January 29, 2004—You have to wonder why it's taken Arriba (ARBA) , a former high-flying tech stock whose shares once traded at around $200, so long to describe an unusual loan arrangement between its former Chairman and its current Chief Executive. The company's latest attempt at describing the deal -- in an amended 10-K filed ...

January 26, 2004—On Friday, the same day that Halliburton (HAL) said it had fired two employees for taking kickbacks and repaid the government $6.3 million , the oil services giant warned in its 8-K that it was likely to be subject to increased scrutiny from "political adversaries of the Vice President ...

January 20, 2004—Tempting as it may sometimes be to rely on a press release, these releases -- whether they're talking about earnings or management changes -- rarely seem to tell the whole story. Which is why it's important to go to the SEC filings. Max & Erma's (MAXE) , an Ohio-based casual restaurant chain, issued ...

January 13, 2004—In PalmSource's (PSRC) registration statement to offer 2.75 million shares filed earlier today, the company notes that it has entered into a consulting contract with one of its directors, Satjiv Chahil. Under the contract, which was entered into on August 1, Chahil will receive $11,200 per month in exchange for four days ...

January 2, 2004—On Tuesday, SPX Corp. (SPW) filed its 3rd amended K this year, correcting numbers it first put out in March. The company has also filed 4 amended Qs in 2003. In an explanatory note at the beginning of the K, the company said this was due to an SEC review. In the ...

December 29, 2003—You have to give Whole Foods Markets (WFMI) points for providing such clear disclosure on their options in the 10-K it filed last week. Unlike a lot of other companies that rely heavily on options, the large natural foods chain doesn't try to fudge their options expenses by monkeying around with the ...

December 22, 2003—Investors in Roto-Rooter (RRR) aren't the only ones cleaning up in the wake of Friday's announcement that the company plans to acquire Vitas Healthcare, a privately held hospice-care provider. The stock was up 26 percent on Friday and is up another 15 percent so far today. Indeed, Vitas' Chairman and CEO, Hugh ...

December 17, 2003—Investors in AFC Enterprises (AFCE.PK) lost big when the company announced earlier this year that its stock was being delisted from NASDAQ because of its failure to file its 2002 10-K. Since August, the stock for the company that owns and franchises Popeye's and Church's fried chicken restaurants, as well as Cinnabon ...

December 9, 2003—Casual Male (CMRG) , the retailer that focuses on the big and tall men's market, has an interesting little disclosure in its 10-Q filed earlier today. For the past few years, it has had a consulting contract with Jewelcor Inc., a company controlled by its Chairman, Seymour Holtzman. For unspecified consulting services -- ...

November 28, 2003—When it comes to disclosing off-balance sheet arrangements, or variable interest entitities (VIEs), most companies have been going one of two routes: disclosing to their investors and placing the item back on their balance sheets, even though they're not required to until next year, or telling investors that they're still studying the issue. But ...