Tuesday, October 31, 2006

T Boone Pickens' Son Found Guilty

While looking at my referral log yesterday, I noticed a lot of hits on previous pieces I'd written on T. Boone Pickens' son Michael O. Pickens.

I figured something had hit the news, but didn't have to time to figure out what. Now I know:
Michael O. Pickens, 52, admitted to three counts of securities fraud related to the scheme in a hearing in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska.

He had also faced five counts of wire fraud, but the government dropped those charges as part of his plea agreement. Both the government and Pickens' attorney agreed to a sentence range of 57 to 71 months in prison.

According to an indictment filed in July 2005, Pickens enticed investors to buy shares of thinly traded companies Infinium Labs Inc., Soleil Film Inc. and Data Evolution Holdings Inc. (DTEV.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) by sending handwritten hoax faxes meant to fool investors into thinking they had mistakenly received a hot stock tip. Infinium has since changed its name to Phantom Entertainment Inc. (PHEI.OB: Quote, Profile, Research).

For the whole story, (from Reuters.com), click here.

It's got to be tough to be a well-known parent (or even being the son of one). I and my brothers all got in trouble when we were younger, with violations ranging from the minor to the severe (and one that involved jail time).

But luckily, our father wasn't a nationally known figure. So while we ended up in the local paper, that's as far as the bad publicity went.

UPDATED 12/19:
I seem to be getting a fair bit of traffic from being linked on Investor Village. If you've come here from there, welcome - I hope you enjoy your stay and check back often. To find out more about Financial Rounds, click here to go the FAQ page. To get back to the main page, either click on the masthead above or click here. And if you want to subscribe to my RSS feed, I've put buttons for most popular feed readers on the right hand side (near the top).

Monday, October 30, 2006

Monday's Link Dump

It's a brand new week, and the beat goes on. I just covered the better part of a chapter in one 50 minute investments class (it was mostly review of things they'd seen both in statistics and their intro finance class), so I'm a bit ahead of the game. Once I grade last week's quizzes for tonight's class, I'll be well ahead for the week. So that means it's time for today's links:
Matt Goldstein of TheStreet.com reports that the air seems to have gone out of "blank check" IPOs.

John Spence of Marketwatch.com talks about the new Powershares Listed Private Equity Portfolio (AMEX: PSP). It's an ETF that tracks not Private equity investments, but public companies that invest in private equity deals. It's an interesting concept, but I think the execution has a whole lot of problems.

Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade gives a pretty good overview of some of the issues surrounding contingent real estate sales.

Finally, one of Andy Samwick's colleagues seems to have stumbled across one of my students.
That's enough for now. I have papers to grade and data to torture.

Now That's a Product Worth Buying!

Like many guys, over the years I've taken an errant baseball or two (or, in my martial arts phase, a good swift kick) where it can REALLY hurt. Now thanks to the Nutty Buddy, guys don't have to worry.

Before you go any further, put your coffee down, or you may end up paying for a new keyboard and nmonitor.

Then click on this.

Without a doubt, the best "low rent" product ad I've ever seen.

And yes, nothing else I post this week can match up for sheer entertainment value.

HT: Mike Munger

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Sunday Link Dump

It's been a busy weekend at the Unknown Household, with two birthday parties for the Unknown Kids to go to. A t one of them, they went roller skating for the first time.

Somehow, in the midst of all this, I managed to do some data manipulation (merging two large and somewhat messy data sets) for a coauthor of mine and get my PowerPoint slides done for my classes for the week. So for a change, I'm actually a bit ahead of things. I'm sure it won't last, but I'll enjoy it while it does.

Not surprisingly, there hasn't been any blogging this weekend. But there were a few good pieces that came up, so I thought I'd empty out my feed reader. Here they are:
Arnold "Red" Auerbach just passed away. The Boston Globe does a pretty good job of summarizing his career: "In two decades of National Basketball Association coaching, Auerbach won 938 games, a record when he retired in 1966, as well as a record nine NBA championship titles, a number he shares with Phil Jackson. In those 20 years, 16 with the Celtics, Auerbach had only one losing season while winning almost two-thirds of his games." As a long-time Celts fan, thanks for all the memories.

