward who could become the next chris bosh. Do we need a point guard? Yes. But donnie is currently tryign to "buy" late first roudn draft picks. This is a draft w/ extreme depth at the guard position. 9- Toronto-DeMar Derozan, SG, USC- DeMar is arguably the biggest boom or bust player in teh draft. He could be the next vince carter or the next adam morrison (i know, he's not an sg, but still, you get my point). They need a shooting guard though and he may be worth the risk at 9 b/c if he becomes the next VC, they can easily absord the blow if bosh chooses to leave in 2010. 10- Milwaukee- Johnny Flynn, PG, Syracuse- Two key players from Milwaukee are restricted free agents this year: Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva. With that said, you could go either way, but the next best power forward is probably earl clark, who does not have as high of a ceiling as Flynn. Ridnour’s contract is up next year as well and he will probably not be re-signed, while Mbah a Moute will be there for a bit, so Flynn seems like the best choice here, especially that many teams seem to love Sessions. 11- New Jersey- Jrue Holiday, PG/SG, UCLA- New Jersey has two needs: SG and PF. However, they are still very young at PF with Ryan Anderson and Yi, so I don’t think that they can possibly go power forward here, hence why Jrue is the pick. It’s rough for the Nets because he is a combo guard and any other true shooting guard would be a true reach here, so they may trade the pick but Jrue can still play the 2 position and could also provide some minutes when Devin is on the bench. 12- Charlotte- Gerald Henderson, SG/SF, Duke- Charlotte is another team w/ a solid starting lineup with very few holes. My pick is Gerald because he can play both the 2 and the 3. Raja is getting old and if Wallace gets hurt, radmanovic is not great, so I think that Gerald would be a solid role player for the bobcats. 13- Indiana- Jeff Teague, PG, Wake Forest- Jarret Jack is a restricted free agent this year and T.J. Ford has the option to opt out next year, so a point guard will probably be needed. Teague is the best point guard on the board and his extreme quickness has caused him to receive comparisons to players like Kevin Johnson. 14- Phoenix- James Johnson, SF, Wake Forest- The best small forward available with the exception of earl clark who is more of a combo forward as opposed to a true small forward. James could replace grant hill who will be a free agent this year and barnes will be gone as well. Therefore, they need a small forward here. 15-Detroit- Earl Clark, SF/PF, Louisville- Detroit will have two pressing needs this off-season: PF and Center. Rasheed is a free agent and may retire and McDyess is also a free agent, who is extremely old. Although AI is gone as well, Stuckey will replace him. Therefore, I feel that you need to go with the best big man availabl Alael----, sorry, your names too long to remember, but rubio's agent already said that he won't leave if memphis drafts him...

Is it not well known that facts and film do not always coincide? ? Thus well crafted perception and ground reality are not the same species. Being well on the way to defeating a 30+ year brutal, terrorist insurgency The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka will not cave to a war of rhetoric. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090202/usa/srilanka_unrest_us_senate Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar, having met both of you distinguished gentlemen, and taking the fleeting opportunity to speak of Sri Lanka in the course of other business that was being discussed; I pray that you will take a moment and truly analyze the situation at hand without reaching pre-packaged conclusions via media, terrorist organizations or their supporters. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090202/usa/srilanka_unrest_us_senate “Sri Lanka does not allow independent media free access to the island's conflict zone and to the camps housing those displaced civilians who have managed to flee the fighting.” Sri Lanka cannot guarantee the safety or well-being of reporters or aid workers in the conflict zone. Those that choose to operate in conflict theatres have already been denied access to leave by LTTE. These include UN aid workers and families, clergy, wounded civilians, aid convoys etc. As recently as one and a half weeks ago, LTTE elements were infringing into IDP camps and causing deaths and injury there. There is limited access as many areas are not as yet demined and open access prior to LTTE surrender creates opportunities for operatives to lay mines, create booby traps and as recently witnessed, hack civilians to death. That is why camps are currently a high security restricted zone. Now, if this level of security extended to years and years, I could understand international concern, but that is not the case. Furthermore, some of these same aid agencies and their affiliates are at a loss to explain what happened with previous aid funds for disaster relief. Situations exist that indicate those funds were greatly misappropriated and used to support terrorist activities instead of civilian