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To: Moominoid who wrote (19089)	5/18/2002 5:03:07 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Not sure if I should have that in the course or not Why not? Stock options are part of the real world of being a manager. You can put in something about the ethics of stock options, that you can have a principal-agent problem. We just had principal-agent problems in our money and banking class, and it was in our standard textbook (Hubbard). I was surprised at how ignorant of such things the others in the class were. Most students, unless their parents are in that bracket, are likely completely ignorant of it.

To: Moominoid who wrote (19089)	5/18/2002 5:17:24 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Hi David, Re: Last bit I was reading was on executive stock options etc. Not sure if I should have that in the course I agree with CB, it would be a valuable addition to the course. Stated more strongly perhaps than CB would, the present law regarding executive stock options is a scandal in the US and has been one of the principal distortions of the stock market, leading to vast manipulations and deceptions. It's quite a tantalizing subject, and one your students would surely enjoy getting into. I love the image of Warren Buffett and John Doerr going head to head on this one. Off the top of my head, I don't have their most salient quotes, but the argument boils down to Buffett saying that the way that the US tax code accounts for stock options is a fraud, since it doesn't call an expense and expense. And in defense of present practices, Doerr whines about how he and his ilk will be de-incentivized if the accountancy were truthful. Though not quite in those words. I believe your students will find you far more fascinating if you take on that options controversy than to, say, discuss "utiles" or "hedonics" or whatever the current buzzword/euphemism/diversion is au courant in academe these days. JM2C, Ray

To: Moominoid who wrote (19089)	5/18/2002 8:33:05 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

<But some prudence isn't a bad thing. Burying CO2 in old oil fields as BP is funding the Princeton dudes to research may be the way to go anyway. > David, if prudence costs an arm and a leg it's not a good thing. You have to be kidding that the CO2 level increases we've had have lowered pH of the ocean in the slightest. I can't believe that coral would notice. What are the coral reefs worth anyway? $10 million? $100 million? $1 billion? $10 billion? $100 billion? $1000 billion? Mqurice