from the Guardian

'WorldCom today moved closer to bankruptcy as US regulators formally charged the telecoms giant with fraud by inflating its profits through improper accounting.
One day after WorldCom rocked the markets with America's latest financial mega scandal, the securities and exchange commission (SEC), filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in New York accusing WorldCom of manipulating its earnings to keep them in line with Wall Street's expectations.

The SEC said that WorldCom engaged in a scheme "directed and approved by its senior management," that allowed it to fraudulently report 2001 cash flow of $2.3bn, (£1.5bn) rather than its actual loss of $662m. In the first quarter of 2002, WorldCom incorrectly reported cash flow of $240m, rather than a loss of about $557m.'


As Worldcom implodes as yet another example of the systemic greed and chicanery inherent in global capitalism, it is prident to loook at these plp and what the establishment said about them

'Sullivan was showered with awards from business magazines and business schools. He lapped up the honours, boasting of how he was offered jobs by six of the "big eight" accounting firms when he graduated from the relatively obscure Oswego State School of Business. He claimed to have thought of the audacious bid for MCI on a flight from Washington to Jackson'

perhaps also to see how ruthless they were, shed no tears,

'Ebbers claimed to be able to rip costs out of acquired companies by being ruthless in his attack on bureaucracy. Managers should be free to manage, he argued. He resigned in April this year under a huge cloud. It was revealed that WorldCom had made loans to him of $408m. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the chief US financial watchdog is investigating those loans. Given that Ebbers used the loans to buy WorldCom stock, the best than can be said about him is that if he was fooling the auditors, he was also fooling himself.'


While the 'new economy' was in the ascendant reams of business thesis and papers were written about such plp and their practices, now they have become Gods that failed, will there be apologies from the expensive business schools, even refunds for the students?. Will the analysts who promoted and pushed this stock at small investors fall on their sword and resign. Most importantly, will there be arrests ands jail sentences for the main perpertraters? . Not, when a mother fiddling welfare may be contantly hounded, yet white collar crime goes largely unpunished, as the establishment closes ranks. don't hold your breath...