RealityMarkets.com Forum

I checked the stock. It's been zeroed out??? No way!

He resigned in May - i.e. this week. I had it called right, since last month. I should be paid.

According to news reports, Wolfowitz negotiated a deal to not to make his departure from the World Bank "official" until June 30th.

But, He submitted his resignation this week and it was immediately accepted, this week. The June 30th date is just part of his severence package. It only means that he continues to get paid his regularly salary until then. I read that the Bank only agreed to pay him through the end of the quarter (i.e. June 30th) to avoid a protracted legal fight with him - which would damage the Bank's credibility more and could cause them to have to pay him an additional year of salary for early termination under his contract with them.

He's out right now! Officially, according to the World Bank legal records, he's listed as "on administative leave" until June 30th. They have someone else as "acting president" until then.

If you want to be a stickler for details, about his "official" departure on June 30th, then, trading on the May stock should not have been stopped until after May 31st. And the June stock should not be paid until June 30th when he is "officially" gone. (Who knows what could happen before then?)

Trading on the Mac OSX June, July, Aug, Sept stocks weren't halted just because Apple announced that they weren't going to release it until October. Apple now says it won't release Leopard before October, but no one lost their money betting on earlier dates in that case, in fact trading still continues on those dates that haven't yet passed. And, October OSX stock hasn't been paid out simply because it was announced as the release date. So, why was this trading halted in this case merely on an announcement of an "official" date?

In this case, I think the only fair thing to do is to pay out BOTH the May & June "Wolfowitz resigns" stock. Because his ACTUAL departure was this week! He's NOT physically working in the building anymore, regardless of the details he negotiated in his severance package. THIS WAS THE MONTH THAT HE WAS FORCED OUT. (But, of course, anyone buying the June Wolfowitz Departure stock cmight also argue the reverse, in favor of their stock.) So, IMHO, it's only fair that both dates May & June, be accepted as his resignation date and paid out.

If "official date" is the standard (rather than date he submitted his resignation or date it was accepted - both in May) then trading on NEITHER stock should have been halted. In that case, the May stock should've gone on trading until May 31st and the June stock should not be paid out until after June 30th, if that is the standard. Who knows what could happen before then? In fact, his successor may even be appointed and begin working BEFORE May 31st!

But, he submitted his resignation THIS WEEK, and is no longer physically working there, so everyone who bet on a May departure deserves to be paid out!

In a recent news story it says:
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411366/1133043

"...The association [i.e. the World Bank board] also demanded that Wolfowitz, a former US deputy defense secretary and Iraq war architect, be put on administrative leave immediately and forbidden from making policy decisions.

In a letter to the board, Wolfowitz said he would withdraw from day-to-day decision-making...."


Bottom Line: He has no power there anymore, he has "withdrawn from day-to-day decision-making". He's out! Not next month, but right now. The details of the "official" termination date are simply part of the legal settlement - a concession to prevent him from suing them.

See Also:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story...t=1&f=1006

"NPR - All Things Considered, May 17, 2007 · World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has resigned. Pressure for Wolfowitz to step down has grown since the release of a report on his handling of a 2005 pay raise for his girlfriend, who is also a bank employee.

Under the terms of the resignation, Wolfowitz will leave office at the end of June. But he is expected to remove himself immediately from the bank's day-to-day business."


Note the PAST TENSE in the first line of the report -> "has resigned"

I was under the belief that he was leaving office on June 30th. Let me look into it some more, in the mean time i've restored the price. Either way May pays out now or they get reactivated to trade until he leaves if it's not decided the he already has.

This is all a bit unexpected. You have a person that has said by his accounts he will resign on June 30th, but he has also said, and others have confirmed, that he will not be handling any business at the world bank and according to some reports he will be prevented from actually doing anything and may actually be put on leave.

So, this is what I am thinking about doing. A. Pay out May's stock at the price. B. Reactivate the June stock and modify it a bit since I think the jury is out on whether he will be replaced before June even gets here.

Yes, it's odd, but the stock description says:

"Paul Wolfowitz will leave his World Bank position on or before the end of May"

Which I think can be reasonably read as "will resign". Plus, the articles I referenced above say that he has no power there anymore to make day-to-day decisions, so for all intents and purposes he has already left his position there.

I read that the "official" date of his resignation is something his lawyers negotiated in exchange for dropping all claim that he was wrongfully terminated. I read if he had attempted to sue them, under the terms of his contract (if he won the suit) they might owe him a year's salary. So, they were willing to continue to pay him for another month to avoid that possibility and all the continued bad press that would result.

It's a face-saving move on Wolfowitz's part so he can claim his departure was voluntary, WHEN IN FACT, he was fired for clearly breaking Bank ethics rules.

That is why the rest of the staff there is so pissed off. They know if any of them had approved a large bonus for someone they were involved with personally, they would have been fired immediately. World Bank has been criticized for many years regarding how they manage money.

Very dumb on his part. Almost as dumb as when he claimed that "US troops will be greeted with candy and flowers" when they invade Baghdad or "the war will likely be over in six months" and "will pay for itself". Not a guy, I'd like to see manging international finance and third world development schemes. Good riddance.

The timing of the the "official" date of his departure may also have something to do with his pension. June 30th is the end of the quarter and it's possible he may have had to complete so many quarters of work there in order to qualify for a full pension.

Anyway... he has definitely left his position. He has no power there anymore. So, I think the terms of the stock have been satisfied.

You could re-activate the June stock, I guess, but it would be a near certainty. Everyone would buy that; since it's already been announced. Or, you could just pay out both May & June.

People who predicted he would be forced out by the end of May were more correct than those who thought he would hang on until June, IMHO. But, his lawyers got them to make June 30th his "official" departure date, so "will leave" applies to June too. But by the terms of the deal his lawyer negotiated he was forced to give up all decision-making power there "effectively immediately".

I think they will likely name his successor ASAP.

I was thinking about reactivating the June stock but changing it so that if he was replaced by a successor in May it wouldn't pay out. Considering how quickly it sounds like the W.B. wants to put this behind them I thought it would be a real possibility. I've decided against it however since I think it will just lead to more complications and it's better to just pay both out and move on. While June is technically correct, the May stock reflects the reality of the situation better and I think is more accurate.