US prosecutors will not appeal a judge’s dismissal of stock options backdating-related charges against computer chipmaker Broadcom Corp co-founders Henry Nicholas and Henry Samueli.
The decision announced on Friday ends one of the US government’s biggest stock-option backdating cases in years, derailed when a judge found evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
US District Judge Cormac Carney in December dismissed the backdating case against Nicholas, after setting aside Samueli’s guilty plea on charges of falsely telling investigators he was not involved in backdating.
In January, US prosecutors indicated they planned to appeal the judge’s decision. The prosecutors had needed approval from Justice Department officials in Washington to launch their appeal, and had faced a June 10 deadline.
“After a thorough evaluation of the issues ... the government decided to not pursue the appeals,” Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office, said in a statement.
Stock options backdating at California-based chipmaker Broadcom led to a US$2.2 billion write down in 2007.
Backdating involves setting a stock option price at a date prior to the date the option is issued. Options usually must be granted at an exercise price no lower than the stock’s fair market value on the date of the option grant.
Backdating to a date when the stock price was lower instantly puts the option “in the money.”
Although backdating as such is not illegal, firms and recipients must disclose it and follow pertinent accounting and tax rules.
Carney questioned whether the government ever had proof of crimes at Broadcom, which he found engaged in similar accounting practices as Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp by backdating stock options.
Carney also found US Attorney Andrew Stolper conducted a “campaign of intimidation” to force Samueli and Tullos to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit, and cited witness intimidation by prosecutors.
The government’s most sensational allegations in the case were that Nicholas, a co-founder, distributed cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine at parties at his homes. But Carney dismissed the case against Nicholas, again due to findings of witness intimidation by prosecutors.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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