Word: options
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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While 68.6 percent of students polled said they would vote in the next election, 82.6 percent said they would definitely vote if they had the option to vote over the Internet...
Maybe that's another reason why Europe has been slower to enjoy the economic boom radiating from the U.S., where options are the common currency of the new capitalist elite. In Germany and Finland, it was illegal to pay executives in stock options until 1998, and in countries from Belgium to Britain, tax laws made option plans unappealing to corporate boards and executives alike. In the Netherlands, recipients have to pay income tax on options as soon as they are bestowed, which is often years before they are cashed in. But intense competition for employees from option-rich firms abroad...
...queasiness still abounds over options and their tendency to make corporate fat cats even fatter. In Germany, where the culture places greater emphasis on making it to the top of a company than on lining your pockets once you get there, option giveaways still consume only about 5% of total corporate profits. At the German chemical company BASF, CEO Jurgen Strube collects about $300,000 worth of options a year. "In the U.S., you have CEOs who earn more than $100 million on their options," says BASF vice president Hans-Otto Brinkkotter. "We avoid that...
...hint that European executives are unduly padding their stock portfolios can still inspire public outrage. In France, polls last year showed that 66% of French citizens wanted to own stock options--until the so-called Jaffre affair exploded. That scandal was sparked by oil giant TotalFina's successful takeover of rival Elf-Aquitaine, and the $35 million stock-option package paid to vanquished Elf CEO Philippe Jaffre to bless the union and walk away. Furious French leftists--who derailed earlier government plans to lower the tax rate on stock-option earnings from 40% to 26%--responded with an unsuccessful campaign...
Tougher disclosure laws in countries like France and Germany would go a long way toward easing public suspicion of stock-option grants. It would also bring those countries closer to the more transparent corporate practices of the U.S.--a prospect, admittedly, at which many Europeans still bristle. As the equity-driven start-up wave of the new economy hits the Continent, the use of options by European businesses is bound to increase. And the larger debate will continue to rage: In a time of near ludicrous stock valuations, does anyone really deserve the fortunes gained through stock options...