NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen reports that the President's Tax Reform Advisory Panel did not envision eliminating ESOPs when it proposed eliminating defined contribution plans. A U.S. district court says ESOP fiduciaries must diversify only if the company faces impending doom. FASB has a simplified method of handling equity plan tax effects. A new survey examines equity plans in global companies. The SEC is investigating whether certain stock option grants were improperly backdated.