Expensing Isn\u27t the Only Option: Alternatives to the FASB\u27s Stock Option Expensing Proposal

This paper reviews the arguments for and against the Financial Accounting Standard Board\u27s (FASB) proposal to require that corporations expense options. It identifies two major goals of the proposed rule -- 1) clarity in financial statements and 2) a reduction of corporate fraud by removing the incentive of options. To address these two goals, I adopt a framework of Information Reforms v. Rules of the Game Reforms. The article starts with a history of FASB Statement No. 123 Accounting for Stock-based Compensation and also analyzes the Congressional legislation that attempts to block the measure, the Stock Option Accounting Reform Act. I review the opinions of leading economists on the accuracy of the option valuation schemes advocated by the FASB and conclude that the models are too easily manipulated to advance the FASB goals of clarity in accounting. I conclude that neither the FASB proposed rule nor the Congressional legislation advances the goal of clarity in financial statements. The article suggests alternative measures that would better serve the interests of investors. I argue that a more accurate solution to the expense problem would be to adopt the IRS method for valuing stock options -- intrinsic value at date of exercise. This accounting method tracks the cash flow out of the corporation since it reflects either an actual repurchase of shares issued by the company or a lost opportunity cost. In addition, I propose that corporations be required to only use fully diluted, in-the-money capitalization when computing EPS. This measure would address the FASB\u27s concerns that the employee is given a valuable equity instrument at date of grant without there being a reflection in the company\u27s financials. Finally, I review the literature that analyzes the impact of the FASB proposal on companies and the economy as a whole. The data shows that the FASB measure will not result in a reduction of corporate accounting fraud and the measure will result in a loss of productivity among American firms that use options to incentivize workers. I argue that the FASB proposed rule should be considered independent of considerations such as a reduction in fraud. The measure should solely be considered as an Information Reform, which by its nature is meant to improve the clarity of information rather than modify behavior. Modifying the behavior of executives who commit fraud or boards of directors who make large option grants requires more fundamental Rules of the Game Reforms rather than Information Reforms. Typical Rules of the Game Reforms would shift the power from management and the Board of Directors to shareholders and might include restrictions on the sale of executive stock so as to better align the interests of shareholders and employees

Prognostic impact of acute pulmonary triggers in patients with Takotsubo syndrome : new insights from the International Takotsubo Registry

© 2021 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.Aims: Acute pulmonary disorders are known physical triggers of takotsubo syndrome (TTS). This study aimed to investigate prevalence of acute pulmonary triggers in patients with TTS and their impact on outcomes. Methods and results: Patients with TTS were enrolled from the International Takotsubo Registry and screened for triggering factors and comorbidities. Patients were categorized into three groups (acute pulmonary trigger, chronic lung disease, and no lung disease) to compare clinical characteristics and outcomes. Of the 1670 included patients with TTS, 123 (7%) were identified with an acute pulmonary trigger, and 194 (12%) had a known history of chronic lung disease. The incidence of cardiogenic shock was highest in patients with an acute pulmonary trigger compared with those with chronic lung disease or without lung disease (17% vs. 10% vs. 9%, P = 0.017). In-hospital mortality was also higher in patients with an acute pulmonary trigger than in the other two groups, although not significantly (5.7% vs. 1.5% vs. 4.2%, P = 0.13). Survival analysis demonstrated that patients with an acute pulmonary trigger had the worst long-term outcome (P = 0.002). The presence of an acute pulmonary trigger was independently associated with worse long-term mortality (hazard ratio 2.12, 95% confidence interval 1.33-3.38; P = 0.002). Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that TTS is related to acute pulmonary triggers in 7% of all TTS patients, which accounts for 21% of patients with physical triggers. The presence of acute pulmonary trigger is associated with a severe in-hospital course and a worse long-term outcome.C. T. has been supported by the H.H. Sheikh Khalifa binHamad Al-Thani Research Programme and the Swiss HeartFoundation. The InterTAK Registry is supported by the BissDavies Charitable Trust. L. S. M. has been supported by EUHORIZON 2020(SILICOFCM ID777204)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clinical correlates and prognostic impact of neurologic disorders in Takotsubo syndrome

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Cardiac alterations are frequently observed after acute neurological disorders. Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) represents an acute heart failure syndrome and is increasingly recognized as part of the spectrum of cardiac complications observed after neurological disorders. A systematic investigation of TTS patients with neurological disorders has not been conducted yet. The aim of the study was to expand insights regarding neurological disease entities triggering TTS and to investigate the clinical profile and outcomes of TTS patients after primary neurological disorders. The International Takotsubo Registry is an observational multicenter collaborative effort of 45 centers in 14 countries (ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT01947621). All patients in the registry fulfilled International Takotsubo Diagnostic Criteria. For the present study, patients were included if complete information on acute neurological disorders were available. 2402 patients in whom complete information on acute neurological status were available were analyzed. In 161 patients (6.7%) an acute neurological disorder was identified as the preceding triggering factor. The most common neurological disorders were seizures, intracranial hemorrhage, and ischemic stroke. Time from neurological symptoms to TTS diagnosis was ≤ 2 days in 87.3% of cases. TTS patients with neurological disorders were younger, had a lower female predominance, fewer cardiac symptoms, lower left ventricular ejection fraction, and higher levels of cardiac biomarkers. TTS patients with neurological disorders had a 3.2-fold increased odds of in-hospital mortality compared to TTS patients without neurological disorders. In this large-scale study, 1 out of 15 TTS patients had an acute neurological condition as the underlying triggering factor. Our data emphasize that a wide spectrum of neurological diseases ranging from benign to life-threatening encompass TTS. The high rates of adverse events highlight the need for clinical awareness.The International Takotsubo Registry was supported by the Biss Davies Charitable Trust. Dr. Scheitz has been supported by the Corona Foundation. Dr. Templin has been supported by the H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani Research Programme and the Swiss Heart Foundation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species‐level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity

The Government Shareholder: Regulating Public Ownership of Private Enterprise

While the federal bailouts and stimulus packages are credited with saving the economy from systematic risk, the ownership by the government of large stakes in private enterprise creates numerous legal, ethical and policy issues. Can the government effectively and ethically manage a portfolio of companies as a shareholder when it is also charged with regulating those same companies? To what extent does the government mandate to pursue the public good interfere with corporate duties to maximize shareholder value? Will the expectation of government bailouts lead to excessive moral hazards? Has a political economy—in which entrepreneurial capitalism plays a central role—been irrevocably harmed when the government bails out inefficient firms? This Article analyzes the role of the government as a shareholder in private enterprise and proposes a set of rules and norms to govern the government as an owner of corporate America. At the core of the regulatory proposal are three principles. First, there must be political insulation of the investment decision and management of assets by creating an independent investment authority. Second, ethical walls should be created between the investment authority and the regulatory agencies overseeing private enterprise. Third, the investment authority should be required to act as a prudent investor with the goal of maximizing the return on investment. In applying these principles, this Article defines a typology of government investments related to infrastructure, social goals, political goals, economic development and financial goals. It offers a set of institutional norms meant to maximize the efficiency of government investment within liberal market economies while reducing the risks of ethical misconduct