R.I. Treasurer Exposes Jacobs Trading Racket
BENTONVILLE, Arkansas: Rhode Island’s state treasurer has asked U.S. regulators to investigate whether Wal-Mart Stores Inc. violated securities laws by not disclosing that the son of the retailer’s chief executive works for a company that does business with Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart said there is no conflict of interest and no requirement under the law for a disclosure. Mona Williams, Wal-Mart’s vice president of corporate communications, said the question is a “non-issue.”
In a letter made public Thursday, Rhode Island General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Wal-Mart. Rhode Island’s state employee pension fund has substantial holdings in Wal-Mart shares through index funds that group large corporations, he said.
Caprio said Eric S. Scott, son of Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott, works for Jacobs Trading Co., which buys unsold furniture from big retailers like Wal-Mart and resells it to smaller discount stores. Caprio said Eric Scott “staffs” the Jacobs Trading office in Arkansas, where Wal-Mart is based.
Caprio argued that SEC rules require publicly traded companies to tell investors if an immediate family member of an executive has a “material interest” in another business’s dealings with that company.
Wal-Mart has not made that disclosure, Caprio alleged.
Williams said the term “material interest” is narrowly defined under the law and might apply, for example, if Eric Scott was an executive or officer of Jacobs Trading. “But he is not,” she said.
“There are rules for what you should disclose and we follow all of them. This does not fall into any of those categories,” Williams said.
Jacobs Trading told The Associated Press that Eric Scott works for the company but is not an employee.
“He does some work for us. I can’t say more than that,” said Dave Engel, the chief financial officer.
Williams said Eric Scott does not influence Jacobs Trading’s business with Wal-Mart or deal with Wal-Mart for Jacobs.
“This particular question came up a couple of years ago and a thorough review by our audit department found there was absolutely no conflict with our ethics policy. This was also shared at that time with the chair of our board audit committee,” Williams said.
According to Caprio’s letter, Jacobs Trading has contracted as recently as last year to resell Wal-Mart’s unsold furniture.
Engel declined to comment on Jacobs’ business.
Williams confirmed that Jacobs is a Wal-Mart vendor but said the fact that the CEO’s son works for a vendor is not a violation of the company’s code of ethics.
The ethics code bars Wal-Mart employees from soliciting jobs for immediate family members from suppliers. It does not bar family members of Wal-Mart employees from working for vendors, Williams said.
Posted by Jason Korta on Friday, May 25, 2007
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COMMENTS
Republicans are essentially authoritarian. They want a central authority to give them their marching orders. These marching orders must appeal to the reptilian brain that sadly dominates the Republican party.
The Republican debate red meat fest was a contest to see who had the biggest reptilian brain and therefore deserves to lead the pack. Reason and logic or being guided by one’s higher brain centers is a sign of weakness to these people.
Republicans want to march behind a person who like Bush, is willing to suspend higher cortical guidance and go with instinctive guidance.
How many more American deaths is it worth, to defend the growth rate of the Exxon CEO’s annual bonus?
Ellen in St. Louis, MO
Saturday, May 26 at 04:40 AM
That’s three requests for SEC investigations in less than two months. Illinois, New York, and now Rhode Island.
Keep in mind these are not associates buying one share of WMT every payday. These are pension and retirement funds that buy huge blocks of stock.
I wonder how the Waltons feel watching their company’s capitalization dwindle along with their paper fortune.
Ken V in Texas
Saturday, May 26 at 06:34 AM
Ellen
Why do you insist on embarassing yourself constantly? If we are fighting a war for oil, why am I paying $3.20 a gallon for gas? Why were all the oil services contracts in Iraq given to non-US companies? When oil costs Exxon Mobil more money, how is that to their benefit? US oil companies are forced to pay higher and higher royalties to foreign governments. I am sick of it. If they want our companies to develop their resources and then throw us out, we should threaten them with bombing. We should fight a war for oil because the high cost and lack of available supply are a threat to our economy and our national security.
TRUE Republicans like myself believe in the Constitution, limited government, low taxes, property rights, gun rights, morality and strong national defense. Religious nuts and clueless politicians who want to spend us out of existence are not true Republicans. If you want to attack the current crop of so-called Republicans, so be it. But there are those of us who have intelligence and who will one day take back our party and assert our dominance over the country.
Count on it.
Nick in
Saturday, May 26 at 12:49 PM
Ellen,
Did you know that Condi Rice has a Chevron oil tanker named after her? Or how about the big Chevron oil refineries especially made for Iraqi crude. So, American oil companies had oil contracts with Saddam Hussein and he balked. Instead he changed over to a $30 billion oil/weapons deal with the Russians. Irving, Texas and El Segundo, California just couldn’t have that. Our dictator of convenience is now a no good rat bastard and we need to run military recruiting videos at 2600 WalMart stores. How many were in Spanish? Unknown.
In addition to blaming the Democrats for losing the war, Bush and his corporate gang now must try and convince America that the problems the CIA and oil corporations started in the Middle East are not part of a ‘you reap what you sow’ principle and that ‘new’ evidence shows a 2005 bin Laden connection into Iraq as a justifiable pretext for the theories of preemption warfare in 2003. Bush is a propaganda slob who still has not the intellectual capacity to understand the consequences of his resource rapist foriegn policy. Bush wants to destabilize Iran again and create another pretext for war. They did not have anything to do with 9/11 either.
However WalMart will run the recruitment videos and pump the jingoistic/patriotism music for the corporate slobs who need boots. They will also provide impoverishment ‘greeter’ jobs for the troops when they return. WalMart needs to paint themselves in patriotic Americana with
‘hero/suckers’ at the bloodstained front door for image and reputation salvage.
WalMart- We are part of a greater jingoistic corporate culture fraud against America’s youth. We help Bush/Exxon/Chevron write it in blood. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!
And now, without changing your dial, Nick, Bob, Mary and the other propaganda pigs in the WalMart/Edelman ‘war room’ will recite the ‘WalMart Pledge of Allegiance’ and then sing ‘God Bless America’ in Chinese.
SanDiegoView in $3.65 per gallon gasoline
Saturday, May 26 at 01:27 PM
well said Sandy
RainySouth in
Saturday, May 26 at 01:40 PM
NIck the problem lies with the Bush Kingdom. Self centered, self serving and money hungry. He has sold out america.
RainySouth in Soggy Southeast Texas
Saturday, May 26 at 01:44 PM
I was at our local humane society yesterday afternoon when a woman came in a with a small dog. She was told that, without an appointment to surrender the dog, there would be a $100 fee.
She stormed out, and literally threw the hapless dog into the car. Before she finished getting herself into the car, the dog escaped. We went out and scooped it up and waived the fee… just to get it away from her.
Why am I telling you this?
Because the bumper stickers on the car were Bush/Cheney, WWJD?, and (I kid you not) “Make Iraq a Parking Lot”.
Correlation, or just coincidence? Just sayin’…
Pauline in Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, May 26 at 08:06 PM
Pauline
This story has nothing to do with the topic and it only tells me that this woman was an absolute loser. I despise people who abuse animals, children or helpless seniors. I don’t care if this woman was conservative or liberal-she is a complete scumbag. The difference between myself and the WMW people here is that I call a spade a spade and they are blind followers.
SDV
Are you talking about the stupidity of George W. Bush? Do you mean the same George Bush with better grades than Al Gore and John Kerry? The same George Bush who was smart enough to plan 9/11 but not smart enough to repeat a similar scanerio? The George Bush who was smart enough to fool the supposedly “intelligent” Democrats (who saw the exact same intelligence gathered by every democratic intelligence agency in the world and who demanded a second resolution authorizing force in Iraq because they did not want to seem weak on defense)? The George Bush who sent us to war for oil then sat by as Americans pay $3.25 for 87 gas and all the oil contracts in Iraq go to non-American companies?
You wackos and your conspiracy theories annoy me. You stare logic in the face and deny deny deny. By the way, Chevron renamed that tanker that was named after Condi. She asked them to after she took the National Security Advisor post.
Here are some quotes on Iraq. See if you can guess who made them?
“Iraq is a long way from [the USA], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.” Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Feb 18, 1998
“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998
“We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.” Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.” Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002
“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.” Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
I could go on and on but these should get you started…
Nick in
Saturday, May 26 at 09:13 PM
Ellen,
Four questions:
1.) Why did all of those Democrats vote for the war, did they have reptilian brains too? ( Hillary was one of them)
2.) If this war is all about oil, why are we in Bagdad and not having all our troops protecting and rebuilding the oil fields?
3.) Why didn’t we grab those oil fields during ‘Desert Storm’?
4.) How much oil are we getting from Iraq now, shouldn’t we be getting it all?
And, talk about people marching and willing to suspend higher cortical guidance, that is the Democrats pure and simple. For years, simple slogans have been the mainstay of the Democratic Party, ie: “Tax Breaks for the Rich”, no substance, just what people with low incomes will buy. They have fostered class envy, yet, they themselves are all rich!! Anybody with half a brain, can see that the Democrats have considereded themselves the party of the ‘poor’ and in order to keep their constituency, the people must remain ‘poor’, that is why they are known as the ‘tax and spend’ party! Think about it, why doesn’t the Democrats raise the minimum wage to a ‘living wage’, if they really cared about the welfare of the ‘poor’?
Democrats are the party of ‘negatives’ and ‘insecurity’ and can’t stand ‘positive’, ‘forceful’ people, therefore, all they can do is try to make them look bad and call them names, to try to make themselves look better!!
Bob in
Saturday, May 26 at 09:55 PM
How we know Daffy Duck is Republican:
“It’s mine, understand? Mine, all mine! Get back down there! Down down down! Go go go! Mine mine mine! Mwahahaha!”
Pauline in Las Vegas, Nevada
Sunday, May 27 at 11:59 AM
Pauline,
Thanks, you made my point!!!!
Bob in
Sunday, May 27 at 10:47 PM
I could go on and on...
...and on and on and on and on and on and on...ad infinitum------->
Ken V in Texas
Monday, May 28 at 02:37 AM
WWJD?
What Would Jesus Do?
Ken V in Texas
Wednesday, May 30 at 04:10 AM
Ken V,
“What Would Jesus Do?”
He would shop at Wal-Mart, don’t you know? Haven’t you heard, that “Jesus Saves”?
Bob in
Wednesday, May 30 at 09:27 AM
Bob see you in hell for that. Why are Nick ,Bob ,and Mary on
here every day ? Sometimes more than 3-7 times a day .
TOTAL LOSERS!! OVERPAID WAL_MART SLUGS>
LSD in
Tuesday, June 05 at 09:28 AM
http://913f116c042aee78f918eef93a22b0fc-t.tdymop.info 913f116c042aee78f918eef93a22b0fc http://913f116c042aee78f918eef93a22b0fc-b1.tdymop.info 913f116c042aee78f918eef93a22b0fc http://913f116c042aee78f918eef93a22b0fc-b3.tdymop.info f24fa7c47d24f7cf96c8a5890a8a6274
Frankie in Kendall
Thursday, June 07 at 11:39 AM
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