A primer for Freepers on three issues of the Enron fraud and investigation

self

[hole_n_one]

If that's the extent of the checks and balances that are in place, then I suspect that the entire system is rife with fraud.

[ken5050]

Correct..banks book a loan origination/syndicate fee...that's their profit..they sell off the loan in pieces.....

[ken5050]

Don't forget Billy Sol Estes..now there's a name from the past

[Constitutional_Republican]

Of course, John Mcain was one of the senators that received donations from Enron.

[EdZep]

What do you all think of Enron's prospects for any sort of recovery. I've been thinking of buying a few hundred shares -- call it a lark -- while it's in the 60-80 cent range.

AND... what happened to FR's Self-Search function? I didn't pay attention for a few days, and suddenly, it's gone.

Socialists in Congress? Click on the zeppelin, Grasshopper.

[ken5050]

Enron is dead..no bailout...maybe simething for the employees, if it was fraud,and the government can recover later..

[ken5050]

YUP......and from what I've read, there were over 50 partnerships...

[BJungNan]

YES. it was a good read.

[ken5050]

Ask me about the Keating 5......

[Quicksilver]

Thanks, you're an FR treasure. :-) I noticed that you didn't comment on the wisdom of Enron employees putting all of their 401k in Enron stock, I'm sure that to them it looked safe at the time.

[ken5050]

BUy 100shares..but get a stock certificate..It'll be nice wallpaper, or suitable for framing.....ENE is toast..the company will not survive, it'll be pushed into a liquidation filing.......

[kitty_wilson_esquire]

Thank you. Your analysis is very helpful and your ability to decompose the complex provides real understanding of the issues. The accounting folks in this matter are CPAwhores who were entrusted to prevent this from happening. They were "Certified"!?! Is this code of ethics common practice amoung the auditing brotherhood who "certify" the financial statements of major corporations listed on the NYSE and the NASDAQ? Since the mid1980's it appears that our economic growth has been supported by an increase in savings and investment of 401(k) and 403(b) funds in equities. First, the technology bubble burst and now the hallmark of utilities has burst. Where was the SEC in all of this? Are we on the verge of a "false earnings" scandal in major corporations? The concern should be over the next 'ENRON' in our economy. Will Charles Schwab be next? Or Fidelity or General Dynamics or General Electric? Perhaps, the old man and I should be allowed to take his 401(k) plan and invest it to pay off the 1st trust deed loan on the residential rental property over on Easy Street.

[Dianna]

Thanks for the Whitewater primer! I'm not sure that I ever understood Hillary's exact role. I wasn't a FReeper back then. :(

[ken5050]

People have the right to be stupid, to fail..it's called greed...again, look at LUCENT..big old company, spun off for TT..doing fabulously.....employees made fortunes, they had 95% of there 40lks in the stock.....then the NASDAQ colapsed, the dot.coms and the telcos died.....and the financing that LUCENT offered to the start ups blew up..the stock tanked 95%..100,000 employees lost their jobs......so where's the bleating for them??

[RJayneJ]

Nice job Ken!

Click the icon for My Two Cents! Enron and the Vengeful Democrats

Quote of the Day by hflynn

[Dianna]

First, the technology bubble burst and now the hallmark of utilities has burst. Where was the SEC in all of this? Are we on the verge of a "false earnings" scandal in major corporations?

How depressing. And no one will touch this angle with a 10 foot pole.

[Ken H]

Do you have a sense of the economic fallout from the Enron collapse?

For example, are there banks, such as Citi, that will take a sizeable loss? Is this big enough to knock the stock market down?

Your article was very clear and understandable, BTW.

[doug from upland]

Tip of the iceberg. According to Professor Martin Gross -- THE GREAT WHITEWATER FIASCO -- Hillary twice represented the RTC in actions against two people with whom her governor husband had done business. The fraud cases were settled for pennies on the dollar.

Hillary was directly responsible for Madison Guaranty staying afloat when they were truly insolvent. It cost the taxpayers many more millions of dollars.

[ken5050]

I'll leave most of your questions for the morning, if I may....but YI, the new isue of Business Week, which has been doing some excellent reportign on Eneron, has a cover story on Cisco, all but implying that Cisco's books have been cooked the last decade..But yes, in actuality, the great fraud of the last two decades is the compete failure of public accounting....Igrew up on Graham & Dodd...was taught that it s the balance sheet and the earnings that count..but now, you can't tel what earnings are..."is" .. pro-forma....every time I see that word I want to scream.....it's like my duaghter sayig she could afford her apartment if she didnt have to pay the rent.....but shecan manage the electrical, cable, and phones bills...

[ken5050]

Thanks...JH2 is a treature..actually , it was his essay earlier this week that inspired by last two efforts, including this one..Did you see my essay calling for Bush to play hardball, and make the recess appointments.....??? the next day, HE DID....obviously, he rreads FR and my stuff......(G)