Oh, THAT SEC The Wall Street Journal headline (above) earlier this week was certainly encouraging. Unfortunately, the accompanying article appeared in the Journal’s sports section, not finance. So, while the Southeastern Conference’s football teams may be on the rise, the Securities and Exchange Commission is still very much a door mat, at least as far...Read More
Why Goldman Sachs Should Hire Matt Taibbi The most the Securities and Exchange Commission could exact from serial transgressor Goldman Sachs — for what appeared to be blatant fraud that netted the firm billions — was a measly $550 million fine last Summer. By contrast, in just one day of trading (yesterday), Matt Taibbi’s latest Rolling Stone...Read More
Two Tales, Both Stinky* ConAgra Offers to Acquire Ralcorp for About $4.9 Billion –headline, Bloomberg.com (5/4/2011) It’s hardly unusual for the target of a corporate acquisition to jump in price: such deals often occur at premiums, and can occasionally trigger bidding wars, further goosing the target’s stock price. So, what’s the big deal about Ralcorp...Read More
Goldman Sachs Settles with the SEC Here’s an ethical (and business) dilemma: Would you steal $200,000 if you knew that, if you were caught, the only penalty you faced would be a $5,500 fine? Do the following moral/financial calculation(s) with me. Keep 97% of what you stole. Face no jail time, don’t admit guilt, and...Read More