From The Marketwatch.com weekend edition: online hacking of investors' brokerage accounts in on the rise.

The NY Times reports on a study by Standard and Poors. It shows that only 28% of actively managed large cap funds were able to beat the S&P 500 this year. This gives even more evidence that index funds are probably the best strategy for the vast majority of investors.

Alina Tugend (also of the Times) points out how difficult it is to calculate late fees and finance charges on credit cards.
And now, it's time to spend some time with the Unknown Wife. And then to sleep so that I can get up an hour earlier tomorrow.

Friday, October 27, 2006

TGIF Link Dump

It's the weekend, so there are lots of things to do - raking leaves, buying costumes and spooky accoutrements for the Unknown House. Somewhere in there, I may even get around to more research.

So without further ado, here's today's link dump:
The WSJ Online has just updated their options scorecard, where they track companies under suspision of options backdating. The list is currently up to over 120 companies. HT: Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture.

Businessweek Online profiles one of the biggest names in the investment banking business - Bruce Wasserstein of Lazard Ltd. It's worth a read , as it gives a good look inside a major IB house.

Bloomberg.com reports on a recent study by Credit Derivatives Research LLC that indicates there was informed trading in credit derivatives before a number of LBOs. I'm shocked - positively shocked.

As I reported yesterday, Sharesleuth published another report - this time on Utek Corp. Utek's stock subsequently dropped 36% for the day. This isn't really surprising, since the stocks that Sharesleuth profile tend to be pretty thinly traded. The average daily trading volume for Utek was bout 75,000 shares. The day the report came out, about 1 1/2 million shares changed hands.

Chick Jaffe of Marketwatch.com brings us the Stupid Investment of the Week. He shoots a whole lot of very large holes in George Fontanills' "Optionetics" trading program. Fontanills claims he can teach you to make lots of money trading options with little or no risk. Yeah, right-- pull the other one (it's got bells on it).

Last but not least, Andrea Coombs (also of Marketwatch) tells you about the latest malicious internet scams, tricks, and dangers.
Enjoy. It's now officially the weekend, and it's time to put the munchkins to bed.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thursday Link Dump

It's Thursday, and that means I don't teach any classes. And since I've done my prep work for the week, it's RESEARCH TIME!

Financial News Online reports on trends in "buy" ratings by analysts.

The New Economist reports that (gasp!) Amazon.com price discriminates in textbooks. The good news is that there may be an arbitrage opportunity - buy your books in England, and ship them here.

Rachel Koning Beals at Marketwatch.com discusses absolute return funds - mutual funds that follow hedge fund-like strategies.

Mark Cuban's Sharesleuth.com just posted another piece. This one breaks down some suspicious numbers at UTEK Corp (Amex: UTK), a so-called technology-transfer company. Give it a read - it's pretty interesting.

From the WSJ Online, "SEC Probes Mutual Fund Firms After Settlement In Kickback Case". What I want to know is know did Eliot Spitzer miss this one? After all, it probably shaved a couple of basis points a year off individual investors' returns.
THat's enough to keep y'all busy. And now, SAS (and a hiney-load of very messy governance data) await. So ignore any screams from my office -- it's just the data being tortured.

To paraphrase Torguemada, give me enough time with data in a locked room and I'll get it to confess to anything.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Wednesday Link Dump

It's a teaching day, so I'll be short (actually, I'm short everyday, but this time I'll be brief, too). Here are the links du jour:
Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution has some good (if a bit harsh) advice on refereeing and being refereed.

FT.Com reports that a new index of Credit Default Swaps on high-yield leveraged loans is about to open.

And now for a chuckle: Indiana Jones just got back from his latest trip to find out he got denied for tenure.

Craig Newmark (who spends far too much time on this stuff) has a link to a Youtube piece where a professor relates some memorable student evaluations.

The former printing press employee who leaked info from the Business Week Inside Wall Street column just pleaded guilty to insider trading (from the NY Times).

Finally, I'm a bit late, but this week's Carnival of the Capitalists is being hosted at Blawg Review. My picks of the week are JLP on how to calculate tax-equivalent yields and Sox First on Stock option backdating and directors who sit on multiple boards.
And now, it's off to class.

