Futures Fall; Economy in Focus

U.S. stock index futures headed for a lower open Tuesday, after ending sharply higher in the previous season, as European stocks led the declines and added to the negative sentiment. Economic numbers and Federal Reserve speakers will dominate Wall Street's attention Tuesday, as the stock market looks to follow up on Monday's rally which pushed the major averages to their highest closes in more than a year.The Labor Department's October Producer Price Index (PPI) showed a gain of 0.3 percent, with the core rate dropping 0.6 percent. Economists were looking for an increase of 0.5 percent and a drop of 0.1 percent, respectively.At 9:15 am, the Federal Reserve issues October industrial production numbers, with economists looking for an increase of 0.3 percent, compared to September's rise of 0.7 percent. And at 1 pm, the National Association of Home Builders will be out with its monthly sentiment index, with consensus forecasts calling for a rise to +20 for November, up two points from the October reading.As for Fed speakers, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen has already spoken during a visit to Hong Kong. She says setting interest rates can play a role in averting crises, but whether they should be set in response to asset prices is still an open question. Those remarks are similar to ones made yesterday by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke during his lunchtime speech at the Economic Club of New York.At 10:15 am, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker will speak on the economic outlook at a conference in Virginia, while Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto has an appearance at the Ohio Housing C...
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How The SEC Just Changed Succession Planning: Part I

Director One: I can't believe this news. Nick was such a tremendous guy. This is just terrible. Have you talked to his wife? Director Two: Yes, this morning. As you can imagine, the family is devastated. Director Three: What do we do now? We need to make some sort of announcement about who's going to lead the company--and we need to do it fast, to make sure things don't get unsettled. Director Two: What choices do we have? This whole thing has been such a surprise. When we announced Nick as CEO last year we all figured we'd have more time before we had to go through all that again. Director One: Do we need to announce someone as interim chief while we find a strong candidate? This scenario depicts a situation that every chief executive officer and every board hopes will never come to pass. And if there does have to be a sudden CEO departure, everyone must hope the scene doesn't unfold this way.Inadequate CEO succession planning has always been poor business practice--leaving a board confused and an entire company in a holding pattern. Now new regulatory developments have added a new level of risks. The Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporate Finance Legal Bulletin 14E, released on Oct. 27, 2009, places a new burden on boards concerning succession planning. It calls for many, if not most, companies to rethink their policies.In short, the bulletin provides support for shareholders who want to approach a board to demand more transparency about CEO succession plans. The language used in the guidance reveals the growing concern with which the SEC views the matter: "One of the board's key functions is to provide for succession planning so that the company is not adversely affected due to a vacancy in leadership. Recent events have underscored the importance of this board function to the governance of the corporation. We n...
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