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Originally Posted by Sparrow
If that is true, which I doubt, heaven help the rest of the world.
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It is true, Sparrow - at least according to what I've read. The start of all this mess was the irresponsible lending of US banks. That "bad debt" was then bought by banks all over the world, which led to a lack of trust in the financial stability of banks, which in turn led to them stopping lending money to each other, and it all spiralled from there. That's my impression, at least.
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And if an investigation into possible corrupt behaviour threatens to get too embarassing, the government can always step in; as they did with the Al Yamamah arms contract when the Serious Fraud Office got too close.
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Yes, totally agree with you there. That was a disgrace to all involved.
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Also, as I understand it, UK companies that want to trade internationally are having to adopt Sarbanes-Oxley standards, which originated in the US and are more stringent than those in operation in the UK.
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I'm not familiar with that - I'll go and read up on it. Thanks!