Firms Protest Bush Trade Disclosure Plan

President Bush’s plan to force faster disclosure of insider stock trades is drawing opposition from Microsoft Corp., Merrill Lynch & Co. and dozens of other U.S. companies as the president’s own missed deadlines on stock sales a decade ago have come under criticism.

The corporations protested a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal, initiated by Bush, that would require executives to disclose within as little as two days when they trade company stock or receive company loans.

Under current rules, the deadline for reporting most trades can be as long as 40 days.

The two-day reporting requirement “may leave many companies with too little time to comply and result in violations of the rule,” a Merrill lawyer wrote to the SEC.