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Non-Tech : The Enron Scandal - Unmoderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: H James Morris who wrote (2101)	5/24/2002 1:22:09 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3602

James, We are agreed then that there is corruption spread across the entire financial market. I guess where we differ is in thinking that this somehow exonerates Andersen. I'm perfectly happy to have them scapegoated, if the result is cleaning the rest of the mess up a little bit. -Ray

To: H James Morris who wrote (2101)	5/24/2002 2:36:54 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3602

SEC to Consider Stricter Oversight By James Paton Friday May 24, 11:52 am Eastern Time WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is starting an investigation into hedge fund fraud and considering tough regulations for the investment pools for the wealthy, Chairman Harvey Pitt said on Friday. Pitt, speaking at the annual meeting of the mutual fund industry's trade group, the Investment Company Institute, said he is concerned because hedge funds now reach a much wider audience, not just the nation's savviest investors. "They were dealt with lightly when they sold only to sophisticated investors," Pitt said in a news conference after his speech. "But when they start selling to the average investor on the street, then it's time for the SEC to take a very close look." Pitt, in his first talk to the trade group of the $7 trillion mutual fund industry, said the SEC must "determine whether the present state of regulation -- or perhaps more accurately the lack thereof -- is in the public interest." Action by the SEC could affect the livelihoods of managers in the $550 billion hedge fund industry. Hedge funds, which can use borrowed money to fuel returns and rely on other sophisticated techniques, have avoided the limelight and, for the most part, the scrutiny of regulators. If the securities regulator required hedge funds, including small ones, to meet 60-year-old rules originally designed to protect mutual fund investors, they would be required to submit to periodic financial reviews and would be restricted in some of the fees they could charge. Regulators also are worried about the number of hedge-fund blowups, which have increased as assets exploded in recent years. Hedge-fund manager Kenneth Lipper became the industry's latest casualty this spring when losses totaling hundreds of millions of dollars forced him to close two funds. Pitt, who faces pressure after the collapse of Enron Corp. (Other OTC:ENRNQ.PK - News) rattled investors' faith in auditors and corporate executives alike, said the SEC will begin to gather more information about hedge funds and other investments to see if investors are being hurt. Hedge funds and private equity funds have "experienced a seismic boom in both number and total assets under management," he said in his speech. "But since these entities are not subject to reporting requirements, the information we have about them is sketchy." biz.yahoo.com