SEC pulls April Fools’ prank

The “Katie Couric provision” would require companies to reveal how much they paid the celebrities and sports stars who sit on their boards, according to a spoof statement released yesterday by Securities and Exchange Commission.
SEC chairman Christopher Cox approved the release of the April Fools’ jape, which called on publicly listed companies to reveal the pay and perks of the “top 100 people who make more than the CEO.”
A fictional spokeswoman named “April Fuhrst” and a non-existent official named “Sue Offen” listed as a high-ranking attorney in the SEC’s enforcement division, were featured in the release. according to published reports.
Ms. Fuhst promised the new transparency would “reveal a treasure trove of titillating information”.
“From readers of People Magazine to those who are now assembling their fantasy baseball league rosters, regular Americans will appreciate the ready access they’ll have to this new data,” she is quoted as saying.
The SEC also announced that it had conducted a thorough economic analysis of the proposal, and that “simultaneously with the issuance of its economic analysis, the commission took the unusual step of suing itself — both to save time, and to be assured of being on the winning side when the court rules,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Cox, a former Congressman, has a history of perpetrating April Fools’ pranks, according to reports.