Trump asks SEC to mull half-year corporate filings vs quarterly

[August 17, 2018]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to study the impact of allowing companies to file reports with the financial regulator every six months instead of every quarter.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses members of his cabinet and the news media as he holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

"That would allow greater flexibility & save money," he said in a post on Twitter on Friday.

Publicly traded companies in the United States currently file their earnings reports every three months, or four times a year. The potential shift would allow them to reduce these filings to two a year.

Trump said he called on the SEC to consider the change after talking with various business leaders. He said one executive suggested the change as a way to boost business, although he did not name the individual or the company.

Trump recently hosted a number of top company leaders while on vacation at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, including the heads of Apple Inc <AAPL.O>, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV <FCHA.MI>, Boeing Co <BA.N>, FedEx Corp <FDX.N>, and Honeywell International Inc <HON.N>.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Makini Brice)

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