And stop calling me Shirley.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Surprise! I'm A Capitalist.

Are you a capitalist or a socialist? Three guesses how I came out.
You Are 84% Capitalist, 16% Socialist

You're a capitalist pig - and proud of it.
You believe that business makes the world great...
And you'd never be ashamed of being rich!

First off, I'm far from rich - just trying to get comfortable.

And of course, some of the questions on the quiz are poorly worded. After all, it's entertainment, not a rigorous diagnostic instrument.

But with those caveats, give it a try.

HT: The Cheerful Oncologist.

Monday, October 23, 2006

The Monday Link Dump

T'was a busy weekend at the Unknown Household - 17 family members came over on Saturday for the previously mentioned group birthday part. Everyone behaved, and no one ended up needing to be medicated. Well, there was that merlot after we'd gotten everyone out of the house, but I don't count that.

And on Sunday (after church), Unknown Son and I went into my office so I could get a bit of work done. While this went on, Unknown Wife took Unknown Daughter and Unknown In-Laws to visit some other family members (hey, we live in the same general area as family now, so this is a regular occurrence).

With all that, I forgot to put up Saturday's Link Dump. So today you get a double (or even triple, if you count Sunday) dose:
Jack Ciesielski at AAO weblog points toward accounting standards for options volatility assumptions. Be still my nerdy little heart.

So now, it seems that we have space aliens in the economics classroom. Cool. HT: The Economist's view

Andy Samwick at Vox Baby takes on Krugman taking on options. I've seen Samwick's work, and I side with him.

Greg Mankiw comments on a hole in Harvard's proposed general education requirements - he thinks they should teach a class on markets & society

Barry Ritholtz of The Big Picture links to a Youtube piece where Monty Python gives the Stock Market Report

BusinessWeek.com tells us that the increased demands from Sarbox is sending directors back to school. So that means more money for Business schools - and that's a good thing.

The NYT online highlights some recent research by Bates, Kahle, and Stulz. It shows that firms are increasingly holding larger cash balances. The main reason? Increased uncertainty in firms' cash flows. For all you members of the pointy-headed academic tribe, this is definitely one for the corporate finance classes.

Joe Carter of Evangelical Outpost provides a historical map of who controlled the Middle East.

Dan Melson at SearchlightCrusade explains What Drives Loan Rates. It's a good as anything I've seen in a textbook. So if you're wondering...

Finally a number of personal finance bloggers have been discussing a CNNMoney piece titled 25 Rules To Grow Rich By. they're actually a compendium of some good, solid personal finance advice.
That's enough for now. I have exams to grade and a quiz to write.

And if you're new to Financial Rounds, check out the FAQ.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Friday Link Dump

It's been a busy week at Unknown University and the Unknown Household. In part, the homestead madness is due to Unknown Wife agreeing to host a "fall birthday party." Both the Unknown Kids, the Unknown Younger Brother, and The Unknown Niece have birthdays within a month or two (the guests of honor will be 8,6,46, and 18 respectively).

So, we have about 17 people (in addition to the Unknown Family) descending on our house tomorrow for a shindig, including both my brothers, the Unknown Wife's two sisters, and all three living Unknown Grandparents. It's good living near family, but it can be hectic.

Having said all that, here are the links that have been building up in my RSS reader over the last couple of days:
As usual, there's a number of stories on the option backdating front: Jack Ciesielski at AAO weblog updates the backdating body count, while the CFO.com highlights some research by The Corporate Library which shows that backdating may have spread in part because of directors who sit on multiple boards.

The New Economist discusses Nobel Prize Winner William Sharpe's new Investment book, with links to a few chapters of the book. It's a bit technical, but worth the effort.

Richard Kang at Seeking Alpha notes the The market for Fundamental Index is getting a bit more crowded.

Marshall Loeb at Marketwatch.com tells us where college graduates' starting salaries stand. The good news is that they're up- a brand new accounting grad averages over $46,000 per year, with a finance degree coming slightly lower at $43,000.

Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost has the latest installment of his Yak Shaving Razor Series - chock full of techie goodness.

Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade discusses the risk of not taking on risk in your investment portfolio.

