Ex-SEC leaders challenge Cox's interactive data initiative
TWO influential US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alumni have raised concerns that broadening the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) to non-financial information will increase disclosure costs, raise difficult legal liability issues, and create burdens on companies that are “formidable in the extreme.” Former SEC commissioner and Stanford Law School professor Joseph Grundfest, [...]
As XBRL mandate looms, SEC seeks urgent help with software
AS THE US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considers new rules to require companies to begin filing their documents in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), it has been having trouble finding software experts who can help make those filings usable to investors. The commission put out a pressing call in June for contractors to help [...]
No changes please, we're PR Newswire's Disclosure Advisory Board
PR NEWSWIRE has trotted out its Disclosure Advisory Board (DAB) to say that they do not see companies changing their disclosure practices any time soon in response to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent guidance for company websites. They have issued a statement that basically calls for companies to continue to use the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Innovator: zu.com communications inc.
IR Web Report’s Q&As are unpaid profiles of service providers that we believe are doing interesting and innovative work in the area of online investor relations and stakeholder communications. If you would like your firm featured in a Q&A, we invite you to contact us using our general email inbox. Firm name: zu.com communications inc. [...]
Associations put online IR in spotlight
THE North American investor relations associations appear to be putting web-based disclosure on the front burner as the Internet moves to center stage and securities regulators increasingly rely on corporate websites to deliver information to investors. Earlier this week, Jeff Morgan, the new President and CEO of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), called to [...]
Critical comments boost web credibility
KEVIN Oakley is chewing me out for my post about Business Wire (BW) fumbling an error on their blog. He figured out that one reason I posted that piece was to take a dig at BW because they won’t run my comments on their blog. He is right that I used the post to poke [...]
American Boomers, 60+ Generation Active Web Users
By IR Web Report Staff HALF of all Americans over age 60 use the Internet, as do more than 80 percent of Baby Boomers, according to research from Focalyst, a market research and consulting firm focused exclusively on Baby Boomers and older consumers. Focalyst’s Online Activity Report, which is based on a survey of more [...]