Protect our stock options

This report from Reuters (based on this story($) in the Wall Street Journal) about beleaguered mortgage lender Countrywide Financial's efforts to protect employee stock options brings to mind two questions.

1. Are they all done with their image rebuilding campaign?
2. Do they plan to issue bracelets to management?

Countrywide extends employee stock options
Countrywide Financial Corp is giving several thousand employees more time to exercise stock options, making it less likely the options will prove worthless, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday in its online edition.

The Journal also reported that as of Monday afternoon, senior executives of the company had not reported any purchases of Countrywide stock at the current depressed level.

Countrywide recently suffered through a mortgage and capital markets crisis that peaked in August. The company's stock has fallen 73.3 percent from its 52-week high of $45.19 reached February 2, through Monday's close.

According to the Journal, Countrywide disclosed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week that eight senior executives were getting one or two-year extensions to buy shares in the company at prices ranging from $32 to $39.

A company spokesman told the Journal that the extensions are aimed at retaining "valued employees" and apply to nearly all stock options granted in 2004 and 2005 to several thousand workers.

Countrywide was not immediately available for comment.

If it's not too late for item number two above, the phrase OPTIONSTRONG would be appropriate and, clearly, green would be the right color.