Media Mentions
2007
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the April edition of CFO Magazine in relation to the "eProxy" ruling from the Securities and Exchange Commission that will go into effect on July 1, 2007. The new rule will allow companies to almost entirely bypass the costly process of printing and shipping proxy statements by providing information via the internet. Mr. Murphy explained that the benefit of the eProxy rules go beyond savings. They should also speed up voting and increase participation because most investors and shareholders are already comfortable using the internet.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Corporate Responsibility
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the February 13 issue of Compliance Week regarding companies taking action against No-Action Letters. Mr. Murphy commented about the issue of more proposals in proxies and said "Companies are more aggressive in keeping them out, as we have seen an increase in the level of proposals that are meaningful and can change corporate governance."
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Public Companies, Securities
2006
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the July issue of CFO regarding Regulation Fair Disclosure. Mr. Murphy commented that Reg FD is the law that prohibits companies from selectively disclosing material non-public information about their business to analysts and stockholders, yet analysts have no liability under the law.
2005
Tom Murphy was quoted in the December issue of CFO Magazine in regard to short-selling.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Securities
2004
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the August 24 issue of the Los Angeles Times in regard to some Google investors questioning how the deal terms were set because winning bidders only received about 75% of the shares they asked for. If Google had followed the rules of a pure Dutch auction, it would have been obligated to go with the clearing price, and in theory, it would have satisfied all demand for its shares, which the company originally said was one of its goals. Mr. Murphy commented that in its final moments, the Google stock sale closely tracked how Wall Street has traditionally parceled out new shares. "It was, 'Who do you want in, and who do you want out,'" of the deal.'"
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Securities
Tom Murphy was quoted by United Press International on August 17 in regard to the once highly anticipated Google IPO. "This has been a very peculiar offering with a lot of distractions and unusual circumstances, including: the Playboy interview; the undemocratic dual vote structure; the confusion over how to bid; the high practical thresholds to participate in the offering, despite the stated goal of including the little guy; and the chutzpah to try to do such a big deal in the August 'doldrums,'" commented Mr. Murphy.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Securities
Tom Murphy was quoted in the Los Angeles Times on April 26 in an article reporting on the proposed Google public offering. Addressing the fact that Google, whether or not it conducts and IPO, would likely need to start filing reports with the SEC because it has so many holders of its stock options, Mr. Murphy commented that just because Google has to open its books doesn't mean it has to go public and have its stock traded on an exchange, "where it can be battered around by the vagaries of the market."
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Securities
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the Chicago Tribune on February 8 regarding the current economic environment that now shows signs of life for the IPO market. The improvement of potential returns on IPOs is still not guaranteed, and as Mr. Murphy commented "you can't tell people not to get exuberant and make stupid investment decisions," when you see improvements in the market.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Securities
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the Financial Times on January 28 regarding Adecco's silence on its accounting problems. So far the Swiss company's comments on the difficulties that forced it to postpone its 2003 results have been very limited and management has mentioned Sarbanes-Oxley as the prime reason. However, the article pointed out that Sarbanes-Oxley does not prohibit giving information to investors and notes that Adecco is probably being extremely cautious. "The stakes are higher. The landscape is more complicated. They probably want to make sure they get it right," commented Mr. Murphy.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Corporate Responsibility, Securities
2003
Tom Murphy was quoted the August issue of the Chicago Lawyer regarding Sarbanes-Oxley. "Reporting up within the issuer is something the profession could and should be able to live with, he commented. "It’s hard to quarrel with the objectives. Given the debacles that occurred, there was a need to respond."
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate Responsibility
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the July issue of Corporate Legal Times in regard to the loans of companies and the high stake risks when they are not paid off. "An atrocious amount of work has been foisted on the SEC, so it's not fair of reasonable to expect them to do anything extra that's not required by the law. That's a problem because 402 is so confusing, and it's so hard to know what it means," commented Mr. Murphy.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Corporate Responsibility
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the February 1 issue of International Financial Law Review regarding the Sarbanes Oxley Act and a series of reforms set forth by the SEC. "It remains to be seen whether all the additional reconciliations will improve or clutter disclosure. Whether the additional information will overwhelm or confuse the average investor or enlighten and comfort them is anyone's guess at this point," commented Mr. Murphy.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate Responsibility
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the January 24 issue of Financial Times regarding the SEC's decision to change some of the corporate governance rules, including their original definition of "financial expert," which is required on all companies' audit committees.
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate Responsibility
2002
Thomas Murphy was quoted in the December 23 issue of The Deal regarding the chance that more companies are going to choose to go public in 2003 rather than merging. "It's unusual that member-owned organizations would conclude that going public is a great idea." Mr. Murphy continued by saying that going public is difficult even more so now with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, "Being public is no longer the end-all, be-all for a company."
Thomas J. Murphy, Corporate, Corporate Responsibility
Thomas Murphy was quoted in a August 16 Dow Jones News Wire regarding the certification standards executives must follow. Mr. Murphy commented on the lack of penalties outlined in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for those executives who do not file.
