Prosecutors in the Enron trial got a late Christmas present with Enron's chief accounting officer Richard Causey entering a guilty plea. The deal is expected to include testifying in the trial in exchange for a lesser prison sentence.

Still, it does raise the question of how strong the prosecution's case is. As a former federal prosecutor told Bloomberg: ``Typically, you don't see the government willing to sign on a cooperating defendant on the eve of the trial. This is a tacit acknowledgement by the government that their case is far from overwhelming and they are willing to take all the help they can get.''

On the other hand, it's not great news for the Lay and Skilling defence. Should make the trial fascinating.