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Monthly Archives: April 2010
The “Slam Dunk”/”Quick Hit” Culture at the SEC
If you thought that “The Seven Signs” applied to only for-profit entities, you would be wrong. Numbers pressure is everywhere, even in government and even if meeting the numbers is self-destructive.  If the just-released Office of Inspector General’s report is any … Continue reading
Posted in News and Events, Seven Signs in Action
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Goldman Sachs and “Casino Capitalism”
The SEC complaint against Goldman is a stunner. Stunning because Goldman had a 31-year-old flying about as close to the treetops as one can get without crashing. Or maybe Fabrice Tourre has indeed crashed now. If the SEC is right, Goldman’s Tourre put together … Continue reading
Posted in News and Events
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Enough with the SPEs!
Enron managed to fool most of the people for a long time with its SPEs. If you thought we were done with these beasts following changes in the accounting rules, well, think again.  The report on Lehman tells us the company was … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
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“I am just like 99% of my friends in France, who say on their rèsumè they can speak fluent English. In reality, they can’t even count up to three.”
Greg Akcelrod, the French soccer player who, through an exaggerated rèsumè quite nearly climbed to the top of Euro soccer. Mr. Akcelrod has apologized “if I lied a little bit on my CV,” but rationalizes that he never took a single … Continue reading
Posted in Classic Quotes
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“I’m just amazed . . . if the kind of decisions that ran the company in the ground were above the $45 million mark, which was your pay grade.”
Bill  Thomas, vice chair of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, to Robert J. Levin, former chief business officer of Fannie Mae, who said the decision to stop investing in low-income housing was above his pay grade.
Posted in Classic Quotes
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The Stunning Contrast at the Masters: A Good Guy Finishes First
A man who has struggled through a period of stress and strain with his family won the Masters at Augusta National. The pseudo family guy/super star, with a secret “other” life that has been enough  to make John Edwards blush, finished fourth. Phil Mickelson’s wife, … Continue reading
Posted in News and Events
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Ultra Vires and the FCC
In Comcast Corp. v. FCC, 2010 WL 1286658 (C.A.D.C.), the appellate court ruled that there was no statutory authority for the FCC to take over the Internet, a ruling that thwarted the plans of many to achieve “net neutrality.” The … Continue reading
Posted in For the legal side
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Thomas J. Petters Gets 50 Years for a Ponzi: The Seven Signs Show Up Again
Minnesota businessman, Thomas J. Petters, was sentenced to 50 years for his $3.7-billion Ponzi scheme that claimed to be selling appliances to Costco. What a ride he had! He purchased Polaroid, Sun Country Airlines, and part of Fingerhut Cos. He drove … Continue reading
Posted in Seven Signs in Action
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“You were not a garden-variety board member.”
Phil Angelides, chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, to Robert Rubin, former Chairman of the Board of Citigroup and former U.S. Treasury Secretary. Indeed, Mr. Angelides, there should no such thing as a garden-variety board member. That there were such … Continue reading
Posted in Classic Quotes
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The Little Diplomat Who Smoked
A 27-year-old Qatari embassy worker decided to light up in the bathroom on a United Airlines flight from DC to Denver. The nicotine fiend, upon being caught, had the good sense to make a joke about being a shoe bomber. If … Continue reading
Posted in For the legal side
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“Any kid can get swept up in a clique or mob mentality. It breaks my heart.”
Phoebe Prince, an Irish immigrant attending South Hadley High School in Massachusetts, committed suicide on January 14, 2010 after a lengthy period of bullying by a clique of five popular students.  The five students are under indictment. The community is … Continue reading
Posted in For the legal side, News and Events
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“On Wall Street, trust is for suckers.”
MD Sass has a formula for investment that sprang from the ashes of the great salad oil scandal of 1963. Mixed metaphors aside, Martin Sass was fooled by a New Jersey company that was storing vats full of water, not the soybean oil in … Continue reading
Posted in Classic Quotes
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The bank officer who found the perfect place for a party
The owners had walked away. Facing a mortgage in excess of their home’s value, they just left and the bank was stuck with the home. The bank was paying for its upkeep. The economy being what it is, the bank … Continue reading
Posted in Ethical Dilemmas
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“There’s a paranoia I live with. Somewhere in the world, right now, there’s a salesman talking with a customer — I hope he is as good as I need him to be.”
Mark Hurd, CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Mr. Hurd references sales ability. The Barometer would prefer to think of “good” as goodness. The Barometer hopes the sales folks are capable, competent, and good. The first two do not always walk on the same side of the … Continue reading
Posted in Classic Quotes
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