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Ethics
by leon on June 30, 2008
New BAE boss Ian King has vowed to improve the company's ethical standards in the wake of the Woolf Report into the company's ethics following allegations of bribery and corruption, and the S...
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strategy
by leon on June 30, 2008
Interesting piece in The Economist about a new business model in Asia where multiplayer online games rely on a strategy where the the company gives away the software as a free download and lets users...
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Ethics
by leon on June 27, 2008
The world is in the grip of a water crisis and government corruption is making it worse, according to a new Transparency International report.According to the report, corruption adds significantly to...
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litigation
by leon on June 26, 2008
The business-friendly US Supreme Court has once shown that persistence pays off. Especially when it's coming from the big end of town.The Supremes have cut the 1994 $5 billion punitive damages bi...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 26, 2008
Conrad Black has lost his appeal against convictions for fraud and obstructing the course of justice. That means he will now almost certainly serve the six-and-a-half prison sentence handed out to hi...
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strategy
by leon on June 25, 2008
Call it a sign of the times. Disturbing piece in Newsweek about how businesses are now paying $10,000 a month for so-called "psychic consultants" , to provide advice and help build strategy...
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Accounting
by leon on June 25, 2008
The International Accounting Standards Board which is now looking into fair value (relax, they are not expected to come up with anything final before 2011), has been attacked lately.Earlier this mont...
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SOX
by leon on June 24, 2008
For the fifth time, the Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to give smaller companies another year stay of grace before complying with the audit requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley. But don'...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 24, 2008
About 10 years after the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, and it looks like the battle against corruption is going nowhere.According to a Transparency International report, has found that more than half...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 23, 2008
Jeff Skilling got a sentence twice as long as other Enron convicts. Enron's former chief executive is now serving 24 years in the slammer but he has an appeal underway.Now there are suggestions, ...
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SOX
by leon on June 23, 2008
It's hardly news but almost six years on, and corporate America still hates Sarbanes-Oxley.According to the National Survey of CEOs on Business Ethics, by Georgia State's Center for Ethics an...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 20, 2008
The Siemens bribery scandal gets wider and wider.Now we have reports that the bribe money was distributed through a German company owned by three banks. Needless to say, the banks have all since prof...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 20, 2008
Big day for arrests.First, we have the arrest of the two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew tannin on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud as part of t...
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regulators
by leon on June 19, 2008
It had to happen. When markets are troubled, big government steps in.us treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will be pushing to give the Federal Reserve more power over markets. His speech, strategically...
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Ethics
by leon on June 19, 2008
Some striking revelations from Congressman Henry Waxman. chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.In this letter to the US Department of Defense's Inspector General, Wax...
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Accounting
by leon on June 19, 2008
Last week, I looked at how European auditors were on the way to getting limited liability.Now it looks like their US counterparts are going to get the same thing with reports that the Securities and ...
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litigation
by leon on June 19, 2008
Two lawsuits with potentially massive consequences.Buffalo-based M&T Bank is suing Deutsche Bank for $82 million, claiming for $82 million, claiming Deutsche Bank fraudulently sold M&T high-r...
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regulators
by leon on June 18, 2008
Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi, and Matthew tannin, now face the prospect of criminal charges, reports Bloomberg.Given the fallout from the battering the investment bank rec...
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Ethics
by leon on June 17, 2008
It had to happen. Writing in the Harvard Business Review blog, Andrew Winston talks about the rise of the "conflicted consumer", the one who will buy products that are environmentally or so...
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strategy
by leon on June 16, 2008
Two weeks ago, I looked at how soaring oil prices will turn flying into hell.Now we have some advice from BusinessWeek's Traveler's Check blog on how to save the industry.Bob Crandall, the fo...
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strategy
by leon on June 16, 2008
Seeking to shore up the female vote, and win over supporters of Hillary Clinton's failed bid for the US presidency, john mccain has turned to forrmer Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina. Once the...
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Ethics
by leon on June 15, 2008
Since when are US brand runners necessary for earthquake relief?That's the question the world should be asking following the report that staff at the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce...
