2016 Effects of Plunging Oil Prices, Debt Defaults, and Uncertainty in the Chinese Markets More U.S. companies have defaulted on their debt in 2015 than issuers from any other country, S&P analysts wrote in a December 24, 2015 report. The report noted that 111 companies worldwide had defaulted on their... Read more →

JP Morgan Reserves to Cover $124 million losses Are we returning to the days of widespread earnings management by financial institutions and corporate America similar to the late 1990s and early 2000s? Is it possible that accounting standards are fueling the current problem? Can reliable estimates of potential losses on... Read more →

Causes of the the Decline of Civility in America We’ve all personally experienced it – rudeness and discourteous behavior of others. It might be uncivil behavior in everyday life, such as using crude language, cutting in line, and road rage on the highway. Maybe it relates to a workplace situation:... Read more →

It's Back to the Future for Government-Sponsored Mortgage Entities The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) are government-sponsored entities that make money either by buying, guaranteeing, and then reselling home mortgages for a fee or by buying mortgages, holding them, and... Read more →