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To: rkral who wrote (178361)	6/23/2004 3:22:47 PM
From: Elmer Phud	Respond to of 186894

Ron - Huh? I just posted the buyback-to-exercise ratio for each of the last 8 years .. plus the average. Did I say, explicitly or even implicitly, that the ratio was less than one? No you didn't but you mentioned "distorting the true picture". I just pointed out that despite the questionable ratios they are still well above 1.

To: rkral who wrote (178361)	6/23/2004 3:39:35 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

For one thing, I found out recently about an issue I was wondering on for awhile.... ESPPs. These are managed with the use of options apparently, which is why the AEA opions about loss of options when expensing comes down will also effect ESPPs. When Bryant or whoever lays out options exercises vs. share buybacks, you are including the ESPP portion of options, no? So using the typical expensing argument, the ESPP options expense should be counted as someone's compensation I assume. Pretty lame, because there are obvious advantages to the company when you entice employees into buying stock this way, and its even harder to justify ESPP discounts as compensation vs. traditional options. I don't think congress is going to go for removal of ESPP plans, no matter what argument is generated on the part of FASB. We know that ESPPs are on the chopping block, microsoft has already cut back on theirs after deciding to expense. I don't think options will ever be expensed actually. There is just too much of a far reaching change to the way US companies operate to dump it all for an accounting rule.