Free Republic

Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs gave officers or directors of 21 favored investment banking clients access to lucrative initial public offerings it managed, said a congressional committee on Wednesday in a scathing report Goldman slammed as "rubbish." The so-called "spinning" of IPOs by Goldman occurred from 1996 to 2000 and allowed numerous high-profile corporate executives to reap hefty profits from new, red-hot, mostly technology and telecommunication issues, said the report from the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Among those who received the IPO share access from Goldman were former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay and former Tyco International chief...

Adelphia Communications Corp.'s board and auditors have come under fire for the cable concern's self-dealing, but another player is starting to take heat for its role in the company's implosion, Wednesday's Wall Street Journal reported. Salomon Smith Barney acted as Adelphia's lead underwriter for some recent big offerings of Adelphia stock, while its parent Citigroup Inc. was one of the cable firm's primary creditor banks. Salomon has also been hired to help sell the company's cable-TV assets. The intimate involvement of Citigroup's different departments with Adelphia put it in a prime position to know about the co-borrowing arrangements and...