Finally, for all you accountants out there, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (The U.S. accounting-firm overseer ) has issued long-awaited guidance for auditing the value of employee stock options. It's important, since companies have a lot of discretion in estimating the expense associated with options grants.
It's the weekend, so time to kick back a bit - the Unknown Wife is out with the neighborhood ladies group, and the kids are asleep. So it's time to relax a bit. There's some leftover merlot in the fridge that's calling my name...

A Good Research Presentation

We just had a visiting speaker at Unknown University. It was an interesting paper - about a new way of measuring relative performance. The paper had some problems, but it was interesting because it sparked a lot of discussion, and gave people a lot of ideas about how to apply the authors' approach to other areas. In fact, I may have a new research project.

So all in all, it was worth it.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

On Finishing Papers

It was a good day - I put in a good solid couple of hours and finally finished a paper that I'd been working on for over a year and a half. Now I can send it out to a couple of extremely picky friends for their comments, and then (if they can't find any major holes in it), I can submit it to a journal.

I'm more and more convinced that two keys to succeeding in academia are writing every day and getting projects done in sequence. I have a disturbing tendency to start new projects before I've finished my existing ones. So, I end up like the guy spinning plates on the old Ed Sullivan Show - running from project to project, but never getting any one thing done.

So now, I have to finish a few things before I start anything new. That way I won't have a mob of coauthors yelling for my head.

For some great advice on this topic, click here to see what vegrevlle had to say -- he makes a lot of sense.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Tuesday Link Dump

As I looked at my blogging, my output has been pretty pathetic of late - only two posts in the last week. Ah well, sometimes things get busy, and blogging will neither get me tenure (like my research and teaching) or put extra money on the table (Like teaching CFA on the side).

Luckily, the CFA stuff drops off the table after tomorrow. So after that, I should be blogging more regularly. In the meanwhile, here's the latest link dump:
Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture reports on some trends in dividends and earnings.

Cool Tools has an interesting piece on finding hostels on the internet.

The SEC is investingating whether hedge funds use inside information gathered in one setting to make insider trades in another.

Paul Kedroski discusses a paper that finds that analyst disagreement is associated with overvaluation.

The Wall Street Journal outlines some of the ways hedge funds and PE funds are increasingly finding themselves at odds.
Back to the grinding of data!

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Weekend Link Dump

As always, it's busy at the Unknown Household. I went to what I call a "grip and grin" (an alumni get together) last night, since as an assistant professor it's good for me to be seen as being a team player. At least they had good munchies and free drinks.

Then today, both the Unknown Kids had pictures for their soccer teams in the morning, and Unknown Son had a game in the afternoon. Now it's back to grading for the rest of the day (I gave an exam last week), and working on my slides for class on Monday.

I teach the CFA prep class again this Wednesday (the last time for the fall semester), so I have to find time to squeeze preparation time in for that too. In any event, here are the links for the last couple of days.
The Wall Street Journal describes how some mutual funds are following a higher-risk investment strategy known as 130-30. For you finance faculty out there, this is a great article for classroom discussion.

Dealbook lists a few more casualties from options backdating. The list continues to grow on a weekly basis. It reminds me of the run of restatementa we had a few years back. Of course, a lot of the backdating cases will end up in restatements, so it looks like we're right back where we started.

Jim Mahar at FinanceProfesor.com is at the Financial Management Association annual meeting (actually, by now he's probably flying back), and describes why he likes academic conferences. I may have to do my own post on the topic, but he hits it pretty well.

Here's something to make you scratch your head: some ridiculous new Japanese inventions, courtesy of Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution.
Back to grading. Boy oh boy - where are the free drinks when you REALLY need them?

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Tuesday/Wednesday Link Dump

Man - I didn't check it for one day and now my bloglines account was full. Here are some of the choicer items:
From the New York Times: In the ongoing Comverse Technologies options backdating saga, two ex-officials are in negotiations for a guilty plea

The Cheesecake Factory reports that expenss related to their review of possible options backdating cost them $1.2 million.

The Justice Department is investigating the possibility of collusion in the private equity market. The New York Times' Dealbook discusses it here, and the Wall Street Journal here. Larry Ribstein (as usual) asks some interesting questions here.

