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It's time to let you in on a dirty little secret: You may not own the stock you own. That's right, if you invest with a brokerage firm, the shares you bought are almost certainly not held in your name. Technically, they're held in the name of the Wall Street firm you do business with, hence the term "street name."
No, you haven't been robbed. Ultimately, the decision to hold shares on the books under a different name doesn't affect the economic ramifications for you. You¿re listed as the "beneficial owner," even though the firm is the official owner of the shares. But, you are giving up some rights, and investors concerned about good corporate governance might want to get that stock back in their own names.
Here's the problem: If your stock is technically owned by, say, Merrill Lynch, then Merrill Lynch gets to do things with it that might work against your wishes. Take short selling. Investors who want to sell shares short need to first borrow those shares. The lenders are often the big Wall Street firms that are handing out Street-name shares. So, if you feel that a company you own is a victim of aggressive short selling, chances are your own shares are being used to fuel the shorting.
Also, your brokerage firm can cast ballots on some corporate matters affecting a company without getting your input. Technically, this can only happen in votes considered ¿routine¿ by securities regulators. But, there's a big catch: some big events, like board elections, are considered "routine" under law.
The good news is that you can easily fix the Street name problem: Just request that your brokerage firm makes you the listed owner of the shares. If they refuse, find a new firm.
Home / Markets / Industries / Technology
Friday, May 16, 2008
CEO Addresses Fort Worth Business Leaders About Developing Pandemic and Business Continuity Plans
Comtex
FORT WORTH, Texas, May 16, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ ----George Abercrombie, president and chief executive officer, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., told more than 200 Fort Worth business leaders today at a Rotary Club of Fort Worth luncheon that the threat of a pandemic flu presents businesses with challenges unlike those anticipated with traditional emergency preparedness plans.
"While businesses are all too familiar with preparing for potential disasters such as floods or tornadoes," according to Abercrombie, "local businesses also need to look at the special challenges posed by the potential of a public health crisis caused by a global influenza pandemic."
Abercrombie, who shared details of Roche's own plans to safeguard the health of its employees and business infrastructure during a pandemic flu outbreak, says that Texas's key industry sectors, including technology, aerospace and defense, manufacturing, biotechnology and life sciences, energy, petroleum refinery and chemical products, healthcare, real estate, finance, construction, real estate, and hospitality and food service would be among the hardest hit.
In March of 2007, Trust for America's Health released a report (funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts as part of the U.S. Pandemic Preparedness Initiative) estimating that Texas could face a potential financial loss of $55.8 billion as a result of a severe pandemic flu outbreak.
"Influenza pandemics are not static events like a hurricane or tornado, nor are they confined to a specific area. Pandemics come in multiple waves, each one affecting a given area from four to twelve weeks. During the first wave, officials expect 20 to 30% of people will become ill. Here in Tarrant County, that's 334,000 to 500,000 people who will get very sick in a very short period of time, inundating emergency rooms already strained to near capacity."
According to Abercrombie, experts believe that many businesses and organizations would have difficulty maintaining operations as a result of an increased level of absenteeism due to illness, employees caring for the sick and social-distancing policies. In Texas alone, there is the potential for more than 6.7 million employees to be absent from their jobs, according to the Trust for America's Health report, resulting in losses of roughly $23.6 billion dollars due to absenteeism and death.
Based on his experience in working with the federal government the past several years on pandemic preparedness, Abercrombie reminded the audience that the government has asked private businesses to share in the responsibility of planning. While the federal government has plans to help slow the spread of the virus among critical populations, such as healthcare workers and emergency personnel, it is up to local communities and businesses to ensure that residents and employees stay healthy and that businesses and local economies remain up and running.
More information on how businesses can organize their own pandemic plans is available online at http://www.pandemictoolkit.com. For more information about the Trust for America's Health, visit http://healthyamericans.org/reports/flurecession/releases/TN.pdf.
About Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche), based in Nutley, N.J., is the U.S. pharmaceuticals headquarters of the Roche Group, one of the world's leading research-oriented healthcare groups with core businesses in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. For more than 100 years in the U.S., Roche has been committed to developing innovative products and services that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people's health and quality of life. An employer of choice, in 2007 Roche was named Top Company of the Year by Med Ad News, one of the Top 20 Employers (Science) and ranked the No. 1 Company to Sell For (Selling Power). In previous years, Roche has been named as a Top Company for Older Workers (AARP) and one of the Best Companies to Work For in America (Fortune). For additional information about the U.S. pharmaceuticals business, visit our websites: http://www.rocheusa.com or http://www.roche.us.
All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.
SOURCE Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.
http://www.rocheusa.com
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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