Pretty much every day another company is caught in the SEC’s net for backdating stock options. It was AMCC today. RMBS yesterday. HD Friday. What these companies are doing is awarding stock options to their executives that are already in-the-money. So rather than have to get the stock price up to make money from the options (which was the theory behind options in the first place), these fortunate few simply exercise the options and walk off with the shareholders’ money. As if they were underpaid in the first place. The level of greed is just incredible. Not satisfied with straightforward, properly disclosed, astronomical salaries and bonuses, these folks have to cheat as well. Disgusting. Unfortunately, I think it is only a civil matter. I’d love to see some of them go to jail.