Herb Greenberg of Marketwatch.com has some suppositions why short selling has become more difficult.

Marshall Loeb goes through the basics of how to write an effective complaint letter.

Mark Hullbert reports that sales by corporate insiders remain low following the recent market highs - a bullish indicator (hey - I taught this stuff last night).

Sam Antar (former CFO of Crazy Eddie's) is in favor of Sarbanes Oxley. C lick here to hear his views. It's an interestign perspective because he (and several other executives of the company) were convicted in a well known case of stock fraud.

And finally, here's a letter I'd like to give all students.
Back to the academic salt mines. Today's a writing day, since I'm giving exams. Unfortunately, tomorrow I'll have to grade them.

But it's still much better than any other job I've had. So I don't have much to complain about.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Monday Link Dump

It's almost time for bed at the Unknown Household, so I thought I'd post a few links to give you some late night reading:
This week's Carnival of the Capitalists is up at Businesspundit. Recommended posts include David Foster's piece on interest rates and inflation, and FreeMoneyFinance, who gives us christianity and credit, where a store gives away books by anti-credit-card Dave Ramsey, in return for signing up for a... credit card.

Bad Analysis has a nice list of 10 reasons why people make stupid decisions. It talks about things like confirmation bias, failing to account for sunk costs, and so on.

DealBook points us to this piece that compares private equity flippers to "bored kids.”

Greg Mankiw’s gives tips on “how to write well.” It's ostensibly for economists, but it's worth reading for anyone in a technical subject who's writing for the general public.

And last (but never least), James Hamilton at Econbrowser provides some pointers on how prediction markets and give informaiton about election results.
Pleasant reading!

Phelps Wins Nobel Prize

It official -- Edmund Phelps of Columbia University is this year's Nobel Laureate in Economics.

In case you don't want to read through his whole website, here's a link to his autobiography, and here's one to his vita.

Ah well, I guessed wrong again. Maybe Fama will get it next time around.

HT: Marginal Revolution

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Weekend With Mr. Mom Link Dump

The Unknown Wife gets back tonight, so I'm still in Mr. Mom mode. And of course, our furnace isn't working - it's a new house, and it's still under warranty, so it won't cost anything for the call. But still, it's irritating. At least it's not really cold here yet (forecast for overnight is temperatures in the low 40s). But it still needs to be fixed.

It's an interesting phenomenon -- I used to think I'd enjoy a few days "to my self" (actually not, what with the kids). But I find that after so many years married, I have a hard time sleeping when U.W. is out of town. So, at 11:00 last night, I started tackling the pile of boxes in the basement. There were a pretty good number of boxes that were about half to three-quarters empty (we'd taken some things out of each box, but not finished). So, I was able to consolidate things and empty about 8 good sized boxes. There are another two or three of little-used books that will be moved to my school office this weekend after U.W. gets back.

Having said all that, it's time for the latest version of the Link Dump:
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) documents how Vega Asset Management's hedge fund offerings have had hard times this last year.

In Marketwatch.com, Mark Hulbert explains the difference between dollar and time-weighted returns. Given that money tends to flow into good-performing funds, it's an important distinction.

The Wall Street Journal talks about some possible winners for the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost has the latest installment of his Yak Shaving Razor series up.

Smartmoney.com has a collection of advice on the best time to buy clothes, airline tickets, and other things.
And with that, it's time to get the munchkins to the library - they're into reading and the prices there are way better than at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Wednesday Link Dump

I had a bit of confusion in taking the right train last night after teaching in that beforementioned professional program. There were trains leaving Boston to two towns that have the same name but are in different states. Of course, since they left at about the same time, I took the wrong one.

Luckily, the wrong one was a commuter train, so I was able to backtrack after only 15 minutes. But it did make me miss the last train to Unknown University Town. Luckily, I was able to get a train to a nearby town, but Unknown Wife had to pick me up at Midnight.

Today, she's off for a few days with her best friend from college to their 20th reunion. So I get to do the Mr. Mom thing.

Why am I telling you this? Because blogging will probably be way down the priority list what with teaching, kids, making up exams, and so on.

But in the meanwhile, here are the links for today:
Jack Ciesielski at the AAO weblog gives us the latest news on companies caught up in the ongoing options backdating saga.

