OTHER NEWS - Dec. 15, 1994

Accounting Board Backs Down on Stock Options: The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted not to require companies that grant stock options to their employees to deduct the value of those options from earnings. The FASB yielded to political pressure from opponents who argued that the rule was bad accounting and bad public policy, board members acknowledged. Technology companies, which often use stock options as an important form of compensation, were vehement in their opposition to the proposal. The board’s action means that companies will be encouraged to deduct the value of options from earnings but not required to do so.