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Strategies & Market Trends : Zeev's Turnips - No Politics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (21511)	1/13/2002 2:43:08 PM
From: orkrious	Respond to of 99280

Interesting interview The TSC Streetside Chat: Climbing Chip Mountain With Mosesmann thestreet.com

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (21511)	1/13/2002 4:18:37 PM
From: KyrosL	Respond to of 99280

Zeev, I too think that AG is doing a pretty good job, given the constraints. The key indication that he is doing fine is that both extreme bears and extreme bulls tend to demonize him <g> I doubt that the 1998 and Y2K money supply bursts were the main cause of the bubble. Bubbles are primarily sociological and psychological events and the combination of post cold war euphoria, Y2K-related tech spending and the takeoff of the Internet were far more important in inflating the bubble than Greenspan's money supply increase.

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (21511)	1/13/2002 6:22:36 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 99280

Late in 1999, in fear of a widely spread panic of financial systems "seizing", (the Y2K syndrome) he once more pushed the printing presses The Y2K fear was totally unfounded IMO. I wonder how many of his other "fears" were unfounded as well. Mark me in the camp that says he has totally blown it. Finally all his harping about productivity "miracles" I think the man began to believe in his own miracles as well as his ability to work his way out of any mess he created. He exaberated the mess IMO, and if your double dip recession come to pass, all he did was put of the ineviatble (most likely at a far steeper price: The bigger the bubble the bigger the collapse and overcorrectoin on the downside). Finally if you are correct in your views on the Euro, we will have all at the same time: 1) Huge deflation problem in Japan 2) Problems with, or increased by the single currency Euro 3) Double Dip Recession in USA 4) Enormous consumer debt problems 5) Unemployment of 8%, perhaps higher 6) Probable severe worldwide recession I believe you agree with the first 5. I am not sure about #6. At any rate, this huge mess could lay the foundation for The Perfect Financial Storm. IMO by the time the sh*t starts to really hit the fan, Greenspan will have retired, and he will try and pin his mistakes on someone else. M

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (21511)	1/13/2002 10:56:12 PM
From: paul_philp	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 99280

Zeev, Nice post about the reasonableness of Greenspan's actions. Except for chasing some phantom inflation in 2000 I agree. I think the Y2K response was also prudent since the Y2K outcome was really unknowable in advance. Good work, thank you. Paul

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (21511)	1/14/2002 12:25:49 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99280

Andersen reputation on the line... Probes threaten firm's credibility January 14, 2002 By Paul Merrion and Sarah A. Klein Crain's Chicago Business WASHINGTON — What did Andersen employees shred, and when did they shred it? The future of the Chicago-based accounting firm hangs in the balance as its role in the spectacular collapse of Houston's Enron Corp. gets boiled down to a familiar mantra for Washington investigators. The firm's involvement in the Enron debacle — or even an attempt to cover up its potential complicity by destroying evidence — could expose it to huge criminal and civil liabilities, not to mention a crisis of confidence in the Andersen name for new and existing clients, new hires and investors. At the very least, Andersen has shredded whatever benefit of the doubt it had at the beginning of what is going to be a very long and intense probe of the biggest corporate bankruptcy in history. "The firm has to demonstrate it has renewed vigilance and quality of highest standards," said Arthur Bowman, editor of Atlanta-based Bowman's Accounting Report. Otherwise, "we will have the final four" instead of the "Big Five," he added. With the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice and congressional investigators homing in on Andersen's Houston office, the firm's acknowledgment last week that it destroyed "a significant but undetermined number of Enron-related documents" has turned up the investigative heat way past the boiling point. 'Confidence shaken' Andersen's disclosure was part of a ramped-up damage-control effort, which included the appointment of former Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., to review its record-keeping policies and recommend any disciplinary action. "We recognize that confidence in our firm has been shaken," said an Andersen spokesman. "We have explanations to make, and we may need to make some changes. We are looking at what it's going to take to restore confidence." Andersen is auditor of some large Chicago-area companies, including Abbott Laboratories, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. and ServiceMaster Co. None was willing to say whether Andersen's tarnished reputation had changed its decision to employ the firm. "We are watching the Enron situation unfold," said an Abbott spokeswoman. Other company representatives declined comment. Andersen previously has been under fire for its handling of audits at Houston-based Waste Management Inc. and Florida's Sunbeam Corp. and the conflicts of interest posed by its consulting business — a problem that has roiled the entire accounting field. Andersen's revelation late last week came after investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee at work in Houston discovered that "thousands of pages" of documents were missing, according to a panel spokesman. At this point, however, it's still unclear whether Andersen broke any laws by destroying the documents. It is not known what documents are missing, but it is not unusual for some work papers and documents to be shredded or deleted after an audit if they are not needed to support the final opinion, said one accounting consultant. "What nobody knows is what was lost," said Phillip L. Stern, a former SEC enforcement official in Chicago and now a partner at Chicago law firm Freeman Freeman & Salzman P.C. "Without knowing that, it's impossible to draw any conclusions except that it's very, very serious." Time will tell However, Andersen's records could show whether there was an attempt by Enron or Andersen to present misleading financial statements. "The destruction of documents by Arthur Andersen will not deter us from pursuit of our investigation and will be included within the scope of our investigation," said Stephen Cutler, director of the SEC's enforcement division in a rare statement on an investigation. Also, it is not known whether the documents were destroyed before or after the SEC issued a subpoena in November. Regardless of what the documents contained, Andersen and its principals could face criminal obstruction charges if it destroyed documents to evade a subpoena. If Andersen destroyed the documents before it received a subpoena but after investigations at various levels were under way, it could still be in legal trouble, experts say. "I find it astounding Andersen wouldn't have retained all work papers related to Enron," said Royal B. "Rob" Martin, a criminal defense attorney in Chicago. ©2002 by Crain Communications Inc.