The Securities and Exchange Commission may release as soon as the beginning of August guidelines detailing when it is permissible to back date stock options, according to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. Cox said the agency would unveil the new rules at around the time it votes on regulations for government disclosure about executive compensation. Meanwhile, the SEC reportedly is close to filing the first sets of civil charges against U.S. companies being investigated for stock-options timing. About the scandal, Cox told reporters, “For some time now it’s been abundantly clear that these were not episodic instances, but rather there were widespread problems, certainly during the 1990s.”
