The Securities and Exchange Commission appears to have taken a softer stand on how it imposes fines on corporate wrong-doers. While insisting that the SEC hasn't "manufactured anything new," SEC Chairman Christopher Cox and Linda Thomsen, the agency's director of enforcement, said at a press conference that new standards will determine the penalty amount. Among them: whether a corporation benefited from punishable activity, how much harm was done to innocent parties, the level of complicity in the action, the level of intent by the wrongdoers, internal reforms at a corporation, willingness to cooperate with investigators and how difficult it was to detect the misconduct. Based on these criteria, it will be possible to have a case in which no penalty will be imposed – which should let shareholders, who often bear the brunt of the fines – breathe a sigh of relief.