“The question is, Do we get more money from the person that’s gonna serve me lunch today, or do we get it from me? I think we should get it from me.”
Category: Quote of the Day
Citi Failed to Impress Mike Mayo
“Citi still seems to have aggressiveness with financial targets (well above historical), accounting (tax credits) and corporate governance. Also, the strategy does not always seem in sync with execution and/or financial reporting.”
~ It isn’t known what the Credit Agricole Securities analyst thinks of the auditors.
Exquisite Insults: PCAOB Edition
“The Accounting Board Is a Sinecure Qua Non”
~ Headline over at Bloomberg BusinessWeek
You Won’t Hear This on the Campaign Trail
“The tax cuts need to be canceled. If not now, due to the weakness in the economy, then three years from now.”
~ Ezra Klein is not seeking reelection.
John Boehner: What Have You Done for American Families and Small Business Lately, Mr. President?
“If the President really wants to help small businesses, he should insist that Congress not leave town without cutting spending and stopping his tax hike to help create jobs – particularly small business jobs. By failing to act, the President is turning his back on American families and small businesses.”
~ The House Minority Leader, in a statement, nanoseconds after The President signed The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 into law.
Nancy Pelosi Guarantees a Tax Cut
“America’s middle class will have a tax cut. It will be done in this Congress. There is no question about that.”
~ The Speaker of the House says that a vote may even happen before the election despite the old boys’ (and a few ladies) club has all but thrown in the towel.
Can a Potty-Mouth Get You a Promotion?
“Swearing does provide a sort of release that other language doesn’t provide.”
~ Dr. Daniel Zimmerman, a co-author of a study that says cursing can “clear the head,” and “conveys the sort of aggression that is rewarded with honors and promotions in high-stress workplaces.”
Paul Krugman Doesn’t Like Being Included in GOP Tax Cut Talking Points
“The point is that I’m not a real small businessman, but I play one in anti-tax propaganda.”
~ The Professor was a little too sarcastic the first go round.
The Big 4 Abbott & Costello Routine
“Do you want 7 to go into 28 a total of 13 times? Sure. Just hire a Big Four auditor, and he’s got a rubber stamp with your name on it.”
~ Gary Weiss thinks auditors are a joke.
For Some, There Is An Upside to Dodd-Frank
“Like Sarbox, it is destined to fail—except for all the lawyers and accountants and new bureaucrats it will enrich.”
~ Neil Weinberg found the silver lining.
In Politics, Spite Will Forever Trump Progress
“It’s amazing to me how difficult it is to work together around here, even when we want to.”
~ Orrin Hatch (R-UT), referring to how the U.S. Senate managed to drag out the passing of the small-business bill.
A Big 4 Identity Crisis?
“The Big 4 don’t even like being called AUDITORS. Rather they provide ‘ASSURANCE Services,’ and act as ‘TRUSTED ADVISORS.’ This isn’t just rhetorical. It’s a cynical PR move and an effort to limit their liability.”
~ Francine McKenna, who will be on a panel with Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Examiner Anton Valukas, NYT Chief Financial Correspondent Floyd Norris and others, discussing the financial crisis.