Why full-text press releases are now your enemy
UPDATE: Limelight Networks has responded to this article in the comments below. US INVESTOR relations departments that continue to issue full-text press releases are not only wasting their shareholders’ money, they’re also shooting themselves in the foot by ensuring that their websites will fail to meet “recognized channel” status under the SEC’s new guidance for [...]
Securities lawyers should roll up their Web sleeves
EVER since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its new guidance for company websites, corporate lawyers seem to have been struggling to see the very real opportunities it offers their clients. Most of the law firm memos on the topic have been little more than plain summaries of the interpretive release itself, with [...]
SEC greenlights "notice-and-access" news releases
THE US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new guidance for company websites gives investor relations departments an opportunity to cut their disclosure costs and boost traffic to their websites by using “notice-and-access” news releases for Regulation FD. Although the SEC’s guidance goes so far as to say that “some companies” may not need to use [...]
SEC survey a reality check on retail investor web use
A SURVEY published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has found that retail investors rely heavily on financial advisors for their investment decisions and rarely use the SEC’s website or blogs for investment information. The survey found that while 51% of investors said their financial advisors or brokers were their “main source” of [...]
In proxy voting messes, Broadridge a common denominator
AN ADMISSION from Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BR) that a basic system glitch caused it to undercount votes against directors in Yahoo! Inc.’s contentious annual meeting is just the latest in a string of recent problems where the company has been implicated. Questions were raised about the outcome of the Yahoo! meeting — perhaps the [...]
SEC's new guidance for websites and blogs posted
THE US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published its 47-page interpretive release that explains how companies can use their websites and blogs to meet its requirements for public disclosure under Regulation FD. Here’s a Scribd version of the complete release, which can also be downloaded in PDF from the SEC’s website. See my initial [...]
SEC OKs websites and blogs for Reg. FD
UNDER certain circumstances, companies can rely on their websites and blogs to meet the public disclosure requirements under Regulation FD, according to new guidance unanimously approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission today. The move is significant as it could cut disclosure costs for many companies that today use paid PR wire services to [...]
Sell-side research reports now in XBRL
NEW YORK-based broker Auerbach Grayson & Company, Inc., which specializes in providing global trade execution and research to leading US institutional investors, is providing its clients with a huge global library of equity research reports in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format. The new offering, which the brokerage is offering at no charge to its [...]
SEC's new guidance for websites imminent
THE US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is slated to consider publishing long-awaited new guidance governing how companies can use their websites to communicate with investors. According to a notice, the commission will meet Wednesday to consider publishing the “interpretive release” that is expected to address a number of important issues that could set precedents [...]
The downside of suing stock analysts
BANKATLANTIC Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BBX) is embarking on a risky strategy by suing a veteran bank analyst for defamation and negligence after he included the company in a research report that ranked 107 U.S. financial institutions on the chances of them going bust. Yesterday, the bank holding company filed a lawsuit in the state court for [...]
At Google Finance, Google's profit miss not news
BIZARRE is the only way to describe the screenshot below of Google Finance’s homepage this morning — the day after the search giant reported earnings that missed analyst forecasts and sent its shares tumbling more than 7% in after-hours trading. By all accounts, Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) earnings miss was big news. It is on the [...]
"Super IRO" DiRaimo joins firm, stock soars*
WHILE it’s pure coincidence, I had to smile when I saw this one-day chart showing a 4% gain in Jack in the Box Inc.’s (NYSE:JBX) stock immediately after the firm announced yesterday that it has hired four-time IR Magazine Award winner Carol DiRaimo. According to the news release, she is assuming the investor relations responsibilities [...]
IROs, not regulators should quash rumors
THERE is a growing chorus of calls for regulatory action in the United States against traders who spread false rumors to manipulate stock prices, but I think at least half of the problem lies with companies themselves — and poor investor relations practices in particular. In today’s New York Times, Dealbook writer Andrew Ross Sorkin [...]
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