IT is of course common for the accused in this country to gather the best lawyers (read most creative and imaginative)  to mount a defense.  Now comes this story from China about Corporate Hari Kari.   Cosidering it was the fault of the paint supplier, this is a rather amazing choice of actions.  In short the…

Well here is a site I will have to add to Helpful Websites, brainy quotes.  It is handily categorized by authors and subject.  Click and give it a whirl, here are a few classics by John Ruskin. Eudcation is the leading of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of…

This Sunday DMN reports that one person  has been sentenced to one year for charging some $450,000 on her credit card.  A second person will be tried in Sept.  Nine to eighteen people have been disciplined. Notably these two are lower level secretary types.  Accountability, no one in charge, who approved these payments,  hundreds are…

I had some Ford bonds but sold them afer reading so many articles that suggested in reality the Ford balance sheet has no value.  As of this monring reading this article by the new CEO of Ford , I am really worred about  the company, but glad I sold anyway. Alan  Mulally says that we…

In a bull or up stock market, all news is eventually bullish.  This means that whether it sounds good or not, the spin is such that it eventually translates into higher prices. Conversely, in a bear market, all news is eventually translated in to lower prices. The reason for this is not so much fundamental,…

Marines are now required to obtain a tan belt  rating in martial arts combat.  To make the exercise even more realistic, the Drill Instructors exhaust them physically (running, jumping, calisthentics) before the qualificaiton, read simulation battle, begins.  There is a reason for this.  Street fighting in Baghdad is liable  to happen only after the Marine…

Robert Samuleson explains the real estate domino effect  in this good article.  I think macro economics has its place and he explains it as well as oh say  Tom Sowell. The graph at left is the ICF or the American Stock Exchange Index of Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITS.  A REIT is a mutual…

A couple of posts back I wondered about Jeff Skilling and what he is thinking from his jail cell. Jeff got 25 years and Fastow got ten, their crimes was the evaporation of Enron to the detriment of shareholders and retirees.  Gee I wondered, Bear Stearns just accomplished the same thing in their hedge fund,…

American Home Mortgage  was the tenth largest mortgage company in the US. Note the past tense in that sentence.  The companysimply evaported the last few days going from about $20 to 62 cents, read bankruptcy in a month’s time.  What is going on here?  Accountants value assets and report them on the balance sheet. The…

This story is getting lots of press but the Bancroft family finally said SELL.   What got my attention in the article was their realization that if they did not do this, they would have to pay the advisory fees to ML and their lawyers, a considerable sum.  So they took the $5 B offer and…