International Rectifier Says CEO Lidow “On Leave” Pending Accounting Probe

International Rectifier Says CEO Lidow “On Leave” Pending Accounting Probe
International Rectifier (IRF) today said that CEO Alex Lidow has gone on leave of absence with pay pending the resolution of a previously announced Audit Committee investigation of some apparent accounting irregularities. Donald Dancer, the company’s general counsel, will be acting CEO. In July, the company announced the “termination” of CFO Michael McGhee, and the resignation [...]

International Rectifier (IRF) today said that CEO Alex Lidow has gone on leave of absence with pay pending the resolution of a previously announced Audit Committee investigation of some apparent accounting irregularities.

Donald Dancer, the company’s general counsel, will be acting CEO.

In July, the company announced the “termination” of CFO Michael McGhee, and the resignation of EVP for global sales and marketing Robert Grant. In April, the company advised investors not to rely on its financial filings for the June 2006 fiscal year, and disclosed that the company had identified “accounting irregularities at a foreign subsidy,” including premature revenue recognition of product sales.

Naughty, naughty.

International Rectifer today is down $2.83, or 7%, at $35.56.

Normally safe commercial paper market can't escape credit crunch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Before this summer, few investors probably bothered to understand a rather staid and highly specialized part of modern financing: commercial paper.

Yahoo: Finally Cheap Enough?
Brian Bolan, the director of research at Chicago-based Jackson Securities, today raised his rating on Yahoo (YHOO) to Hold from Sell, asserting that “a management transition and an innovation in the email platform have buoyed our expectations for the coming turnaround announcement.” This is a slightly goofy report - the coming turnaround announcement? has that been [...]

Brian Bolan, the director of research at Chicago-based Jackson Securities, today raised his rating on Yahoo (YHOO) to Hold from Sell, asserting that “a management transition and an innovation in the email platform have buoyed our expectations for the coming turnaround announcement.”

This is a slightly goofy report - the coming turnaround announcement? has that been scheduled? - and I really know nothing about Jackson Securities, other than the fact that it is owned by Atlanta Life Financial, whoever they are. It’s also a bit schizophrenic. Bolan warns that Yahoo in the current quarter “will show a precipitous drop in operating income,” and that there may still be “headline risk” as a result. But he also writes that after the announcement of third-quarter earnings in mid-October, “the stock will begin to recover, setting it up to be the story stock of 2008.”

Well, if you really though you had ID’d “the story stock of 2008,” why not take a more aggressive position than a Hold rating?

For all my quibbling, Bolan raises a very good question: which is whether Yahoo is setting up for a turnaround, and if it is, when investors ought to become more aggressive on the stock.

Meanwhile, the company confirmed yesterday’s rumors about a management shakeup.

Brian Pitz and Brian Fitzgerald, analysts at Bank of America, wrote this morning that the changes are a positive for the stock, noting that the key for Yahoo is to organize its salesforce around holistic selling of search and branded advertising, and to take a more data-driven approach to ad sales. They maintain their Buy rating and $35 price target on the stock.

Yahoo today is up 18 cents at $22.73.

Interest in CME Tender Offer Scant
CME Group shareholders don't appear interested in selling out, as only 1.6 million shares were tendered in the futures exchange's proposed $3.5 billion stock buyback.