Congress recently passed another new law that is supposed to outlaw financial crime. Corporate officers will be sent to jail for "cooking the books" as it is called. Among other things it is taking the stockholders money and paying themselves huge bonuses for nonperformance. These guys are even worse than mutual fund managers who do the same thing ? get paid big salaries yet continue to lose your money.
I can remember many years ago (I've got a few years on me) when they started building very fancy prisons with nice cells and tennis courts and nothing but a tiny fence around them. The story was these were being built for government officials who might get caught with their hand in the till and I have no reason to doubt it.
Today we have the new Sarbanes-Oxley Act that makes it a federal crime to commit financial fraud of various kinds. This new piece of legislation is going to be about as effective as the Brady Bill was in eliminating crimes committed with a gun. A crook is a crook is a crook. With or without a gun.
It seems that most of these high-priced executives that were convicted have been going to halfway houses. No bars, no fences, no cells. About 50% of inmates (?) in these "prisons" are those convicted of financial crimes. Most of the others are drug addicts and single moms. They can even get weekend passes to visit their palatial estates. Attorney General Ashcroft wants them to get the maximum sentences is a regular jail, but a group called the Sentencing Commission wants a lenient standard. I don't know who is behind this group, but it seems to be in line with my motto of "follow the money". The more money you steal the shorter the jail time will be.
We recently had Merrill Lynch and other major brokers fined $1.4 billion (yes, that's a B) for their lying to stockholders by giving out false information generated by their "analysts", read salesmen. Not one penny of this is going to the people who were cheated and none of the brokerage company executives will get any jail time.
Almost none of the individual company executives have been ordered to make even partial restitution to stockholders. Unless something is done this lenient policy will go into effect in the first week in January. If you have lost any money in the stock market these past 3 years I think it would be a good idea to let your Congressman know that you want those bums kept in jail until they give back as much as they have stolen or at least until they are as broke as their shareholders.
Many will agree that the punishment should fit the crime. Letting them serve their terms in halfway houses without repayment is not my idea of that. Maybe Washington should hear from you.
Al Thomas
Author of "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!"
Never lose money in the stock market again.
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
top rated cleaning service Lake Forest ..Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing... Read More
You have heard about a particular mutual fund from a... Read More
When purchasing mutual funds we are cautioned to read the... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
I am sure that if you have a brokerage account... Read More
The date October 13, 2000 will forever be embedded in... Read More
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone... Read More
One of the greatest challenges of investing in stocks is... Read More
People are constantly asking me why is the stock market... Read More
When will the stock market stop going down and start... Read More
There is so much involved in developing peak performance, that... Read More
Over the past few months, several investment professionals have brought... Read More
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics states that a... Read More
I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for... Read More
Many people would like to diversify their portfolios to expand... Read More
You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the... Read More
The stock market has been in an up trend for... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
This is the continuing story of our two imaginary traders,... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
Three little pigs went to the market to stock up... Read More
Mutual funds by definition are a mixed bag of stocks,... Read More
When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves... Read More
Let's discuss commodities; with the latest Enron situation, it is... Read More
insured cleaning company Morton Grove ..When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
One of the most believed bits of conventional wisdom from... Read More
TOO OFTEN, INVESTORS SIMPLY CHOOSE TO follow the crowd. This... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
Being wrong is OK, but let's not carry it to... Read More
The following are a list of nine things you want... Read More
When will the stock market stop going down and start... Read More
Someday you may want to retire and continue to live... Read More
If you want one.And I don't recommend any broker with... Read More
Stock trading remains a very competitive field and the stock... Read More
The stock market has been going up for more than... Read More
That sounds like good advice doesn't it? Don't lose all... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
This is an extract of an article which was first... Read More
The date October 13, 2000 will forever be embedded in... Read More
During our travel down life's path we come to many... Read More
The greatest stock market myth is the idea that investing... Read More
Everyone who follows the financial news has heard of mutual... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
The broker told me not to sell because the mutual... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are growing. Investors are choosing low... Read More
Mutual funds are doing more and more to discourage investors... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |