Adecco faces new disclosure probe

Adecco faces three probes and a string of lawsuits

The Swiss Stock Exchange has launched an investigation into how employment firm Adecco released information during a recent scare over its accounts.

The exchange said that disclosure rules might have been violated, giving some analysts market-sensitive information.

Adecco has refused to comment, but said it would cooperate fully.

The firm last month acquitted itself of accounting fraud, after previously admitting to a black hole in the books of its US subsidiary.

The full financial impact is still not clear, however.

Careless talk?

The Swiss probe is not concerned with Adecco's accounting, but rather with the way the firm handled the publicity around the affair.

After the initial news of accounting concerns broke in early January, the company declined all public comment, saying it was bound by US law not to give ad hoc briefings.

But the company's finance chief gave one media interview, in which he sought to play down the company's problems.

And it has since emerged that he contacted favoured investors, analysts and clients privately to give them details of the state of play.

If found guilty by the exchange, Adecco would probably face only mild punishment: although the severest sanction is delisting, most past cases have resulted in a reprimand.

Meanwhile, the company must still deal with an investigation by the Swiss banking commission over possible insider trading, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as a string of lawsuits from shareholders.