populations. Seemingly, this has given rise to conflict between INGOs, NGOs, Media vs. Military. As through clearing operations, it has been discerned, that though there are many submarines, airplanes, transmission towers, stocks of arms, squandered relief supplies, purloined vehicles etc. there is naught housing for tsunami victims. There isn’t agricultural development of an expected scale. The schools, hospitals and large parts of infrastructure are maintained and developed by the government. http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=557289&category=Frontend&Country=SRI%20LANKA http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=557529&category=Frontend&Country=SRI%20LANKA The anti-corruption program didn’t gather dust. In fact the outcome of the investigation that found the opposition complicity was negated by these same parties. The FMM has been proved to be extraordinarily corrupt at its top levels, “USAID had categorized Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Free Media Movement (FMM) and Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) as implementing partners of the ACP.” The other 2 organizations I have not read about. “But nothing could be as revealing as the Auditor General faulting a mega-UNDP funded project to modernise parliament launched during the previous UNF administration.” The UNF is equivocal with the UNP. Furthermore, the public/private partnerships in corruption must be equally exposed for as I have noticed in my limited research the profit is not in the public sector but in the private cohort, the operational mechanisms have to change on both ends. Sri Lanka is in a unique situation, as she has lived through such a long term of conflict the media reports from 15 years to as many as 37 years. During the entire tenure of conflict Sri Lanka has maintained responsibility to its citizens for universal education, universal healthcare and scores of other benefits. War profiteering (many times extraordinarily corrupt) exists with any party that can wheedle their way into a conflict theatre. The level of corruption outlined in the following is staggering: “This was in response to severe criticism against INGOs including UN agencies by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa that the army hadn’t come across any new constructions in the liberated areas in the Vanni despite millions of US dollars spent by INGOs/NGOs. The Defence Secretary in media interviews, pointed out that new construction including underground facilities in the Vanni region had belonged to the LTTE.” http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/international/foreign-remittance-feeds-jaffna-homes-.aspx Expats are given many safe and legal options for sending money home for families and communities by the government as well as opportunities to invest in the growth and development of the nation. http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/15427 The Media has been showing old footage of conflict and attributing it t http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2009/February/opinion_February9.xml&section=opinion&col What to do about the chaos in Sri Lanka is being done. “Nimmi Gowrinathan, Director of South Asia Programs at Operation USA, is a doctoral candidate in political science  at UCLA. Tom Plate, syndicated Asia  columnist and author, taught at UCLA  for 14 years” Ms. Gowrinathan and Mr. Plate having (I assume) studied the conflict in Sri Lanka would know that the persons that they are attempting to raise funds for are the same persons who achieved office by threatening, coercing and murdering civilians in the East to gain such office. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090203/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankaunresttamils_20090203033943 Sri Lanka Tamils that have been segregated to the North and the East have faced hard times under LTTE rule for the past 30 years. As have all citizens of Sri Lanka due to the continual threats of suicide bombings, destruction of infrastructure, reduction of freedom due to terrorist activities, economic hardship and hate crimes perpetuated by the LTTE. More than 50% of Tamils have lived and continue to live in ethnically, culturally and economically diverse surrounds not in LTTE control. Successive governments of Sri Lanka have provided food, health care, medicine, education and various other benefits not only to a portion of their citizens but the entire population of our nation. care, medicine, education and various other benefits not only to a portion of their citizens but the entire population of our nation. Tamils as well as every other ethnic minority has held high office in the nation, had economic, educational and social opportunity. When queried most say that the lack they have experienced has come directly from the fascist, non-government regime of the LTTE-that has practiced ethnic cleansing, racial profiling, segregation hand-in-hand with their terroristic deeds. We are now learning that not only has the LTTE done this upon our shores but has forwarded unto others. “Not all Tamils support the Tigers and there are half a dozen Tamil political