What’s News ---- WSJ

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[align=left]What’s News ---- WSJ June 22, 2005

SEC OFFICIALS ARE discussing steps to take in the event a Big Four accounting firm collapses, including easing some audit rules. 8:07 a.m.

•SEC Ordered to Review Mutual-Fund Rule

•Morning Brief: Times Get Tougher at SEC
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Ford slashed its 2005 earnings outlook for the second time this year and said it would make deeper job and cost cuts than originally announced.
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S&P said the risks of default are growing for some types of home loans and tightened its criteria for assessing the risks for so-called option ARMs.
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Buffett said Berkshire is willing to invest more in the U.S. energy sector than the $10 billion to $15 billion he previously discussed. 6:37 a.m.

•Cnooc May Be Nearing Unocal Bid
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Stocks appeared set to open higher Wednesday amid a drop in oil prices and investor hopes for a strong second half of the year. Markets in Europe and Asia advanced. 8:14 a.m.

•Stock Watch: Wal-Mart Stores

•Morningstar to Rank Hedge Funds
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Senators are nearing an estate-tax compromise that would wipe out the levy for all but the richest citizens, who would see rates slashed. A deal may be ready by the end of summer. 4:46 a.m.

•Bush Pushes Action on Social Security

•In Reversal, Frist Pledges New Bolton Vote
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GE is requiring its vice chairmen to pay for the use of corporate aircraft once their travel expenses exceed $200,000 a year.
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EADS has chosen Mobile, Ala., as the site for a future assembly plant should it win business to supply aerial refueling planes to the Pentagon. 6:08 a.m.

Interested in more info on any of the above – ask me.
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[grandma]

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...discussing steps to take in the event a Big Four accounting firm collapses, including easing some audit rules.

w_w - easing audit rules means a slacking off?? Would youfill in some more on this one?? thanx grandma

 

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SEC Weighs A 'Big Three' World
Officials Discuss Steps to Take if KPMG Or Another Large Accounting Firm Fails
By Deborah Solomon and Diya Gullapalli WSJ June22,2005

Securities and Exchange Commission officials are privately discussing steps to take in the event of a collapse of one of the Big Four accounting firms, including temporarily relaxing some rules they put in place two years ago to try to improve the quality of audits.

The conversations, which began after the demise of Arthur Andersen LLP three years ago, have taken on increased urgency in the wake of news that the Justice Department is debating whether to indict KPMG LLP for peddling allegedly illegal tax shelters. Should a criminal indictment occur, it could prompt thousands of KPMG clients to seek another auditor. KPMG has said it is cooperating with authorities, stressing steps it has taken to root out wrongdoers and improve its business practices, and the government may well opt for an agreement that stops short of prosecution.

While no formal plan has been approved, the SEC is considering making it easier for companies to switch auditors in the event KPMG or another Big Four firm is indicted or collapses, people familiar with the discussions said. Among options being discussed: on a case-by-case basis allowing companies to seek a waiver from the strict auditor-independence rules adopted in 2003 as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-governance act.

Those rules, intended to prevent conflicts of interest, prohibit companies from using an accounting firm as its auditor if that firm provides certain nonaudit-related services, such as computer-software consulting. Lawmakers and regulators approved the rules in reaction to the accounting blowups at Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc., concerned that auditors were unwilling to be tough on clients paying them millions of dollars for nonaudit services. In 2000, Andersen earned $25 million for auditing Enron's books and $27 million for other services at the energy company…………………

A July 2003 report by what is now called the Government Accountability Office found that the Big Four -- KPMG, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP -- audited more than 78% of public companies in the U.S
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[grandma]

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Thank you - reads different than at fist glance! grandma