Professor Elam

Another Wells Fargo Screw Up

Tuesday Dec 4, 2018

As we say in the ethics class, the CEO sets the tone at the top.

And WFC just cannot seem to shake the never ending run of bad news and mismanagement.

Now WFC is blaming a computer glitch for paper work that resulted in hundreds of home foreclosures.

Read the link as one fellow describes how he and his  son ended up living in a friend's basement for three months.

Enough!  Someone at the FDIC or SEC should simply shut Wells Fargo down and distribute their branches to other banks. That might serve as a decent lesson. Warren Buffet is a big WFC investor, where is he in all this?

No Lack of New Material for ACCT Ethics 5308

Monday Nov 19, 2018

Carlos Ghosn CEO of Nissan

was arrested and jailed today for under reporting total compensation.Apparently Carlos broke some other rules as well

What a lousy way to end a career at age 64.

 

Meanwhile SA oil and gas fraudster Brian Alfaro had his Ferari and other toys seized under an $8 M judgement.

Emnerson on Gifts

Monday Nov 5, 2018

 

for many years I have posted Emerson's essay on gifts prior to Black Friday, the annual shopping extravaganza that officially kicks off retail insanity. It used to be that Christmas Season did not officially start until after Thanksgiving. Yet I already see electronic trees and other stuff at Costco. So in  a desperate plea for some sort of sanity I am posting the Essay in early November.   I will be asking my classes to reflect on this 1844 essay which is surely as relevant today as then.

 

An example of what I mean here

Jingle All the Way

 

Emerson's 1844 Essay on Gifts

https://www.bartleby.com/90/0305.html

 

 

An analysis of Gifts

https://thewolfereview.com/2017/10/09/the-meaning-and-symbolism-behind-gifts-ralph-waldo-emerson/

 

http://americanaejournal.hu/vol11no2/litwicki

Uresti Pleads Guilty in Bribery Case

Friday October  12, 2018

Former State Senator Carlos Uresti plead guilty in a bribery case.

He admitted receiving $10 K  a month from  the Lubbock business man who got a contract for medical services for Reeves county. Uresti then paid Jimmy Galindo the Reeves County Judge half that each month as a bribe for the contract.   Prosecutors will recommend this sentence run concurrently with the 12 year sentence in the Four Winds Cse.

Goldman Sachs CEO Assistant Commits Suicide, Admitted to $1.2 M Embezzlement

Wed Oct 10, 2018

A personal assistant to the Goldman CEO jumped to his death at the Carlyle Hotel.

 

Accused jumps to death when he was suposed to plead guilty.

 

The story here is that some people are so moved by their guilt they cannot face the consequences. David Solomon expressed regret

at the outcome noting De-Meyer had worked for his from  2008-2016.

Who Needs to Drill for Oil When One can Steal It?

Wed Sept 19, 2018

During any oil boom there are always groups that look to become J R Ewing the quick and easy way, just steal oil from a third party.

Ricardo Sanchez Jr. Ricardo Guevara and Romeo Garcia Jr. hav all pead guilty to selling $2 M of oil in the Eagle Ford. The created a fake company, Andra Energy Llc which claimed to recover oil from frack waste water. 

OIl fields have elaborate pipelines which make it relatively easy to simply drain a tank and send the oil elsewhere. The group created false run tickets to show legitimate sales. 

Like so many fraudsters, staying too long at the scene of the crime is ultimately dangerous. The longer such a scheme goes on the greater the danger of being caught. 

Urest to Sell Helotes Luxury Home

Wed Sept 19, 2018

In ACCT 53089 Ethics class I contrasted the thrifty life style of Henry David Thoreau at Walden with the over the top conspicuous consumption of a former fashion mode. Here is another example of how greed upended a career. 

Carlos Uresti former State Senator, moved from his $600,000 Shavano Park home to a $1.7 M homes in Helotes. He is now selling the hose for $1.5 M. It is 8,064 SF with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms.  He and his wife, that would be two people lived there for about two years before his conviction for fraud with its 12 year jail sentence. 

Musk Erratic Behavior Brings TSLA Downgrade

Tuesday Sept 11, 2018

More analysts are issuing downgrades on TSLA given the behavior of the CEO.

TSLA has lost 25% of its value since August.

Musk looks a lot less like Henry Ford but a lot more like John DeLorean.

 

Tesla Bond Price Drops, Chief Accountant Leaves after One Month

Weekend  Sept 8, 2018

Wall Street reacts negatively to Musk appearing to smoke marijuana during an interview.

The Chief Accountant resigned after one month on the job citing more pressure than he had anticipated.

Is TESLA now in Play?

Tuesday August 28 2018

On August 7 Elon Musk tweeted that he might take TSLA private at $420 a share. The SEC and everyone else wondered where he would get the $70 B to do that.  And the SEC wondered if this was just a stunt to boost the stock price.

Now Musk says TSLA will stay public.

Here is one observation about this behavior.

“Tesla investors must realize that they have a panicky, erratic, possibly self-destructive C.E.O. at the helm,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management. “No C.E.O. is ever this confused and confusing.”

A CEO should not be tweeting about the financial future of a company that still has not shown a profit.

We study good governance in ACCT 5308 and examples of the lack of that. This is the latter category.

I have wondered if TSLA will be another Tucker or DeLorean. NOw trading around $316, JPM has lowered it stock price estimate to $195.   But if a company is not making any money, how does one come up with a specific number?