Executive Perks
Analysts discuss executive pay and the ramifications of the SEC's informal investigation into General Electric Co.'s compensation package for former chair and CEO Jack Welch. (9/16/02)

Online Forum: Wall Street Reform
How can the government restore investor confidence? Do the problems on Wall St. stem from a few rogue executives or is the entire system flawed? Three experts answered your questions.

SEC Certification Deadline Passes
As hundreds of corporations rushed to file certifications of past accounting reports, Paul Solman examines the business practices the new government rules are intending to stop.
Then, Linda Griggs, a former chief counsel to the chief accountant of the SEC, discusses the impact of today's filing deadline. (8/14/02)

The SEC's list of CEO and CFO statements.

Update (12:30pm EDT): Executives at almost half the companies required to certify their financial statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission have done so ahead of today's deadline. A handful reported a need to restate their finances by small amounts.

The filings come in response to an SEC order, issued in June, requiring executives at 947 of the largest U.S. companies to sign affidavits attesting to the veracity of their company's numbers. More than 700 companies -- those that use a calendar year for reporting results -- must file their certifications by 5pm EDT. (8/14/02)

Former ImClone CEO Indicted on Insider Trading Charges
Update: The federal government announced the indictment of Samuel Waksal, former CEO of ImClone Systems, Wednesday on charges stemming from an alleged insider trading case. (8/8/02)

Qwest Admits to Accounting Errors
Update: Qwest Communications, the dominant local telephone company in 14 western US states, admitted Sunday night it incorrectly accounted for $1.16 billion between 1999 and 2001. (7/29/02)

Global Crossing
A closer look at Global Crossing's rise and fall. (3/21/02)
The telecom giant declares bankruptcy. (2/13/02)

Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen is found guilty of obstructing justice when it destroyed Enron-related documents. (6/17/02)
A report on how Arthur Andersen's corporate problems are affecting its employees. (4/3/02)

Enron: After the Collapse
Profiles of key players
Understanding Enron's bankruptcy
More on Arthur Andersen and its role in the Enron case.

What Happened at Enron?
Stretching the Dough: The connection between Wall Street expectations and hyped accounting numbers. (4/2/02)
Gambles and losses in the futures market. (3/19/02)
Where were the watchdogs? (2/22/02)
Accounting Alchemy: A look at how Enron's magic act contributed to its rise and fall. (1/22/02)

Wealth and Democracy
In the wake of the recent corporate scandals, Paul Solman investigates the role of wealth in democracy. (7/17/02)

Business Ethics and Wall Street
Paul Solman's three-part series on ethics in corporate America. (6/02)
Part One: A backgrounder on white collar crime.
Part Two: A group of veteran business journalists discusses if the term "business ethics" is really an oxymoron.
Part Three: Assessing the behavior of stock analysts

Weighing Stock Options
Should companies have to count stock options as business expenses? (7/16/02)

Accounting Reform
Two former SEC chairmen -- Arthur Levitt from the Clinton administration and Richard Breeden from the first Bush administration -- talk about the Senate accounting bill and restoring investor confidence in Wall Street. (7/15/02)

Corporate Ethics in America: The View from the Top
After a week of Congressional debates and presidential speeches, public opinion of corporate America appears badly shaken. Three leaders from the corporate community debate whether the recent financial scandals were caused by a few rogue executives, or a deeper systemic problem on Wall Street. (7/12/02)

Pres. Bush Proposes Corporate Crackdown
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Assistant Minority Leader Don Nickles (R-Okla.) debate rival proposals to prevent corporate malfeasance. (7/10/02)
US Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill talks about the president's proposals.

Update: President Bush calls for tougher penalties for corporate criminals, saying federal officials will "end the days of cooking the books, shading the truth and breaking the law." (7/9/02)
The president's speech: RealAudio | Text
Experts assess the Bush administration's recommendations.

As President Bush advocates for greater corporate responsibility, new questions are raised about his own past dealings as a businessman at Harken Energy Corporation. (7/11/02)

.The Accounting Industry
Jim Lehrer interviews Harvey Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, about the tumultuous year in business and newly proposed accounting regulations. (6/12/02)
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker discusses the conflict of interest within the accounting industry, Arthur Andersen, and restoring corporate ethics on Wall Street. (3/12/02)
Former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt and two experts examine the flaws of current accounting regulations. (1/17/02)

Stock Analysts
Merrill Lynch, the top brokerage firm in the US, settles a lawsuit alleging it misled investors. (5/21/02)
Margaret Warner and guests discuss the ways Wall Street investment firms can influence stock markets. (2/27/02)
Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill answers questions about the Enron collapse and its affect on investor confidence. (2/6/02)

Preserving Pensions
Forum: What should the government do to protect workers' pension and 401(k) savings? Two experts respond to viewer questions on pension reform. (3/02)

Regulators Finalize $1.4 Billion Settlement Against Wall St. Firms

William Donaldson, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, discusses the settlement between Wall Street regulators and ten of the nation's largest securities firms. (4/29/03)

Update: Securities regulators announced the final terms of a $1.4 billion Wall Street research settlement, ending almost two years of investigations into charges that analysts issued biased research to gain investment banking business. (4/28/03)

Former Qwest Executives Face Fraud Charges
Update: The Justice Department charges four former Qwest Communications executives with crafting a $33 million fraudulent business scheme. (2/25/03)

Wall Street Firms Fined $1.4 Billion
Update: State and federal regulators reached a $1.4 billion settlement with ten of Wall Street's largest brokerage firms over allegations they provided investors with misleading stock recommendations for the benefit of corporate investment banking clients. (12/20/02)

William Webster Resigns from SEC Accounting Board
Update: Former FBI and CIA director William Webster submitted his resignation as chairman of a new board set up to reform the scandal-tainted accounting industry, according to a letter released to the press. (11/12/02)

SEC Chief Pitt Resigns Under Pressure
Update: Beleaguered Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt resigned Tuesday night, citing the continuing turmoil surrounding his chairmanship as a reason for his departure. (11/6/02)

Experts discuss the pressures that led to Pitt's resignation and also consider whether today's interest rate cut by the Fed will boost the economy. (11/6/02)

Text: Pitt's letter of resignation.

RealAudio: Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the timing and implications of Harvey Pitt's resignation. (11/5/02)

SEC Orders Probe Into Webster Appointment
Update: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt on Thursday asked the agency's inspector general to investigate William Webster's selection to head a new audit oversight panel.

The move follows word that Pitt had concealed potentially damaging information about Webster from other SEC commissioners ahead of last Friday's vote. (10/31/02)

SEC Selects Webster to Head New Accounting Oversight Board
RealAudio:Ray Suarez first looks at the controversy surrounding the new federal board created to oversee the accounting industry. Then he talks with Joseph Grundfest, a former commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Nancy Smith, former director of the SEC's investor education office. (10/29/02)

Update: In a party-line vote, the Securities and Exchange Commission appointed William H. Webster, former FBI and CIA director, to head a new agency to oversee the troubled accounting industry. (10/25/02)

ImClone Ex-Chief Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading Charges
Update: Samuel Waksal, the former chief executive of ImClone Systems, pleaded guilty Tuesday to six charges, including securities fraud, obstruction of justice, perjury and bank fraud.

Waksal still faces charges that he disclosed confidential information to his family and friends that caused them to dump millions of dollars worth of ImClone stock ahead of a Food and Drug Administration rejection of the company's cancer treatment drug, Erbitux.

Lawyers close to the case say Waksal's guilty plea is designed to keep investigators from going after his father and daughter.

Prosecutors are reportedly considering a prison sentence of up to 10 years, but the six counts alone carry a maximum penalty of 65 years in prison.

Justice Department officials are also looking into businesswoman and Waksal friend Martha Stewart's sale of some 4,000 ImClone shares a day before the FDA announcement. Stewart has denied she acted on insider information. (10/15/02)

Former Adelphia CEO and Executives Plead Not Guilty
Update: John Rigas, former CEO of the Adelphia cable company, and two of his sons pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and securities, wire and bank fraud on Wednesday.

Rigas and his sons Timothy and Michael, who formerly served as Adelphia's senior executives, were accused of defrauding investors, inflating corporate profits and unlawfully using company funds for their own personal expenditures, which allegedly included constructing a $13 million golf course. (10/2/02)

Five Former Adelphia Executives Arrested
Update: Five former senior executives of Adelphia Communications, including founder and CEO John Rigas, were arrested today for federal securities fraud charges. (7/24/02)
Jim Lehrer and Ron Grover from BusinessWeek magazine discuss the high-profile arrests and cable provider Adelphia's massive bankruptcy. (7/24/02)

WorldCom's Former Controller Pleads Guilty
Update: WorldCom Inc.'s former controller pleads guilty to securities fraud, saying he was executing the orders of "senior management" in falsifying records for the telecommunications giant, a misstep that helped create one of the biggest accounting scandals in US history. (9/26/02)

Former WorldCom Executive Pleads Innocent
Update: Scott Sullivan, WorldCom's former top finance executive, pleads innocent to charges he hid billions of dollars of the phone company's expenses. (9/4/02)

Two Former WorldCom Executives Charged
The former top financial executive for telecommunications giant WorldCom has been indicted on securities fraud charges.

Scott Sullivan, 40, is accused of conspiring to conceal some $3.8 billion in company expenses. The grand jury also indicted Buford Yates, WorldCom's former director of general accounting. (8/28/02)

Earlier: Two former executives of bankrupt telecommunications giant WorldCom are arrested and charged with securities fraud and conspiracy. (8/1/02)

Worldcom
WorldCom files the largest bankruptcy in US history. (7/22/02)
Former WorldCom executives refuse to answer questions during Congressional hearings examining the company's accounting problems. (7/8/02)
Update: WorldCom officials say they'll review past financial statements for other accounting errors. (7/01/02)
Examining how the WorldCom matter and other corporate scandals are affecting investor confidence. (6/26/02)

WorldCom Finds Another $3.3 Billion in Accounting Errors
Update: WorldCom, parent company of MCI, said it discovered another $3.3 billion in misstated earnings dating back to 1999. This new accounting error comes in addition to the $3.8 billion in inflated earnings WorldCom disclosed last June, bringing the total to $7.1 billion. (8/9/02)

President Bush Signs Corporate Reform Bill
Update: Aiming to restore investor confidence in US financial markets, President Bush signed the corporate reform bill passed by Congress last week. (7/30/02)

Congress Passes Compromise Bill
Congress approves a corporate reform bill that would impose tougher penalties for white-collar fraud and create an independent board to oversee the accounting industry. (7/25/02)