A Big Thumbs Up for eBay's Options Plan

eBay's(EBAY Quote) proposal to give managers significantly more stock options got an unexpected vote of confidence Wednesday from the the nation's leading proxy adviser.

Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that shareholders vote for eBay's options plan this year, despite saying last year that investors should vote down similar increases in the number of shares eBay can grant as options.

The proposal comes as stock options are under scrutiny by investors, accounting experts and public-policy makers. Because stock options tend to reward employees and managers for short-term stock fluctuations, options have been linked to corporate scandals at Enron and WorldCom, where questionable or illegal steps allegedly were taken to boost share prices. ...