"In accordance with the highest ethical standards": The next Enron

["Johannes Schneider" <Johannes.Schneider@xxxxxxx>]

Stock markets in Europe are already in free fall: The online version of the
German magazine der Spiegel is reporting 'panic' in Frankfurt.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_2066000/2066797.stm
"Stock markets around Europe have plunged within minutes of the start of
trading, as investors reacted to news of a massive accounting fraud at
telecoms firm WorldCom.
London's FTSE 100 blue-chip share index was down 176 points at 4456 points
by 0715 GMT, not far above the five-year lows hit just after 11 September.
Germany's DAX index and the French CAC-40 fell even further, both losing
about 5% of their value by the same time."

>From today's Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44367-2002Jun25.html
WorldCom Says Its Books Are Off By $3.8 Billion
U.S. Criminal Probe Reported

By Yuki Noguchi and Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, June 26, 2002; Page A01

WorldCom Inc. said last night it had improperly accounted for $3.8 billion
in expenses and would restate its financial results for the last five
quarters. The company fired a top financial officer and accepted the
resignation of another, and sources said the Justice Department had begun a
criminal investigation.
[...]
"Our senior management team is shocked by these discoveries," John Sidgmore,
the company's newly appointed chief executive, said in a statement issued
last night. "We are committed to operating WorldCom in accordance with the
highest ethical standards."
[...]
The business world was already reeling from the collapse of Enron Corp., the
conviction of Arthur Andersen LLP for obstructing the Enron investigation,
and the indictment of former chief executives from ImClone Systems Inc. and
Tyco International Ltd.
It appeared last night that the WorldCom restatement would far surpass any
of those scandals, likely heightening investor skepticism about the nation's
financial markets.


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