~ Morning, gang. We’ll be doing a half day today, so we suggest you do the same. Have a great three-day weekend and we’ll see you back here on Tuesday.

U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages [NYT]
The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation.

SABMiller Queries Foster’s Financial Statement [Bloomberg]
SABMiller Plc (SAB), which has made a hostile $10 billion bid for Foster’s Group Ltd. (FGL), questioned the Australian brewer’s statements on its financial performance and net debt in a submission to the country’s Takeover Panel. The Australian government agency received the application from SABMiller, according to a statement on the panel’s website. A panel hasn’t been appointed and no decision has been made to conduct proceedings, the government agency said. SABMiller argues there is “no reasonable basis for several forward-looking statements” in Foster’s fiscal 2011 results presentation, according to the statement. The world’s second- largest brewer by volume sought an order that Foster’s clarify “misleading and deceptive” remarks.

Investors to SEC: Please Don’t Switch to IFRS [CFOJ]
When SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said in June that investors aren’t clamoring for International Financial Reporting Standards, she may have been understating things… a bit. Now, some of the biggest U.S. investor groups are letting the SEC know in no uncertain terms that it should postpone its decision on IFRS and even stop the convergence process between U.S. GAAP and IFRS.

Boeing’s Tax Assets Could Trump Liabilities for Years [CFOJ]
In total, the company has tax liabilities of roughly $10.7 billion. That’s compared to $14.4 billion in deferred tax benefits, which means it ultimately won’t pay anything to the IRS unless the value of those assets erode.

U.S. Showed No Job Growth in August; Rate Stays at 9.1% [NYT]
The net addition of no jobs in the month was down sharply from a revised 85,000 gain of jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday, and was far below a consensus forecast by economists of 60,000. The unemployment rate stayed constant at 9.1 percent in August.

Undocumented workers got billions from IRS in tax credits, audit finds [WaPo]
The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago. Although undocumented workers are not eligible for federal benefits, the report released Thursday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes that federal law is ambiguous on whether these workers qualify for a tax break based on earned income called the additional child tax credit.

D.C. Circuit: ‘The IRS is Not Special’ [TaxProf]
I won’t have it!

Salesforce Chief Calls Accounting Criticisms “Ludicrious” [SFC]
In fact, [Mark Benioff] says, Salesforce set the standard for other software-as-a-service companies that came after it.

KPMG Announces Nationwide Community Service Campaign at More Than 200 Non-Profits to Mark 9/11 Anniversary [KPMG]
As part of the “Service in Remembrance” campaign, taking place from September 6-11, thousands of KPMG partners and employees will volunteer at more than 200 non-profits across the country. “We look forward to being a part of something extraordinary, as the KPMG family proudly joins millions of Americans in support of the National Day of Service,” said KPMG LLP Chairman and CEO John Veihmeyer.

Obama Moves Jobs Speech After Skirmish With Boehner [NYT]
In a surreal volley of letters, each released to the news media as soon as it was sent, Mr. Boehner rejected a request from the president to address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday at 8 p.m. — the same night that a Republican presidential debate is scheduled. In an extraordinary turn, the House speaker fired back his own letter to the president saying, in a word, no. Might the president be able to reschedule for the following night, Sept. 8? For several hours, the day turned into a very public game of chicken. By late Wednesday night, though, the White House issued a statement say Obama “is focused on the urgent need to create jobs and grow our economy,” he “welcomes the opportunity to address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, Sept. 8.”

More Accounting Transparency May Distort Markets [Bloomberg]
In the post-crisis regulatory environment, companies are under pressure to disclose more. The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have been trying to improve both U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the International Financial Reporting Standards, and make the two sets of accounting rules fully compatible. The goal is to produce a single set of international conventions that achieve a high degree of reporting transparency. The benefits of more transparent reporting seem obvious: Companies with a high degree of disclosure would allow outsiders to exercise better market discipline, which, in turn, would improve resource allocation in the economy. However, the view that greater transparency enhances market discipline and therefore economic efficiency holds true only in a “Robinson Crusoe” economy, that is to say one in which a single decision maker is learning about a company whose decisions are taken as given and whose future cash flows or economic fundamentals are therefore fixed.

Natural Disasters and Your Taxes [Smart Money]
Apparently there’s a bit of flooding going on.

AICPA Asks IRS to Extend Tax Deadline after Hurricane [AT]
“Many of our members are currently actively engaged in preparation of corporate, pass-through entity and trust tax returns with extended filing deadlines of September 15, 2011,” wrote AICPA Tax Executive Committee chair Patricia Thompson in a letter Tuesday to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “The provision of these services has been drastically affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. We are hearing reports of members who have limited Internet connectivity and power outages, both at their offices and at their personal residences. Our members have experienced massive transportation disruptions and flooding of their residences and offices. Also we have heard from members who are having difficulty communicating with their taxpayer clients who are located in the affected areas, including difficulty obtaining information necessary to prepare the return.”

U.S. Self-Employed Struggle to See Opportunities [Bloomberg]
More than 1 million self-employed Americans are no longer in business almost four years after the last recession began, as the economy constrains entrepreneurial activity and small-business job creation. The 18-month contraction that started in December 2007 initially resulted in more would-be business owners, as the number of people who work for themselves grew to 16.3 million in July 2008 from 15.7 million at the end of 2007, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since then, the total has fallen about 10 percent to 14.7 million in July, the data show.

Parmalat Judge in U.S. Reaffirms Ruling to Dismiss Grant Thornton Cases [Bloomberg]
A U.S. judge reaffirmed his ruling to take jurisdiction over two suits by Parmalat SpA (PLT) against accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP, which he later dismissed. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan today ruled that he was correct in taking the two cases, which were originally filed by Parmalat and its Parmalat Capital Finance Ltd. unit in Illinois state court in 2004 and 2005. Kaplan dismissed the suits in 2009.