parties militantly opposed to the Tigers, who are now boxed into a small area in the island's northeast after losing much of their territory.” Tamil political parties are not boxed into a small area in the island’s northeast, Tamil civilians are not allowed to leave and reach safety by LTTE forces. http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090202_04 Each day there are more civilians that reach exit points but media does not choose to speak of these civilians that are grateful for “freedom at last” http://news.smashits.com/345427/Is-LTTE-39s-new-global-wing-chief-wanted-by-Interpol-.htm Then there are the endless series of hoaxes created by Pabraharakan, Nadesan et al. Followed by the reality of their message: Don't worry EELAM Brothers & Sisters, we only made a TACTICAL withdrawal from Visuamadu. Soon we will counterattack to drive the hated Sinhala Army back to Vavuniya. We have now trained our OLD PARENTS as Black Tiger SUICIDE BOMBERS to blow up Army tanks. We will soon occupy Colombo. If we lose the Wanni, we will TACTICALLY withdraw to the Sea. If we lose at Sea, we will fight on from Tamil Nadu. We will force our Tamil Nadu brothers & sisters to DIE for us. We will push the hated NON-TAMIL INDIANS out of our Tamil Nadu. It is just a matter of time before we have EELAMS EVERYWHERE. We TAMILS are the chosen MASTER RACE...we are SUPER INTELLIGENT...we are INVINCIBLE...retreat is always only TACTICAL! The fight will go on from our overseas EUROPEAN homelands if Tamil Nadu is occupied by the ARYAN Indian Govt. We will NEVER GIVE UP! In fact, we will fight until not one Tamil is left alive! Diaspora brothers...keep sending us MORE MONEY. Bank Balance is LOW; Where did the money GO? Need MOR By Lingam 2/1/2009 8:22:00 AM Lingam is a well known nome de guerre of the LTTE arms running/fund raising arm. Above and beyond that many of the old faithful of the LTTE that have been directing operations from abroad and vociferously supporting LTTE tactics and methodology as well as raising funds for illegal activities have suddenly in the last two weeks (or less) turned a leaf and consider themselves no longer LTTE representatives but the voice of Sri Lanka Tamils. After thirty years of creating, supporting and perpetuating terroristic activities that have killed innocents, stolen identities, gravely disrupted legitimate political and economic activity, assassinated world leaders and floated one hoax after another it would be very understandable that it would take more than 14 days or 14 months of a paradigm change to be considered a legitimate source for social, political, economic or educational progress in Sri Lanka. Now, according to the above message from Lingam, this “super-smart, Tamil “Master Race” that throws out the accusation of genocide is actually committing it, perpetrating it and has done so by segregation, exclusion, identity theft and forcing people into anonymity. “We will force our Tamil Nadu brothers & sisters to DIE for us. We will push the hated NON-TAMIL INDIANS out of our Tamil Nadu. It is just a matter of time before we have EELAMS EVERYWHERE “In Sri Lanka we take these threats very seriously for we know the peril of not doing so. Prior to reading the following link let it suffice to say that many LTTE supporters and operatives were given positions in LTTE controlled areas. Many of those people still remain and the government has difficulty in removing them from office because allegations of racism, discrimination etc. are then levied against government. http://www.colombopage.com/archive_09/February271646RA.html http://www.colombopage.com/archive_09/February2154907RA.html The ground situation is that the government has dispatched over 8000 MT of essential food items for civilians in the last 12 months. Further reality is that store after store has been discovered of items purloined for the exclusive use of LTTE. I thank you kindly for your time and would be very happy to speak to both of you in reference to the situation in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Consul in Los Angeles has my contact information. Having met quite a variety of world leaders. presidents, kings and dignitaries – I must say that Sri Lanka is very fortunate to have the leadership of President Rajapaksa at this juncture. I do hope that if you have not had the pleasure – that the opportunity will present for you to speak with him. We are very proud to celebrate the occasion of our 61st anniversary of independence, http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=39517 This is the latest news from the front including the discovery of macabre torture chambers and recounting from civilians escaping the LTTE as to their desperate 11th hour tactics in forcible recruitment. Tigers Supply Weapons to Besieged Civilians to Fight Troops:: [Tuesday, February 3, 2009, 06:01 pm SL Time] Last & Seventh LTTE Airstrip Falls into Army Hands:: [Tuesday, February 3, 2009, 05:59 pm SL Time] * LTTE’s Visuamadu ‘Auschwitz’ Uncovered:: [Tuesday, February 3, 2009, 05:55 pm SL Time] * Timely Detection by 57 Division Troops Prevents LTTE-Planned Disaster:: [Sunday, February 1, 2009, 03:13 pm SL Time]