BofA settles Merrill Lynch lawsuit, to pay $2.43 billion [Reuters]
$1.6 billion will hit the books for the quarter ending September 30.
Romney muddies his tax message [OTM/The Hill]
Now struggling in the polls, the Republican nominee said this week that President Obama had not raised taxes and downplayed the tax relief in his own proposal. Both statements left some on the right dumbfounded. “It’s not a particularly compelling message to tell people you’re not going to see much of a tax cut, at least in the way most people think of tax cuts,” said Jim Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute, noting that Romney’s plans would offset rate cuts with the elimination of tax deductions.
Olympus Corp. said Friday it will raise ¥49 billion ($631.6 million) by issuing new shares to Sony Corp., sealing a deal that will help bolster a balance sheet severely weakened by a $1.5 billion accounting scandal.
Britain's top 350 companies should review who checks their books at least every 10 years to ensure the accountants are of high enough quality, the Financial Reporting Council said on Friday. The UK audit policeman stopped short of saying it would force companies to put their accounts out to tender after that time, but said those who did not would have to explain why not.
France taxes rich and business to slash deficit [Reuters]
Okay, the work here is done.
Bankers Must Wash Hands Before Returning to Work [Bloomberg]
Jonathan Weil's idea for grading banks could easily be applied to auditors.
Living Without a Cellphone [WSJ]
I guess you could do this if you're not interested in breathing.
Green Mountain Inventory Buildup: Fraud or Mismanagement? [Fraud Files]
Another look at Vermont coffee accounting gone wrong.
Stressful at the top? Not really, study finds [LAT]
Turns out, you do want Jim Turley's job.
Texting plus smoking add up to a 60-foot fall from cliff for Alaska woman [AP]
Lesson learned!