Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Faked Docs May Be Core of Apple Case:

It must be some consolation for Apple Computer that the company's annual report is going to be published during the slowest news week of the year.

Given the uncomfortable admissions about its past stock options practices — and the cost to the company — that Apple will have to make in the delayed SEC filing due by Friday, less public attention is probably a good thing.

But the lull is unlikely to last long. According to people with knowledge of Apple's situation, federal prosecutors are looking closely at stock option administration documents that were apparently falsified by company officials to maximize the profitability of option grants to executives.