Further evidence that US regulators are not at all interested in fixing the corporate governance mess that helped speed up the meltdown.As part of the $700 billion bailout package, the US Treasury...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive risk
by leon on October 20, 2008
The Bush administration's top economic adviser has finally told us something the world knew long ago: part of the US are already in deep recession. Nice to have a government that's in touch...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive regulators
by leon on October 18, 2008
There are many explanations for the crash. Some blame it on greedy bankers and investment strategies that shunned trust and integrity. Others blame it on cheap money and low interest rates. But the...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive risk
by leon on October 17, 2008
Why does the subprime meltdown remind me of our inability to deal with climate change? Both are the result of market failure, both are symptoms of the inability of government and markets to plan for...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive markets
by leon on October 17, 2008
Earlier this week, I did a blog entry on those who were able to predict the financial apocalypse now upon us.You can add financier George Soros. As John Cassidy suggests in the New York Review of...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive risk
by leon on October 16, 2008
How did Barclays end up with Lehman Brothers contracts that it never meant to buy? Blame it on a formatting error involving an Excel spreadsheet.In a fascinating case, reported by The Register,...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive markets
by leon on October 16, 2008
JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon summed it up well: "If you are not fearful, you're crazy."And that sound you hear, with the Dow Jones suffering its biggest drop since 1987, is hedge funds...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive Ethics
by leon on October 15, 2008
What does the implosion of markets teach us about ethics? Britain's Business In The Community business development director Mallen Baker has some interesting insights in his piece Financial...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive Ethics
by leon on October 15, 2008
Stunning CNN revelations about the US Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service and its so-called "cult of corruption".A report shows that the energy industry was lavishing...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive Accounting
by leon on October 14, 2008
The Financial Accounting Standards Board is under attack for giving companies guidance on valuing assets in inactive markets, without changing the fair value rule.The FASB has sought to clarify the...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive Accounting
by leon on October 14, 2008
In the downturn, companies are going to need to adjust their key performance indicators very quickly.In a boom market, the KPIs need to be build around getting the products and services out as...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive Accounting
by leon on October 13, 2008
The churn rate for chief financial officers is continuing at the same level as last year, reports CFO.com.That is somewhat surprising but it will be interesting to see how it pans out in the economic...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive risk
by leon on October 13, 2008
With forecasts that the world is headed for its worst recession in 25 years, if it's lucky, the Huffington Post has run a timely piece on the ones who predicted the economic firestorm.They...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive strategy
by leon on October 11, 2008
Nothing concentrates a man's mind more than his execution.No surprises then that The Wall Street Journal reports that GM is now in talks with Chrysler about a merger. If the merger goes ahead,...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive markets
by leon on October 10, 2008
Fear and panic have gripped the world's markets. On Friday, Wall Street continued its plunge, with losses for the year reaching an amazing $8.3 trillion.But if you look at the data closely, you...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive risk
by leon on October 10, 2008
That General Motors and Ford are in serious trouble is no big surprise. Standard & Poor's says it might cut their rating deeper into junk and specialists have told Bloomberg their liquidity...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive corporate crime
by leon on October 09, 2008
Federal prosecutors, who are already prosecuting Bear Stearns hedge fund managers, have expanded their probe and there is a string of other fraud investigations under way.No surprises then that a...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive markets
by leon on October 09, 2008
A few weeks ago, I did a blog entry condemning the way regulators around the world had cracked down on short selling. At the time, I maintained that short sellers play an important role in the...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive Accounting
by leon on October 08, 2008
Alarming stuff coming out with the House of Representative's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform probe into the debacle that is American International Group. A good summary from...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive risk
by leon on October 08, 2008
The US economy is even worse shape than expected if the latest figures are anything to go by.Consumer credit, or borrowing by consumers, has fallen to its lowest level on record and with the middle...
Read the full post.
Filed in archive markets
by leon on October 07, 2008
If Americans think they're doing it hard in this crisis, spare a thought for the folk in Iceland. The "Land of Fire and Ice" is close to bankruptcy because of the taste for debt, and...
Read the full post.
