Microsoft will slash its profits

Microsoft turned thousands of its employees into multimillionaires by giving them options to buy shares that rapidly increased in value. After the US government anti-trust action, however, Microsoft shares went down (followed soon after by the whole stockmarket) so this doesn't work any more: who wants the option to buy shares for more than they are worth? Microsoft now plans to give employees shares instead of options, but the cost of the shares will appear in the books, knocking a couple of billion a year off Microsoft's profits. AP explains....