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Honesty at issue as stocks crumble
"Since Enron's fall, corporate financial statements have come under greater scrutiny. Not all pictures are pretty." [Philadelphia Inquirer]
"Worries about accounting problems in other companies in the wake of the Enron (news/quote) scandal sent stock prices sharply lower again yesterday, with the three major indexes all down more than 2 percent."
"The stock market fell last week on such concerns. Then, over the weekend, investors were given a new look into Enron and its accountant, Arthur Andersen, when a committee of the Enron board issued a detailed report on Enron's collapse."
"Among the report's findings was that Enron had manipulated its publicly reported earnings to conceal 'very large losses.'"
"Many stocks that fell last week dropped again yesterday."
"'It's pretty clear that the more you scratch, the more you find that Enron is not the only company with funky accounting,' said Thomas McManus, the equity strategist at Banc of America Securities. 'I think people are right to say there is more behind this and right to wonder if earnings are overstated by 10 percent.'"
"The focus on what other companies may be hiding in complex financial statements could intensify as Congress holds hearings on Enron and its fallout this week."
"Tony Crescenzi, chief bond market strategist at Miller Tabak & Company, said, 'The hearings are one reason we have a higher level of anxiety right now.'" [NYT]
3:09:21 PM 
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