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In the wake of the market collapse, a number of lawsuits are being filed by participants arguing that fiduciaries of their 401(k) plans or, less often, ESOPs should have removed company stock as an investment option and/or notified employees of impending financial problems.

According to a Fiduciary Counselors compilation of lawsuits involving employer stock, the 53 cases filed between since the late 1990s have resulted in approximately $1.47 billion in judgments and settlements.

Bills to tie tax deductions to expensing stock options were reintroduced in both Houses by their 2002 sponsors. The "Ending to Double Standard for Stock Options Act" was introduced in the House by Pete Stark (D-CA) and in the Senate by John McCain (R-AZ) and Carl Levin(D-AZ).

With the recent fall in the stock market, the issue of stock option repricing has become a hot topic in many companies.

A "Sense of the Senate" resolution in the Senate version called for hearings on whether companies should be allowed to deduct the spread on stock options when they are exercised if the company does not account for stock option costs on its income statement.

In an Op-Ed in the Manila Times, Boyet Murcia argues that although the legal structures are in place for employee ownership in the Philippines, very few companies

Santa Clara University's Certified Equity Professional Institute (CEPI) released a draft of its newest publication on guidance, procedures, and systems (GPS) for stock options and invites comments.

According to an article in the Business Standard, information technology companies granted 61% of all stock options in India in 2003, but as other sectors star

An IRS pilot program surveying employer compliance indicates that stock options and executive equity compensation are likely to be high up on future IRS audit target lists.

New research by Fidelity Investments finds that employees are less likely to borrow against their 401(k) plans when companies also offer an employee stock purchase plan, and when they do, they tend to borrow less.