A garment factory, manufacturing products for international clothing companies, collapsed outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, last month. The collapse killed more than 400 workers and injured many others. This tragedy came on the heels of a factory fire in November 2012, which killed 112 workers. Questions: 1. Who are some of the chains that supply “cheap… Read more »
Posts Tagged: contemporary business issues
Access to Material Confidential Government Information?
According to The Washington Post, the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued subpoenas to Height Securities, a Washington-based stock brokerage firm, and individuals in connection with the leak last month about a federal funding decision that appeared to cause a surge in stock trading of several major health companies. Questions: 1. What healthcare stock surged… Read more »
JPMorgan Chase: Transition from Model Citizen to Problem Child in the Eyes of the Government
According to The New York Times, government investigators have found that JPMorgan Chase devised “manipulative schemes” that transformed “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers.” In addition, they allege that one of its most senior executives gave “false and misleading statements” under oath. Questions: 1. Who is Jamie Dimon; who is Blythe Masters? 2. At… Read more »
Austerity Brings about Desperate Times and Desperate Acts
Two penniless Spanish men chopped off their own hands and tried to claim the insurance payout as accidents. Unfortunately for them, both have been exposed as fraudsters because they performed the amputations too well to be accidents. Both cases come amid a steep rise in the number of false insurance claims that have been revealed… Read more »
Academic Fraud
In the summer of 2011, Diederik Stapel was accused of research fraud. It became the lead story in the Netherlands and would dominate headlines for months. Overnight, Stapel went from being a respected professor to perhaps the biggest con man in academic science. Questions: 1. How did Stapel commit the fraud? 2. Why did Stapel… Read more »
Pension Advances to be Scrutinized by Congress and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
This New York Times article discusses the allure of borrowing against pensions, which underscores an abrupt reversal in the financial fortunes of many retirees in recent years. The offers, known as pension advances, are having devastating financial consequences for a growing number of older Americans, both threatening their retirement savings and exacerbating mounting debt within… Read more »
Did you know that cash absorbs the smell of marijuana?
John Davis, CEO of Northwest Patient Resource Center, runs two medical marijuana dispensaries in Seattle. In Washington state, Davis runs a legal enterprise that generates thousands of dollars each quarter in state tax revenues. However, since selling pot is still a federal crime and banks are regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, banks are… Read more »
Shareholders – 1; Corporations – 0; SEC – Tie Breaker
This year’s proxy season is showing signs of greater activism by shareholders. The proxy advisory service Institutional Shareholder Services is projecting that there could be as many as 17 contests for the election of directors, which is slightly up from last year. The difference is that the contests are much bigger and include six at… Read more »
Another Slap in the Face!
The first round of payments covered under the foreclosure settlement against the nation’s largest banks, who were accused of wrongful evictions and other abuses, bounced due to insufficient funds this week. Questions: 1. How long did it take to resolve the federal investigation into the foreclosure abuses? 2. Approximately how many people either delayed cashing… Read more »
Just helping a friend
On Thursday, April 4, federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed criminal and civil charges against fired KPMG accounting partner Scott London for conspiracy to commit securities fraud through insider trading. The accountant provided confidential information about KPMG audit clients Herbalife Ltd., Skechers USA Inc., Uggs maker Deckers Outdoor Corp., RSC Holdings and… Read more »