BGC proves notice-and-access releases work
BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP), a small-cap inter-dealer broker of financial instruments, yesterday announced its earnings using the notice-and-access news release method we have been advocating for several years. Despite heated hand-waving by one big PR wire service — and some hand-wringing by ourselves — the earnings release process went off without a hitch, even [...]

NYSE to change policy on websites for disclosure
The New York Stock Exchange is set to change its antiquated “timely alert policy” to bring it in line with the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) guidance for using corporate websites to satisfy Regulation FD.
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 [...]
What were regulators thinking?
WE SEE a lot of stupid things in the world of public company disclosure, but few are as dumb as the “Annual Information Update” required by European regulators. Do a search of Google for “Annual Information Update” and you’ll see what we mean. Look at this one via Market Wire and RNS, the “company news [...]
NYSE in disclosure dark ages
WHAT year is it? If you spend your life with your head buried in the New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) Listed Company Manual, you might be in a 10-year time warp. Last week, the NYSE issued reminder letters to its listed companies about their disclosure obligations this annual meeting season. Those letters, one for U.S. [...]
SEC assessing blogs for disclosure, says Cox
By Dominic Jones THE U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is continuing to weigh whether to allow companies to use website and blog postings instead of news releases for investor disclosure. Chairman Christopher Cox told a Reuters Regulation Summit in Washington that the dissemination requirements for Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg. FD) that were passed more [...]
Cox’s blog post gets 10x more media mentions than official release
Update: Please see the comments by Dave Armon, COO of PR Newswire at the end of this post. Simon Phipps, Sun Microsystems’ Chief Open Source Officer, has also commented. While neither Simon nor I agree with Dave’s position, his willingness to take us on in such a public forum is a credit to him and [...]
PR Newswire should give Heineken’s money back
THIS kind of thing shouldn’t happen — and companies need to stand up and start demanding that it stop. I’ve pasted a screenshot below of a news release today by Heineken N.V. inviting investors to listen in on an investor presentation it’s giving in New York. The company has done the right thing for its [...]
Nasdaq on collision course with IR vendors
THE Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. appears ready to wrap the cost of investor relations websites and newswire services into its annual listing fees — putting it on a collision course with many of its listed companies’ current service providers. In a filing with the SEC yesterday, the stock exchange said its fees would rise about [...]