January 21, 2008
When business and trade groups complain that access to information of their business dealings in countries that the US Government has designated as "State Sponsors of Terrorism", should be discontinued, I have to question their motives. They are obviously trying to make sure that this information is not available to broadly, and if available will be spun in such a way to as make them look as good as possible. While I'm sure that there are probably legitimate problems with this, it doesn't mean that it should be easily accessible through the SEC. I believe the SEC is the perfect place where this information should be made available, and that this program should not be discontinued. Let's address legitimate concerns over the information presented to investors, and not throw out the "baby with the bath water" here.
Personally, I would love to have this information, as I am making a decision about whether I should invest in a particular company or not. Of course, I won't base my opinion on whether to invest in a particular company solely based on one source. I believe this will be true of the vast majority of investors.
This information is important to the country, to investors, and shouldn't be buried, but brought under the full light of disclosure, and companies should have to defend whatever business relationships they have.