The Cost of Financial Ignorance

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In Hernando de Soto’s very interesting commentary, he expands Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s thoughts that the U.S. needed to “re-learn some of the lessons” that have led to success among emerging market economies. The bulk of his commentary focuses on the reliability of accounting records that guarantee or make credit trustworthy, including the deeds,… Read more »

Cooking the Books for Lehman?

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N.Y. Attorney General Cuomo filed charges against Ernst & Young on December 21, 2010, alleging that the firm helped Wall Street Investment bank Lehman Brothers conceal its deteriorating financial condition before the bank’s historic collapse in the fall of 2008.  The civil lawsuit, which seeks more than $150 million, is the first law enforcement action to… Read more »

Mortgage Buybacks

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Mortgage Buybacks According to Standard & Poor’s, the top U.S. banks could face up to $31 billion in losses from buying back bad mortgages. Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co have the most exposure to such potential repurchase obligations, followed by Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup Inc, US Bancorp and PNC Financial… Read more »

Put Me First In Line

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Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway and his business partner gave $15 million to a hedge-fund manager now accused of running a Ponzi scheme.  In court papers filed by Elway and Mitch Pierce the two claim that their investment was supposed to be kept in a separate account from Mueller’s Over Under Fund. Therefore, the… Read more »

Mickey D’s in the News: Which story is right?

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According to the Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.  However, less than an hour after that release, ABC News  and Reuters reported that McDonald’s and the Obama administration… Read more »

Best Selling Candy

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Candy is big business.  While international giants such as Mars Inc., Nestlé, and Kraft dominate the industry, there is still room for smaller, regional players like South Africa’s Tiger Brands and China’s Hsu Fu Chi International, with each country having a No. 1 candymaker. Even though chocolate remains the most popular candy in the world, chewing… Read more »

Happy Birthday! Microsoft is 35 years old!

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From modest beginnings, Microsoft, started by college dropout Bill Gates, gave birth to an entire industry, changing the way we live and work and became one of the largest software companies on the planet. As this article points out, not everything has been notable during its history. In particular, look at this parody video of… Read more »

Saving for the Future

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Did you know that roughly 50 percent of employees have no retirement savings at all?  In an effort to increase the number of Americans who are saving for retirement, a bill known as the Automatic IRA Act of 2010 has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and in the House by… Read more »

Interesting News for IFRS Nay-sayers

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While reviewing the proposed expansion of the International Financial Reporting Standards for accounting, Tim Bush, a member of the “Urgent Issues Task Force” that scrutinises the work of the Accounting Standards Board (ASB), claims to have uncovered “fatal” and “dangerous” flaws in the system.  Mr. Bush alleges the regulations, and specifically the way they have… Read more »

Investing in Art: How About Some Melted Clocks?

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There has been recent momentum in art market investments, despite the recession. The art market is scouring the world for undervalued works by major artists and museums are seeking new material for blockbuster shows.  Amid this, artistic works by Dalí and others are getting longer looks. Interestingly, few artists could reap more from a late-period… Read more »