DealBook puts forth the idea that hedge funds' retreating may have helped lower energy prices.

From the Onion, the title says it all: "Heroic Computer Dies to Save World From Master's Thesis"

Marketwatch.com tells us that Active management beats indexes in down markets.

Craig Newmark points us to a list of the 50 hottest professors (and no, I'm not on it).

Last, but not least, yesterday's Wall Street Journal describes how trading in derivatives surged before the announcement of the Harrah's LBO. That makes sense, because an informed trader can make higher profits trading the derivative contract rather than the underlying asset.
That should keep y'all busy while I get some work done.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Monday/Tuesday Link Dump

Yesterday was full with classes and some writing. I've been working on a project since what seem like forever, and the last few parts just refuse to be finish. With a bit of work, I may be able to stick a stake in its heart and submit it to a journal this week.

So, this is actually the Monday/Tuesday Link Dump:
The Capital Spectator opines on inverted yield curves, and also gives some nice historical summary.

John Sence of Marketwatch gives his take on "fundamental indexing". The best quote of the piece comes at the end: "If anybody has a black box that really worked," he added, "they'd be out on a trading desk or a hedge fund, not doing it for an ETF." I'll have to use that line in my classes - it's a keeper.

Bloomberg reports on the conviction in the insider-trading case of Jeffrey Royer, and Anthony Elgindy. Royer, an FBI agent, gave information on companies under investigation to Elgindy, who'd short the companies and subsequently criticize them in his online newsletter. And Eliott Spitzer was nowhere in sight.

Not surprisingly, hedge funds are stepping up their lobbying efforts. Since, they're probably going to become a political football following Amaranth, it sounds like a logical move.

From the Wall Street Journal, e learn that Kobi Alexander's Bail is Set at $1.3 Million by Namibian Court. Anybody want to start a Tradesports contract on whether or not he's still there at the time of trial?

Finally, Biryini's Ticker Sense reports on an interesting pattern - since October, 2002, 60% of the gains in the S&P have come on the first of the month. Color me a bit skeptical that this is a tradable pattern - you can find a lot of patterns in market data (often because there's simply a lot of data and we have a lot of computing power). But 48 data points is not a lot to base a strategy on. Still, it is interesting...
Enough for now - back to the torturing of the English language.

Monday, October 02, 2006

This Week's Carnival of The Capitalists

This Week's COTC is up at My 1st Million at 33. Since (as usual) I'm pressed for time, I'll only highlight two pieces this week:
The Small Business Buzz suggests 4 Ways to Keep Up on Industry Trends.

Econbrowser shoots some pretty big holes in the conpiracy theory that Bush has manipulated gas prices for political purposes in The great gasoline price conspiracy.
There are quite a few other pieces up there, so read around a bit.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Weekend Link Dump

It's been a pretty busy weekend (soccer games for the kids, a football game at the Unknown University, family visiting) and I'm a bit behind schedule due to my wisdom tooth extraction earlier this week. And it's been a pretty light couple of days news-wise. So I'm only posting a couple of items for the weekend edition of the Link Dump:
TheStreet.com does a good job of dissecting why some firms are willing to pay higher fees to do their IPOs in the U.S. capital markets.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis discusses lenidng guidelines and the credit squeeze

Chuck Jaffe at Marketwatch gives us an idea of what we might expect from the Putnam/MFS merger.

Finally, the The Wall Street Journal has a couple of interesting articles. The first one (titled Your Portfolio on Autopilot) discusses automated trading systems for the small investor. Now anyone can set up a series of rules that will trigger buy/sell decisions. Be afraid - be very, very afraid.

And last but not least, another Wall Street Journal article "New 10-K Footnote Can Flag Woes" points out a new financial footnote that investors might want to look for. According to the article, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently required required most companies to include a footnote item in their financial statements called "unresolved staff comments." These are "any comments from an SEC review of their filings that were material, issued more than 180 days before the end of the fiscal year or remain unresolved by the date of the 10-K, the company's annual financial and business filing with the SEC." I wonder whether they'll be good predictors of future restatements or enforcement actions?
Enough blogging - time to get back to work.