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Accounting
by leon on June 14, 2008
Is nothing sacred?My favourite team AC Milan along with Genoa-based Sampdoria have copped a massive fine for false accounting, reports Reuters.The Italian Soccer Federation didn't just fine the c...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 13, 2008
Last month, I did a blog entry on how mortgage fraud cases were up and stretching the resources of the FBI.Now we have further evidence of that with Bloomberg reporting that the FBI has pulled agents...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 12, 2008
Something that will send shockwaves through the British business world with the first jail sentence for cartel conduct in the UK. Three businessmen, including two from the British unit of Continental...
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strategy
by leon on June 12, 2008
It was amazing enough to read the report that President Bush has not sent a single email message during his eight years in power. Apparently, it's all that concern about the commander-in-chief...
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Accounting
by leon on June 11, 2008
Nearly two years ago, I wrote about some disturbing developments where a European study pushed for liability caps for auditors. There is an issue of moral hazard here. Auditors should be held account...
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Accounting
by leon on June 11, 2008
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has brought in new rules that will require public accounting firms to file annual reports. They will also be required to come clean on things like discip...
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corporate reputation
by leon on June 10, 2008
Toyota, Google and IKEA are the top three in the list of the world's most respected companies, according to the latest rankings from the Reputation Institute.The full list is here.
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markets
by leon on June 10, 2008
Let's take yesterday's expected announcement by Lehman Brothers of a $2.8 billion loss and $6 billion capital raising in context.It coincides with the Bank of International Settlements issuin...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 9, 2008
This is the last roll of the dice for Conrad black. He has begun his appeal against the six and half year sentence for fraud and obstruction of justice with his lawyers telling the appeal judges that...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 9, 2008
Back in April, I did a blog entry looking at the disturbing trend in the US justice system for prosecutors to do special deals with companies accused of wrongdoing in the form of deferred prosecution...
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markets
by leon on June 8, 2008
Friday's bleak US payroll data showing another drop in jobs and rising unemployment, combined with this long-term chart of US gross firing and hiring, is not just another sign of the unfolding US...
Read more of US recession reality check
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Ethics
by leon on June 6, 2008
Nike, BMW, Alcoa, Rio Tinto, IKEA, Cisco Systems, Sun Microsystems, Xerox, American Express and Honda. These are some of the world's most ethical companies, as listed by Ethisphere.The list is no...
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Ethics
by leon on June 6, 2008
Less than two weeks ago, we looked at how Europe's biggest phone company, Deutsche Telekom, was spying on executives and journalists to track down the source of leaks.If that sent shock-waves thr...
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strategy
by leon on June 5, 2008
Businesses might be concerned about higher taxes and a tougher line on trade but Wall Street is putting its money on Barack Obama for president, according to Reuters.According to this report, Obama h...
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corporate crime
by leon on June 5, 2008
The intrigue surrounding the BAE-Saudi bribery scandal continues with the Financial Times reporting that a third man, BAE's business development director Alan Garwood has been issued with a subpo...
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litigation
by leon on June 5, 2008
Bizarre story about a Fox News employee Jane Clark launching legal action claiming she got bedbug bites at work and that she is now suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Just how bad is it r...
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Accounting
by leon on June 4, 2008
British accounting academic Prem Sikka has long been a savage critic of the accounting and audit industry. One of the few public interest accountancy academics, Sikka has argued that the problem with...
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markets
by leon on June 4, 2008
All eyes are on Lehman Brothers tanking with its shares falling nearly 10 per cent on speculation that the company intended to raise $4 billion in fresh capital and word that it's about to report...
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strategy
by leon on June 3, 2008
So you reckon it takes an executive only a few months to get up to scratch with a new job? Think again.According to new research, published here, almost one in three top executive hired from another ...
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risk
by leon on June 3, 2008
Extraordinary developments with the Bank of New York Mellon coming out and confirming that it lost magnetic tapes containing the personal details of 4.5 million people.The incident happened three mon...
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strategy
by leon on June 2, 2008
Interesting thoughts from Thomas Stewart at the Harvard Business Review blog on the way airlines continually wage war on their customers. He says it usually happens when companies get in a panic when...
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SOX
by leon on June 2, 2008
Everyone knows that Sarbanes-Oxley has been a gold-mine for accountants.Now we have new evidence that it's also done a lot of good for chief financial officers. According to a study, finance chie...
