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Workshop Registration
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
Online Seminars
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
Hooked on Kindle
By Chris Roush
Tracking the Business Behind the Tomato
By Jonathan Higuera
Five Questions with Bill Choyke
By Jonathan Higuera
Finding the Economy's Silver Lining
By Dick Weiss
Double Whammy: Oil and Housing
By Jennifer Hopfinger
Business Reporters can Unwrap Company Filings During Holiday Season
By Michelle Leder
December 20, 2006
Tempting as it is to think of the holidays as a dead zone, especially when it comes to business news, the truth is that this is the perfect time of year for companies to bury all kinds of stuff in their routine SEC filings. That's because most corporate executives (and the attorneys and PR people that advise them) assume that reporters are too busy with their own holiday merry-making to pay attention to many of the antics going on in the corporate suite.
If the two days immediately before and after Thanksgiving are any indication, the next few days should bring a bevy of interesting disclosures. Take Disney, for example. On Thanksgiving eve, when most of us were trying to get to wherever home is, the entertainment giant filed its annual report -- the 10-K, or the annual report without the pretty pictures -- at 5:14 p.m according to the SEC time-stamp. Perhaps the timing was purely coincidental. But I'm betting that the company thought that by the time reporters literally rolled back into work after a four-day eating fest, they wouldn't be particularly interested in trolling through the fine print.
Of course, Disney wasn't the only one playing peek-a-boo. Consulting firm Bearing Point also filed its annual report at 5:24 p.m. that Wednesday. On Friday, when the SEC reopened for business (but when the only real business story was shopping, shopping, and more shopping), Bearing Point filed its proxy, one of the two key documents (the other is the 10-K) publicly traded companies are required to file annually. Other companies (or executives) who chose to file on that Friday included Crocs CEO and President Ronald Snyder, who disclosed a hefty stock sale of over 450,000 shares.
So before you write off the holiday season, take a skim through some SEC filings for the companies that you cover regularly. Chances are you'll be surprised at what you find.
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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
By Chris Roush
Tracking the Business Behind the Tomato
By Jonathan Higuera
Five Questions with Bill Choyke
By Jonathan Higuera
Finding the Economy's Silver Lining
By Dick Weiss
Double Whammy: Oil and Housing
By Jennifer Hopfinger
Business Reporters can Unwrap Company Filings During Holiday Season
By Michelle Leder
December 20, 2006
Tempting as it is to think of the holidays as a dead zone, especially when it comes to business news, the truth is that this is the perfect time of year for companies to bury all kinds of stuff in their routine SEC filings. That's because most corporate executives (and the attorneys and PR people that advise them) assume that reporters are too busy with their own holiday merry-making to pay attention to many of the antics going on in the corporate suite.
If the two days immediately before and after Thanksgiving are any indication, the next few days should bring a bevy of interesting disclosures. Take Disney, for example. On Thanksgiving eve, when most of us were trying to get to wherever home is, the entertainment giant filed its annual report -- the 10-K, or the annual report without the pretty pictures -- at 5:14 p.m according to the SEC time-stamp. Perhaps the timing was purely coincidental. But I'm betting that the company thought that by the time reporters literally rolled back into work after a four-day eating fest, they wouldn't be particularly interested in trolling through the fine print.
Of course, Disney wasn't the only one playing peek-a-boo. Consulting firm Bearing Point also filed its annual report at 5:24 p.m. that Wednesday. On Friday, when the SEC reopened for business (but when the only real business story was shopping, shopping, and more shopping), Bearing Point filed its proxy, one of the two key documents (the other is the 10-K) publicly traded companies are required to file annually. Other companies (or executives) who chose to file on that Friday included Crocs CEO and President Ronald Snyder, who disclosed a hefty stock sale of over 450,000 shares.
So before you write off the holiday season, take a skim through some SEC filings for the companies that you cover regularly. Chances are you'll be surprised at what you find.
Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism