The string of accounting failures at big companies in the past year has cost US households nearly US$60,000 each on average as some US$5 trillion in market value was lost, a member of the Securities and Exchange Commis-sion said Thursday.
They were "spectacular failures," SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins noted in a speech, ticking off the high-profile cases of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia and Tyco International.
The embattled SEC -- whose chairman, Harvey Pitt, resigned under pressure last week -- is committed to protecting investors amid a crisis of public trust, Atkins said.
"We are working hard to be more vigorous, more aggressive," he told the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers' group.
The White House, meanwhile, said it was pressing forward with its search for a successor to Pitt. "The president said he wants to move as quickly as possible," spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff has been among those rumored as possible successors, but he signaled strongly Thursday that he is unlikely to take over the top SEC post.
"Michael Chertoff is happy in the job he currently holds," said his spokesman, Bryan Sierra. "He looks forward to helping the president and the attorney general continue fighting the war against terrorism."
The Justice Department's criminal division, headed by Chertoff, has prosecuted a number of major corporate cases this year, and won the conviction of accounting firm Arthur Andersen on obstruction of justice for destroying Enron audit documents.
Atkins did not say how the estimated cost to Americans of the accounting scandals was derived. An aide later said he did not know the origin of the figures.
Referring to the turbulent time at the SEC in recent weeks, Atkins -- who has been there only three months -- said he constantly wonders, "What could possibly happen next?"
"For your information," he quipped, pointing to his suit jacket, "this jacket is lined with Kevlar. It's standard issue at the SEC these days."
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College