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The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday it reached a settlement with IBM, over allegations the industry titan issued misleading statements regarding stock options expenses.

The end result: IBM, without admitting or denying the commission's findings, consented to an order that it cease and desist from "committing or causing violations of these provisions." But more importantly, IBM paid no fine, nor faced any monetary penalty.

What was the beef?

Back in April 2005, IBM said during a conference call with analysts it would begin reporting its stock options as an expense, starting with the first quarter 2005. … Read more

Nancy Heinen, the former general counsel at Apple, filed court papers Friday denying charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that she orchestrated stock option backdating at the company.

Bloomberg reported that the court papers deny the specific charge that Heinen ordered another lawyer in Apple's legal department to prepare documents authorizing a stock option grant to CEO Steve Jobs with an earlier grant date. However, the documents told a story of a board meeting that never took place, drawing the ire of the SEC and forcing Apple to record charges to reflect the true value of the options. … Read more

Photo-sharing site Zooomr began a second try Monday to launch its third-generation photo-sharing Web site, attempting to combine social-networking features with unlimited photo storage and, eventually, the capability for photographers to sell their own pictures.

The new site, when available, features a Twitter-like interface called Zipline that lets members tell their contacts what they're up to and hear the same from those contacts, according to a video demonstration by co-founder Kristopher Tate. It also lets members join groups and subscribe to discussions.

Zooomr had attempted to fire up the Mark III site in March, but instead bugs and migration … Read more

Zooomr Mark III Take 2 will arrive in three weeks, but at the same time, the photo-sharing site may enter a "hiatus."

In March, glitches forced the photo-sharing site to back off a redesign that would permit Zooomr users to sell their own photos and would lift storage limits, among other changes. The new version now is scheduled to arrive in three weeks--May 21--said lead programmer Kristopher Tate on his blog Monday.

Tate also said the company is looking for new investors.

"I have some breaking news to share that may create a period of hiatus for … Read more

Another government agency is taking interest in Research In Motion's accounting practices.

Following its own internal review of the company's stock options awarded to employees, RIM said Wednesday that it has "had contact with the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York upon learning that the U.S. Attorney's office is reviewing the company's stock option grants." RIM says it plans to cooperate with any requests for information.

Earlier this month, RIM announced the Securities and Exchange Commission's informal review of the company's accounting practices had … Read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Nancy Heinen, the former general counsel at Apple, saying her actions led to "fraudulent" stock option backdating at the company.

But the SEC said it doesn't plan to file any actions against Apple as a company, and simultaneously filed and settled a lawsuit against former chief financial officer Fred Anderson over his alleged participation in the backdating scandal. Fred Anderson's lawyer issued a statement after the lawsuits were announced, saying that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had been informed that the January 2001 grant date would have … Read more

Shutterstock, a company that sells "stock art" images taken by members of its community, gave its more valuable photographers a raise on Monday.

The company pays photographers 25 cents for each image that a customer downloads. Beginning May 1, founder and Chief Executive Jon Oringer announced Monday, anyone who sells more than $500 worth of images will get 20 percent more per image--30 cents.

Oringer also said his company now has 25 full-time employees.

Shutterstock competes chiefly with Internet-based stock art shops including iStockphoto, Fotolia, Dreamstime, but also with traditional powers including Corbis and Getty Images.

(Via Stock Photo Talk) … Read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission is getting ready to file the first charges in its probe into Apple's stock-option backdating investigation, but it appears CEO Steve Jobs is safe, according to news reports.

The San Jose Mercury News reported Monday that Nancy Heinen, former general counsel at Apple, will be charged this week in connection with the investigation into the backdating of stock options for Jobs and other Apple executives. Apple has said some stock-option awards were backdated--a practice, legal if disclosed, in which a stock-option award is tied to a date when the price was low--but that … Read more

One of the companies showcasing its wares at the Web 2.0 Expo is LuckyOliver, a stock photography service that sells user-submitted digital photographs for use on Web sites and printed materials. The service has a kitschy carnival/circus theme, right down to calling its users 'carnies.'

LuckyOliver employs several Web 2.0ish technologies to categorize photos, including tags, a cloud of similar or related images, and a prestige system for heavy users of the site. Esteemed photographers also get special badges. Other users can comment on their work, and browse through their portfolio.

As a photographer, submitting photos to … Read more