The Forbes website has an item about Barnes & Noble's acknowledgment of a federal inquiry into its stock option practices, with Justice Department attorneys making an official document request last Friday. "The company is one of many suspected of backdating its stock options to boost profits for those receiving them," according to Forbes. The Wall Street Journal has more on this alleged malfeasance, following up on its coverage of the issue from last month, when B&N announced its own internal investigation in the wake of a shareholder lawsuit. "A review of securities filings shows that Barnes & Noble granted stock options to senior executives at monthly lows," the paper reported then; the two examples they cited were option handouts involving chairman Leonard Riggio and CEO Stephen Riggio.