SEC investigation could affect Apple’s fortunes

“As much as Apple wants to focus on its future with a new name and gadgets introduced Tuesday at Macworld, federal investigators are unlikely to overlook its past stock-option practices… legal experts say Apple’s revelations last month about documents from a board meeting that never occurred, Chief Executive Steve Jobs’ fame and the departure of two key executives make this a case regulators must review carefully. ‘It’s not an advantage to be prominent in an SEC investigation — in fact, it’s a disadvantage,” said Richard M. Phillips, a senior partner for K&L Gates in San Francisco’. “