• Financier Pang Allegedly Had Drugs in His System at Death – “Newport Beach police believe the most likely explanation is that Mr. Pang, 42 years old, committed suicide, according to people close to the matter, but they are awaiting the coroner’s report for a definitive conclusion.” [WSJ]
• Investors, It Pays to Mind the GAAP Gaps – “Companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index earned an estimated $13.81 a share in the quarter on an operating basis, compared with $13.51 in GAAP earnings. That is the closest those two earnings measures have been since the first quarter of 2000.” [WSJ]
• Fed to screen U.S. bank pay policies: report – Basically, bankers would have to get approval from Dad before getting their allowance. [Reuters]
• UBS Tax Net Snares Clients of Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, LGT – Eventually, just for simplicity and fairness, everyone will have to tell everyone else where they bank. [Bloomberg]
Related Posts
Preliminary Analytics | 10.20.09
• PwC: Sour Economy Sparks Divestitures – “Each of the Big Four accounting firms have scrutinized the corporate divestiture market over the last three quarters and have come up with largely the same conclusions.” Anyone surprised by this? [CFO]
• Galleon Clients Abandon Ship – “Galleon’s chief operating officer, Rick Schutte, directed portfolio managers Monday to shed some positions in a “coordinated, orderly fashion,” according to a Galleon trader. The trader said he wasn’t told to sell everything but to begin raising some cash.” [WSJ]
• NYC Judge Tosses Suit Against Biden’s Son, Brother – The non-Joe Bidens had been sued for $10 mil by an investor who says he was double-crossed on a purchase of a hedge fund firm. [AP via NYT]
• Huron, others could get caught in Galleon Group problems – Raj held nearly 6% of Huron in mid-August according to the Trib. [CT]
Preliminary Analytics | 11.19.09
• Better Paydays Ahead – “Many employers are planning to reinstate merit increases in 2010, but some compensation experts say base salaries are unlikely to return to pre-recession levels anytime soon, if ever.” Probably not what you had in mind. [WSJ]
• Reid $849 Billion Measure Widens Health Coverage, Cuts Deficit – “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled an $849 billion health-care plan that would create new government competition for private insurers, cover almost all Americans and raise a payroll tax on the highest earners.” [Bloomberg]
• Democratic Rep. DeFazio Calls for Geithner and Summers to Be Fired – This smells desperate. [Naked Capitalism]
• Exclusive: GM Must Pay Debt, Make Money Before IPO – ” General Motors
• Bill Richardson’s Awkward Link To Alleged Ponzi Schemer – Apparently Hassan Nemazee’s firm has a four year contract to manage money for the Land of Enchantment. Yeah, that is awkward. [Forbes]
Preliminary Analytics | 12.14.09
• H.R. 4173, Summary of Accounting and Audit Related Provisions – Lots to digest here but it’s all important, including a possible GASP name change for the PCAOB. [FEI Financial Reporting Blog]
• Invitation to a Conversation: If the Auditors Were Missing from the Financial Crisis — Let’s Ask Why – Jim Peterson doesn’t mince words: “The simple if depressing reason is that their core product has long since been judged irrelevant. The standard auditor’s report is an anachronism — having lost any value it may once have had, except for legally-required compliance.” [Re: Balance/Jim Peterson]
• Accenture Makes Right Decision, Drops Tiger Sponsorship – The awkward inappropriateness of the whole situation is now hitting T. Dubs in the wallet, as Accenture jumps into the “your services are no longer needed” camp. He won’t starve. [The Big Four Blog]
• Open Letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (Part 5): Issuer Retaliation Complaint Against Overstock.com – Patrick Byrne’s attempt to develop his own Richard Nixon-esque enemies list has been met with fierce resistance. [Sam Antar/White Collar Fraud]
• CPA firms face pricing pinch – “After years of gains since the government started keeping track in December 2003, overall prices for CPA firm services plummeted with the onset of recession in December 2007.” [CPA Trendlines]
• Citigroup to Repay $20 Billion of Government Bailout – $25 bil to go. Get on it. [Bloomberg]