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Q: Financial Hot Topics --- Government Regulators ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   2 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Financial Hot Topics --- Government Regulators
Category: Business and Money
Asked by: nronronronro-ga
List Price: $33.00
Posted: 13 Nov 2003 15:19 PST
Expires: 13 Dec 2003 15:19 PST
Question ID: 275591
Hi There !

I am working on a project, trying to forecast hot topics for
government regulators over the next 5 years (2003-2008).

Here's my list thus far:

1.  NYSE Specialists---System Non-Competitive & Antiquated
2.  Mutual Funds---Aftermarket Trading Scandal (cf.  Putnam and Others) 
3.  Mutual Funds---No Independent Boards of Directors 
4.  Mutual Funds---Fees Going Up, Not Down   
5.  Hedge Funds----Lack of Government Oversight 
6.  Offshore-------Money Laundering by Terrorists/Drug Cartels
7.  Offshore-------Avoidance of U.S. taxes by U.S. Companies
8.  Derivatives----Market Meltdown  (cf. 1987 Crash,  Long Term Cap Mngt)
9.  Corporate Governance----CEO Pay set by CEO cronies
10. Public Pensions----Underfunded
11. Private Pensions----Underfunded


I need to expand my list from 11 one-line bullets to 25 one-line bullets.

Please note:  no background information or explanatory text is needed.
I am at the earliest stage.  I'm just brainstorming at this point. 

A 5-star answer would be 14 additional bullets.  No web sites or supporting
documentation necessary.  Unusual ideas and "wild" (low probability)
forecasts would be especially useful----would help me think "outside
the box."

Need this information by 7 PM (Pacific Standard Time) on November 13.

All comments greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million !
ron
Answer  
Subject: Re: Financial Hot Topics --- Government Regulators
Answered By: pafalafa-ga on 13 Nov 2003 17:52 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Great question.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the role of corporations in the
modern world, so this was right up my alley.

You didn't specify the type of government regulators that you were
focusing on, but your examples (and your question title) indicated the
regulation of commerce and finance, rather than, say, environmental or
health and safety regulations, so I stuck pretty much with the former.

If any of these don't meet your needs for any reason, just let me
know, and I'll root around and come up with a few more.

Best....

pafalafa-ga

----------


1.  Corporate Governance -- Board of Director members spread too thin,
wearing too many hats at once.

2.  Annual Reports -- Failing to acknowledge the significance of
environmental liabilities (e.g. Superfund sites) in Management
Discussion and Analysis reporting.

3.  Employee Funded Accounts -- Corporate raiding of ostensibly
employee funds, especially retirement account deposits and pension
funds.

4.  Graft -- Pursuing  overseas graft and bribery perpetrated by US
companies through shadow "foreign" businesses and middlemen.

5.  Taxes I -- Simplification of the tax code

6.  Taxes II -- Regulatory distinctions between churches and
businesses masquerading as churches

7.  Corporate Charters -- Resurgence of state authority to regulate or
limit corporate charters rather than simply rubber stamping them.

8.  Fraud -- Validating pollution reductions associated with, e.g.,
carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide pollution trading credits.

9.  Truth in Advertising I -- Broad scale push by the FTC to
crack-down on misleading advertising.

10.  Truth in Advertising II -- extension of FTC authority to false
claims in emails/spam.

11.  Stock Options -- appropriate valuation in corporate accounting

12.  IPO's -- democratizing IPO's (Google's???) through lotteries and
other mechanisms to include the little guy.

13.  Health Care -- creating regulatory oversight for the economics of
health care deliverers -- HMOs, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment,
etc.

14.  Bizarro Instruments -- cracking down on bizarre derivative
instruments that no human being can really understand (do you know
what a Synthetic Collateralized Debt Obligation is...?).

15.  Security -- increased reporting requirements for the nature and
origin of imported goods coming into the U.S.

16.  Transparency -- Basic rethinking of what information needs to be
reported and how, in order to insure adequate shareholder knowledge
about performance, and potential problems.

That's my list, and now it's yours.  No search strategy to speak of,
except for searching the nooks, crannies and corners of my own mind.

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 13 Nov 2003 17:54 PST
Ooooh, Ooooh.  One more:

--Junk fees -- Nickle and diming investors through arbitrary fees
tacked on (to loans, fund accounts, bank accounts, etc)
used-car-salesman style.
nronronronro-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Outstanding work!  Exactly what I needed...
Thank you, pafalafa !

ron

P.S.   Your moniker reminds me of a great food dish in New Orleans...
:-)

Comments  
Subject: Re: Financial Hot Topics --- Government Regulators
From: pafalafa-ga on 13 Nov 2003 19:42 PST
 
...and yours reminds me of National Geographic...don't ask me why...!

Thanks for the stars.  Glad to hear this hit the mark.

paf
Subject: Re: Financial Hot Topics --- Government Regulators
From: nronronronro-ga on 13 Nov 2003 20:34 PST
 
National Geographic?

heh  heh  heh

ron

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