Investment Firms Create the Next Risky Financial Product à la Collateral Debt Obligations We’ve been there before. The movie “The Big Short” explains how and why the financial services industry helped to bring down our economy during 2007-2008. Banks took home mortgage loans that were made based on shaky credit... Read more →

Is it time to bring back Glass-Steagall? On September 10, 2008, one day after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. stock lost nearly half its value amidst investor concerns about the firm’s ability to raise capital in the aftermath of an accounting fraud, the investment bank reported an expected quarterly loss of... Read more →

Why People Are So Frothed Up About Starbucks From time to time an ethics student of mine writes an excellent blog for the course and I post it online. Today’s comes from Danielle Dacanay. It presents an interesting view of Starbucks “red cup” controversy. Many believe that Jesus performed miracles... Read more →

Laws set Minimal Standards of Behavior while Ethics set Higher Norms of Behavior Many people make the mistake of thinking following the law equates with being an ethical person. This what is known as ethical legalism. This is not so. The laws set minimum standards of ethical behavior. Ethical people... Read more →

Do Corporations Have an Ethical Obligation to Pay their 'Fair Share' of Taxes? You say you have a U.S. corporation and want to reduce corporate income taxes? Agree to be acquired by an Irish company and re-incorporate in Ireland. You’ll only pay 12.5% corporate income taxes rather than the 35%... Read more →