OTHER NEWS - June 9, 1994

Accounting Group Delays Stock Option Rule: Stock option-granting companies from California to New Jersey breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Financial Accounting Standards Board opted not to require companies to disclose in 1994 financial reports just how much their stock options cost them. The accounting industry’s main rule-making body still wants to force companies to disclose the cost of granting stock options to executives and other employees. However, hundreds of companies objected to the change, saying they did not believe current valuation methods accurately reflected the cost of executive stock options. The board, which is mainly concerned with making sure financial statements accurately reflect companies’ health, says it will continue to study the issue. A final ruling is not expected until early 1995.