Cablevision delays earnings report

More than 60 companies are under scrutiny from regulators because of stock options practices and others are conducting or have completed internal probes into their practices.

Apple Computer Inc. rattled investors by disclosing last week that its options trouble was so deep that its financial results reported dating back to September 2002 can’t be trusted.

On Monday, the Islandia, N.Y.-based information technology company CA said it would delay filing its quarterly report with the SEC following a recently completed review into its stock options practices.

Options give holders the right to buy a stock at a certain price and are often used as a form of compensation for executives.

Many problems with stock options stem from a practice called backdating, under which insiders try to make the rewards more lucrative by assigning a date to the grant at which the stock’s price was lower.

Usually an option’s exercise price coincides with the market value of the stock on the day it was granted, giving the person who gets it an incentive to perform well and help contribute to the stock price going higher.

Other companies under regulatory scrutiny for stock options practices include Barnes & Noble Inc., Home Depot Inc., McAfee Inc., Michaels Stores Inc., Monster Worldwide Inc., RSA Security Inc. and VeriSign Inc.

In addition to Apple, other companies have also launched or completed internal reviews into their stock options practices. American Electric Power Co. said in its quarterly filing Friday that its review found no problems with its own options practices.

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