The Enron scandal is sending ripples across Silicon Valley, where fast moving companies and once-burgeoning dotcom companies worked the edges of lawful accounting practices.
Computer graphics chipmaker Nvidia was the the latest victim of the so-called "Enron-itis" Friday. Its stock price tumbled after an announcement the company was conducting an internal accounting practice probe.
Nvidia said Thursday that a January inquiry from the US Securities and Exchange Commission prompted an "internal review of the recording of certain reserves and the timing of recording certain expenses."
In November, the SEC announced it had charged 11 Nvidia employees with using inside information regarding an upcoming announcement of a lucrative contract with Microsoft's Xbox division. That insider information, the SEC alleged, resulted in windfall profits on Nvidia stock for the employees. The SEC said that probe is still ongoing.
Several days earlier, David Thatcher, president of Internet services company Critical Path, pleaded guilty to charges of securities fraud for manipulating his company books to pump up revenue figures. Thatcher's lawyer said the executive is cooperating with authorities in further dotcom probes.
The Thatcher affair is especially troubling for the legions of former dot-com executives here who have long faced accusations of creative accounting as their firms burned up cash.
As far back as December 1999, the SEC was calling for new accounting guidelines. The new guidelines were needed to guarantee that the growing number of dotcoms were reporting their revenues accurately, said Chartered Accountants magazine.
Thatcher now faces a possible five-year prison sentence and a US$250,000 fine. The San Francisco SEC office has been especially enthusiastic in getting the word out on Thatcher's cooperation in the hope of flushing out other wrong-doers. "We want to see what else we can shake loose," said one SEC investigator.
The growing financial scandals are fast becoming the most-talked about subject here, where some are still living off stock earnings from before the Internet bubble burst.
"It has certainly brought a whole new dimension to the post-bubble landscape," said Michael Perkins, author of The Internet Bubble.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
RSS