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To: Nick who wrote (46469)	1/15/2002 2:23:05 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

The new tech bubble; Tech stock valuations are higher now than they were before the bear market began two years ago... money.cnn.com

To: Nick who wrote (46469)	1/15/2002 7:02:46 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Senate Asks to Subpoena Enron, Auditors Over Destroyed Papers By JENNIFER COLEMAN Associated Press Writer Tuesday January 15, 6:40 pm Eastern Time SACRAMENTO (AP) -- An accounting firm's destruction of some of energy giant Enron's (NYSE:ENE - news) financial documents may have violated a state Senate committee's subpoena, senators investigating the state's energy crisis said Tuesday. Sen. Joe Dunn, chairman of the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation in the Wholesale Energy Market, said he'll ask for subpoenas to require officials from Enron Corp. and Arthur Andersen LLP, Enron's accountants, to appear for depositions about the destroyed documents. The accounting firm has admitted that it destroyed some Enron documents after federal securities regulators asked for information about Enron. ``We believe that some of the documents that have been destroyed by Arthur Andersen ... are covered by the subpoena served upon Enron last June,'' Dunn said. ``Destruction of any documents that were under subpoena by this legislative committee is a violation of California law.'' On Tuesday, Andersen fired its lead auditor of Enron and put three others on leave pending an internal inquiry. Andersen spokesman Patrick Dorton said the accounting firm was cooperating with investigators and was looking into the matter itself. ``We have no reason to believe that anything related to these matters was disposed of, but we don't know all the facts,'' he said. Enron spokeswoman Karen Denne said the company had cooperated and would continue to cooperate ``with all inquiries and investigations.'' Dunn's committee has questioned Enron and five other major energy companies as it looks into whether power suppliers influenced the market enough to run up wholesale energy prices last year. A huge jump in wholesale electricity prices caused the state's three largest utilities to incur billions in debts that a deregulation law kept them from passing to consumers. The energy companies haven't signed ``non-destruct'' agreement regarding documents the committee has subpoenaed, Dunn said, but only Enron has also refused to agree to save relevant financial papers.

To: Nick who wrote (46469)	1/16/2002 12:47:35 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Andersen runs open letter on Enron CHICAGO, Jan 16, 2002 (United Press International via COMTEX) Arthur Andersen LLP Wednesday took out full-page ads in three major newspapers in a bid to restore confidence in the wake of the Enron debacle. Andersen, one of the nation's Big Five public accounting firms, Tuesday fired the lead auditor for its Enron account and promised to discipline other employees following revelations that documents subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission had been destroyed. In Wednesday's ads, which ran in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post, Managing Partner and CEO Joe Berardino reiterated the company's pledge to cooperate fully in the investigation into Enron's December bankruptcy -- the biggest in U.S. history. "Last month, we voluntarily went before Congress and stated that an error in judgment had been made by Andersen personnel," Berardino wrote in an open letter. "We also said that steps would be taken to prevent a recurrence of these events. "Since then, we have notified the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, several committees in Congress and other government agencies that documents and e-mails relating to our work for Enron were disposed of by Andersen personnel. We have subsequently recovered many of these documents from electronic sources and have provided the government with them. "... Andersen will do what is right. We also want there to be no mistake about Andersen's willingness to take all appropriate steps necessary to maintain confidence in the integrity of our firm." The letter goes on to pledge "comprehensive changes in our practices and policies" and called the Enron collapse "the most difficult and challenging episode in our firm's history." Enron was in the midst of an $8.4 billion merger with rival Dynegy Inc. when its credit rating began to slip. Dynegy pulled out of the deal, forcing Enron to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 2. Enron shares were delisted by the New York Stock Exchange. Enron, once a huge energy conglomerate, allegedly hid $500 million to $600 million in losses on its balance sheet. Andersen Tuesday fired David B. Duncan, the leading auditor for the Enron account, and placed three other partners in the Houston office on administrative leave. By MARCELLA S. KREITER Copyright 2002 by United Press International.