The bad news is that a crisis of confidence in Wall Street threatens the health of the global capital markets for years to come. Investors have lost faith in everything from analyst recommendations to audited financial statements to the credibility of company officers and directors. The damage could be huge. As we go to press, economic indicators tell us the United States economy is in a strong recovery but the stock market indices are steadily sinking to levels not seen in months. Poor valuations have halted capital formation, which has halted revenue growth and earnings. But the good news, at least for Marine Money readers, is that ship finance may benefit from it.
From opaque and off balance sheet energy trading at Enron to immature Internet technology, most of the flame-outs that have brought about the current market malaise have resulted from investors being unable to adequately understand the businesses they financed. Corporate deception was often enabled by investor inability to identify it.
This is only an excerpt of Trust Us: The NYSE and Shipping Boards of Directors
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