Tag Archives: Accounting

Offshore Money, Taxes And Obama Apologists

In the survival-of-the-fittest environment of blogging economists, a revealing story unfolded. What began as a practical lesson in corporate finance, ended up highlighting the hypocrisy of a key Obama cheerleader who is all for higher taxes, as long as others … Continue reading

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What’s Wrong With This Woman?

Of course it’s a trick question. So what is wrong with the appearance of Victoria Secrets model Selita Ebanks to the right? Well according to Victoria Secrets, a lot. Below is the list of changes they made to her image … Continue reading

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Caveat: H&R Block Will Empty Your Tax Refund

H&R Block just settled a lawsuit for acting as a loan shark to people desperate to get their IRS tax refunds. No word yet on whether they will attempt to parlay these type of services into accepting betting on NFL … Continue reading

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Accounting For Failure of Nerve

I had an earlier post which described the criticism of the US mark to market accounting rules and the hopes that the controlling US regulatory bodies [SEC and FASB] would amend those rules. As described in the Washington Post article, … Continue reading

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Mark-to-Market, Baby [think Donna Summer]

Accounting is not sexy. I know. Convincing people that FASB 157 is the root of our problems is a tough sell. I recommend a Donna Summer-like impersonation on the floor of the House if we are to see real movement … Continue reading

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Bad Accounting Rules Helped Sink AIG

If, as we are now hearing constantly, the problem is greedy people — like Obama insider Jim Johnson — then the solution is simple, find those people and deport them. But if it’s something else, it might help to consider … Continue reading

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Role of Fair Value Acg in the Subprime Meltdown

The problem is summarized by Peter Wallison of AEI: When the dotcoms were in vogue, the assets of securities firms and other equity intermediaries were inflated, just as, more recently, rising housing values made banks and other mortgage lenders look … Continue reading

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How AMT confuses taxpayers

WSJ Tax article —————————————————————— How AMT Confuses Taxpayers AUGUST 13, 2008 By TOM HERMAN If you’re confused by the alternative minimum tax, you have lots of company. A new Treasury Department report says about 226,000 federal income-tax returns filed in … Continue reading

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House-hoppers may suffer

WSJ Tax article —————————————————————— House-Hoppers May Suffer Under New Tax Rules Housing Package Makes It Harder To Exclude Gains AUGUST 6, 2008 By TOM HERMAN Life is getting tougher for some people who own more than one home. Part of … Continue reading

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Tracking Bad Loans Goes Way Off Balance Sheet

The WSJ article [subscription needed] describes how banks are ‘fixing’ their bad loan problems, partly by making it harder to be a bad loan. The cynic in me hopes one day to see a ‘badder loan’ section on a financial … Continue reading

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