The employment contract for Duke Energy Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer was set to expire on April 3, 2009. In the renewed employment contract, the energy company CEO receives no salary and no cash bonus. Instead the executive receives stock grants from Duke Energy Corporation as compensation.

Duke Energy Corporation is following a trend in the new economy where small companies as well as major corporations are failing and falling into bankruptcy. By exchanging large cash bonuses for stock grants in an employment contract, a business finds a way to align employees interests with the company’s success and interests of its shareholders.

The employment contracts for many of the companies and corporations utilizing this practice of stock grants rather than cash bonuses can be found at the online legal document resource RealDealDocs.com website.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com.
SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Press Release - 189 - Assignment and Assumption Agreement
Lehman Brothers Assignment and Assumption Agreement Released

The online legal document provider, RealDealDocs.com has released a number of Assignment and Assumption Agreements for the top companies in America including many Fortune 500 companies. These are the actual legal documents drafted by the nation’s top law firms.

The Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was drafted in October of 2008, as the stock market and Wall Street attempt to stabilize. Lehman Brothers was one of the financial institutions the government allowed to fail in September of this year; snowballing into the stock market recession, runs on the bank and the controversial Wall Street bail out. As the economy struggles to find it’s footing, the Lehman Brothers assignment and assumption agreement is an excellent peek into the process. The execution copy of this Assignment and Assumption Agreement is available in its entirety on the RealDealDocs.com website.

An Assignment and Assumption Agreement is a legal document to transfer personal property, intellectual property or contractual rights and obligations from one party to another.

RealDealDocs.com is the online legal document resource preferred by lawyers, deal professionals and entrepreneurs. The powerful search functionality is easy to use which is just one of the reasons 40 of the top 200 law firms in the world use it.

The contracts, agreements and clauses available at RealDealDocs.com are the actual legal documents used by both the smallest of small capital companies as well as Fortune 500 companies alike.

RealDealDocs.com helps to cut drafting time in half and provides unprecedented insight into the deal structures of the world’s largest companies. The legal documents may be searched for by category, law firm, parties involved or by the state of the governing law. Visitors can search the extensive RealDealDocs.com database absolutely free and members of the site may also download, copy, edit and print unlimited legal documents for their own personal or business use. Visit RealDealDocs.com for more information, membership options, and free legal document searches.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com, the first online practice guide for the national litigator and the national litigation practice.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The online legal document provider, RealDealDocs.com has released a number of Stock Option Plan Agreements for the top companies in America including many Fortune 500 companies. These are the actual legal documents drafted by the nation’s top law firms.

In the midst of the financial turmoil embracing America, many companies like Nascent Wine Company and Nascent Food Company, took this time to rework their stock option plan agreements. Another company to revise the stock option plan agreement is the LPL Investment Holdings Inc. which was drafted just before the other Wall Street shoe dropped in February of 2008. Both of these Stock Option Plan Agreements are available in their entirety on the RealDealDocs.com website.

A Stock Option Plan Agreement is a legal document providing the granting of stock options by an organization to the participant at a predetermined price.

RealDealDocs.com is the online legal document resource preferred by lawyers, deal professionals and entrepreneurs. The powerful search functionality is easy to use which is just one of the reasons 40 of the top 200 law firms in the world use it.

The contracts, agreements and clauses available at RealDealDocs.com are the actual legal documents used by both the smallest of small capital companies as well as Fortune 500 companies alike.

RealDealDocs.com helps to cut drafting time in half and provides unprecedented insight into the deal structures of the world’s largest companies. The legal documents may be searched for by category, law firm, parties involved or by the state of the governing law. Visitors can search the extensive RealDealDocs.com database absolutely free and members of the site may also download, copy, edit and print unlimited legal documents for their own personal or business use. Visit RealDealDocs.com for more information, membership options, and free legal document searches.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com, the first online practice guide for the national litigator and the national litigation practice.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Washington Mutual Stock Option Agreement Released by Legal Insider

The Stock Option Agreement for Washington Mutual, the financial and mortgage bank that recently failed and was acquired by JP Morgan Chase was made available today by online legal document provider RealDealDocs.com.

The latest of the Wall Street stock market casualties, Washington Mutual drafted a stock option agreement in February of this year. Presumably caused by Washington Mutual’s indulgence of sub prime loans and a ten day run on the bank after the Wall Street stock market crash, the FDIC seized the company and then sold it to JP Morgan Chase. The failure and acquisition transaction have left shareholders on the sidelines with nothing to show. A copy of this Stock Option Agreement is available in its entirety on the RealDealDocs.com website.

A Stock Option Agreement is a legal document stating that for a specific deposit amount an individual has first rights to make a purchase such as for stock or real property within a certain period of time.

RealDealDocs.com is the online legal document resource preferred by lawyers, deal professionals and entrepreneurs. The powerful search functionality is easy to use which is just one of the reasons 40 of the top 200 law firms in the world use it.

The contracts, agreements and clauses available at RealDealDocs.com are the actual legal documents used by both the smallest of small capital companies as well as Fortune 500 companies alike.

