President Trump asks SEC to study abolishing quarterly earnings reports

[DonViejo]

Source: CNN-Money



by Chris Isidore @CNNMoney
August 17, 2018: 8:12 AM ET

President Donald Trump says he has asked the SEC to study whether to stop requiring companies to report quarterly earnings.

In speaking to business leaders, one told him a twice-a-year reporting system would allow companies the flexibility and cost savings companies need to "Make business (jobs) even better in the U.S." Trump tweeted Friday morning. Trump said he directed the SEC to look into a change in its requirements.

Public companies must report their sales, profits and the state of the company's balance sheet every quarter. That has been required since the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which was put in place to give more confidence and transparency to investors in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash. That act also created the SEC, which sets the regulations which govern those quarterly reports.

Businesses have long complained that the reports require company executives to focus too much on the short term. Juicing numbers impresses investors, but it can force companies to miss out on long term trends. One of the reasons Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk wants to take his company private, he told his employees last week, was the way quarterly reports distort decisions at the company.

Link to tweet

Shareholders, however, use the quarterly earnings reports as a guide to the quality and health of their investments. Without quarterly financial reports, investors could be blind to important risk factors that could damage their portfolios.

Read more: https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/17/news/companies/trump-drop-quarterly-reports/index.html

[BumRushDaShow]

1. These entities have to do quarterly taxes for the IRS

meaning this sort of info should already be available anyway.

But I expect the tax-dodger-in-chief wouldn't know or care about that.

[pazzyanne]

11. Doesn't know about it because he doesn't pay taxes which

makes him a smart person? If there is an investigation, it should be on him.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Exactly!

[workinclasszero]

24. You win the internets today!

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Why don't we eliminate bank statements so Trump can steal it all

Orange Raider

[Yonnie3]

3. Hate to tell ya, Mr. Never-Made-An-Honest-Deal, but long-term trends are measured in multiple years

More corporate bull crap. A well run company should be able at any time to provide the equivalent of a quarterly statement without affecting goals. The difficulty comes with finding ways to make things look better than they are for ensuring big bonuses. A better law would be that performance bonuses be based on long-term performance of the individual and the company. Long-term being not less than five years.

I've always felt there should be a per-share or per-dollar stock sale fee which decreases with the time the equity is held. Opponents of this say it will ruin liquidity and my response is that it will re-introduce sanity to the markets. The markets are there to provide capital to the companies and less volatility will make these quarterly statements have less impact.

[dalton99a]

4. Heck, go to a ten-year system

[Bayard]

22. The prof actually said that?

Remarkable!

[dalton99a]

23. Yep

See, for example,
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/former-wharton-professor-trump-was-dumbest-gddam-student-i-ever-had

The late professor William T. Kelley taught marketing at Wharton School of Business and Finance, University of Pennsylvania, for 31 years, ending with his retirement in 1982. Kelley, who also had vast experience as a business consultant, was the author of a then-widely used textbook called Marketing Intelligence:The Management of Marketing Information (originally published by P. Staples, London, 1968). Kelley taught marketing management both to undergraduate and graduate students at Wharton. Dr. Bill was one of my closest friends for 47 years when we lost him at 94 about six years ago. He would have been 100 this year.

Donald J. Trump was an undergraduate student at Wharton for the latter two of his college years, having graduated in 1968.

Professor Kelley told me 100 times over three decades that “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddam student I ever had.” I remember his emphasis and inflection — it went like this: “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had.” Kelley told me this after Trump had become a celebrity, but long before he was considered a political figure. Kelley often referred to Trump’s arrogance when he told the story that Trump came to Wharton thinking he already knew everything.

[exboyfil]

5. Mid level employees on up at our company

are restricted to a window of about 10 days after a quarterly report announcement when we can buy or sell stock.

That would be a good rule for all organizations. Also would be a good rule to enforce on the highest level employees (I sometimes have my doubts).

[Cold War Spook]

13. What about before the report is released?

The company I used to work for had both. As the main frame computer system we had, I knew exactly what the report would say about earnings and a whole lot more.

[exboyfil]

14. Not before for that reason

My company wants to be sure that as much information is available to avoid unfairness.

[Cold War Spook]

29. What your company is doing to the general public is unfair.

People, who have two weeks to look at the report before other people, have the advantage. They can buy or sell the company stock the day before the report comes out.

[jmowreader]

30. It appears they don't allow stock trading before the report is issued

There are strong laws against trading on that kind of insider information.

[Lucky Luciano]

25. I'm not allowed to buy any financial security AT ALL, except US bonds.

The only game I can really play is buying and selling treasuries - I can use leverage, so there is something I could do if I wanted if I really wanted to bet on rate movements. With leverage, you can get enough volatility for it to be worthwhile if I had time, but I don’t.

My wife is also blocked due to my job. Maybe she can become a bond trader at home!

[turbinetree]

6. Hey asshole when was the last time your reported on income and paid taxes........................

were still waiting, and one day.................we will get to read and see them............................very shortly.................


November 2018 cannot get here fast enough......................vote.

[Snellius]

7. Because he can't understand anything he thinks there is no reason for it to exist.

Trump's so ignorant he thinks everything was created just out of whim.

[Bengus81]

8. Translation: ME and my Corporate buddies only pay taxes twice a year,they pocket payroll taxes...

for nearly six months. BILLIONS in their pockets to use until the last minute they have to shell it out to the Treasury.

[Bengus81]

9. One way to help GUT Social Security and Medicare.......

Let me guess,Trillion $$$ Corporations STILL take out full payroll taxes weekly or bi-weekly on employees but then STUFF The cash in THEIR pocket to use for dividends,CEO raises,$25M jet while SS and Medicare twist in the wind.

FUCK YOU TRUMP.............

[yallerdawg]

10. Some randon guy mentions something at a meeting...

and the moron wants to toss out almost a hundred years of openness and transparency?

He definitely needs more cholesterol in his diet.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

16. Munuchin perchance?

As if they haven't completely corrupted this country already in 2 years. They have to make MORe. How about 15.00 min wage? By the time they do that, we'll really need 25.00 min wage.

[octoberlib]

19. According to Googleand MarketWatch this

is coming from Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

20. right on.

[Mc Mike]

15. Yeah. Why not give his crook buddies a year's head start,

when they flee the country?

[AllTooEasy]

17. To be fair, Obama critized quarterly reports too, and...

I highly disagreed with him then. Read down the article for Obama’s comments.

Maybe, the method of reporting quarterly reports should change. Maybe investors should pay more attention to the long game and not short term satisfaction.

I don’t trust these companies. I wish we had instantaneous reporting and transparency, if that were possible.

[octoberlib]

18. The EU lets companies report twice

a year but they also let shareholders set executive pay and require companies to let some employees have seats on the board.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

21. "To be fair"

The way we got where we are...playing fair...while absolute vile people do what's easy. To be fair...groan.

[lapfog_1]

26. Let me tell Donnie boy something my dad taught me

"Fuck with something long enough and you are going to break it!"

[Grasswire2]

27. trying to goose the stock market? nt

[Gothmog]

28. This is a horrible idea