Ex-President of Japan's Olympus Pleads Guilty [AP]
Former Olympus Corp. President Tsuyoshi Kikukawa admitted guilt Tuesday in a cover-up of massive investment losses at the Japanese camera and medical-equipment maker. The scandal emerged last year when Michael Woodford, the company's British chief executive, raised questions about payments for financial advice and dubious acquisitions. Mr. Woodford was later fired. "There is no mistake. The entire responsibility lies with me," Mr. Kikukawa told the opening session of the high-profile court trial. Reading from a piece of paper, he apologized for "all the troubles caused to investors, customers, employees and the general public." Tokyo prosecutors have charged the company as well as Mr. Kikukawa and other executives—arrested February [sic]—with violating laws regulating securities exchanges by falsifying company financial statements. Two other former senior Olympus executives also pleaded guilty Tuesday and the company's new president, Hiroyuki Sasa, entered a guilty plea on behalf of the company.
UK competition watchdog sees no audit market collusion [Reuters]
Britain's competition watchdog said its probe of the country's market for company audits had not uncovered any evidence so far of collusion among top accounting firms over market share. It was the Competition Commission's first comments of substance since it formally launched its investigation last year, with preliminary findings due in November. […] "Accordingly, whilst many of the market conditions conducive to tacit collusion in relation to market share appear to be satisfied, we do not currently have the further evidence necessary to establish that there has been tacit coordination," the commission said in a paper on Monday.
Clinton: Romney’s refusal to share tax plan details a ‘red flag’ [The Hill]
"His proposal for dealing with the debt is first to make it bigger by adopting another round of tax cuts that with the interest associated it would be about $5 trillion more over a decade, and we know how he says he wants to eliminate that, not by raising taxes, but by eliminating preferences in the tax code," Clinton said during an interview with CBS News. "But he says he can do that without raising taxes on the middle class. I'm not sure that's possible. But he wants to defer until after the election, saying what the specifics are. I think that ought to be a little bit of a red flag."
IRS to Save Millions by Making Employees Share Space [AT]
Pack 'em in like Kylnvelds.
EU faces bacon shortage as herds fall [FT]
A global shortage of bacon beckons as European farmers continue to cull their pig herds in the face of higher feed prices, an industry association is warning. Data showing the EU pig herd is declining “at a significant rate” in a trend mirrored around the world means a world shortage of pork and bacon “is now unavoidable”, according to Britain’s National Pig Association. In the 12 months to June, sow herds have fallen by between 1 and 10 per cent. Poland has seen the steepest drop, down 9.6 per cent, followed by Sweden and Ireland. In the UK the NPA reckons output could fall by as much as 20 per cent, based on surveys of farmers.
FYI.
Nonpayers By State [Tax Foundation]
Come on, Mississippi!
Sex With Couch? Man Faces Possible Jail Time for Curbside Incident [WP]
At 11 p.m. Sept. 3, the off-duty Waukesha police officer was out for a jog on North University Drive near Pebble Valley Road when he spotted an abandoned yellow couch on the curb. He observed Streator by the couch and thrusting his hips as if he was having sex with a person. The officer approached Streator to see what was going on and yelled “what are you doing,” which caused Streator to run away. The officer didn’t see anyone else on the couch, but the officer realized Streator was thrusting it between the couch cushions for sexual gratification. The officer chased Streator to an apartment complex in the 2600 block of North University, where he went into a locked lobby, walked upstairs to an apartment and entered. The officer contacted the police department about the incident and discovered Streator’s name. The next day police went back to the apartment and talked to Streator’s wife. She said police were there the night before, but her husband had done nothing wrong.