RealDealDocs.com helps to cut drafting time in half and provides unprecedented insight into the deal structures of the world’s largest companies. The legal documents may be searched for by category, law firm, parties involved or by the state of the governing law. Visitors can search the extensive RealDealDocs.com database absolutely free and members of the site may also download, copy, edit and print unlimited legal documents for their own personal or business use. Visit RealDealDocs.com for more information, membership options, and free legal document searches.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com, the first online practice guide for the national litigator and the national litigation practice.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Another gloomy day on Wall Street. Continuous layoffs are just reminding us all that we are still treading water. Last week, the Dow Jones was down nearly 340 points. Investors are nervous! And beginning this week, things just continue to get worse. Stocks did bunny jumps up and down all day long, ending with a stream of late-day selling that left the Dow lower by 223 points.

Curious to see if the nation’s troubled automakers would get a bailout, investors are hopeful that Senate Democrats are leaning towards using part of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to help top carmakers: General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.

Stay tuned…

Popularity: 5% [?]

The stock market has been a major concern to everyone who wears a suit and tie on a regular basis. Wall Streeters are often seen in photos with their head in hands, hunched over, looking devastated. However, for the past two weeks, U.S stocks have jumped up more than 2 percent. Analysts have said market prices relfected expectations of an Obama victory. And if Democrats get control over Congress, it may be easier for them to deal with the financial crisis.

In at least eight states, Obama is shown to be ahead of McCain won by Bush in 2004. That includes…Ohio and (believe it or not), Florida. According to Ian Edwards (an Ohio voter), he chose Obama this election.

“Very simple,” said Edwards, the chief exec of a small technology company. “Bad war. Bad economy. Bad reputation overseas.”

In Scottsdale Arizona, however, Jerry Fritsch chose McCain, stating that he has nephews in the U.S. Marine Corps. “I don’t want anybody who is going to screw with the Marine Corps heading up our main office.”

Meanwhile, Obama and his family voted in Chicago as onlookers took photos and cheered.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is in high demand. Having repeated last year’s total of distributing more than $1 billion to investors who fell victim to fraudulent actions, they also brought 671 enforcement actions in 2008.

“The SEC’s role in policing the markets and protecting investors has never been more critical,” Linda Chatman Thomsen said.

There has been a spike of up to 25% in insider trading cases and more than 45% in market manipulation cases. Major fraud cases included a suit against a Wall Street short seller for “spreading false rumors about a company and profiting from the stock price’s subsequent drop.”

Another mentionable suit was against two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers for misleading investors about two of the company’s hedge funds. And on the rise are Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases that involve U.S. public company bribery of foreign officials.

Good to know! Hopefully the current economy slip will push for stricter laws, better protection and more preventative steps geared towards stopping another “financial” outbreak.”

Popularity: 7% [?]

So much for the hip-hip-hurrays on Wall Street. After it looked as if the economy was saved, things took a dramatic turn for the worse. Stocks fell fast and hard as brokers’ hopes and dreams were snatched away from them. A big drop in retail sales and a Federal Reserve report that said tight credit conditions are hurting businesses across the country definitely didn’t help the situation.

The word “recession” keeps popping up and as time passes, it really looks as if we are headed towards one. The Dow is down about 733 at the 8,577 level. Reported by the Federal Reserve in Wall Street’s little black book technically called their “beige book,” it had been discovered that the economy continued to slow in the early fall as financial and credit problems grew worse. Also, difficulties in obtaining loans have “choked growth in wide swaths of the economy.”

“Even though the banking sector may be returning to normal, the economy still isn’t. The economy continues to face a host of other problems,” said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at ChannelCapitalResearch.com. “We’re in for a tough ride.”

Popularity: 9% [?]

Alas, the market is up and everyone on Wall Street applauded when the closing bell rang. After a week that scared the entire nation, things have turned around. The surge came as execs from leading banks were invited to join the Bush administration in Washington to work out a plan to get loans in order to save the economy from further destruction. Gaining more than 11 percent, the Dow reached its biggest one-day rallies since 1933.

In the early morning hours, stocks opened high and kept on going. The Dow was up more than 400 points within minutes and by lunch, it crossed back through the same 9,000 level it crashed below the following week.

“My screen is completely green, and I love that,” said John Lynch, chief market analyst for Evergreen Investments in Charlotte, N.C. “But I’m not doing any back flips yet. We still have many challenges up ahead.”

When the horns on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange finally blew, a wave of relief was felt by everyone. Hope is on its way!

Popularity: 7% [?]

Law schools everywhere are playing Superman and flying in to protect those smaller investors who are losing big. Filing claims against their brokers, although their losses don’t justify paying for a lawyer, the little guys still need help. For some, losing anywhere from $3,000 to $25,000 is no big deal but when you don’t have much…it matters!

The clinics that defend small investors began in New York with funding from former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. According to Gary Pieples, director of the Consumer Law Clinic at Syracuse University College of Law, he [Spitzer] donated money which generated from fines levied against Wall Street execs. And following in New York’s footsteps are California, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Popularity: 6% [?]