Re: actions of Enron, worldcom, Martha
Culpable behavior seems to coincide with deteriorating market conditions, but little has been said about the conditions that fostered multiple instances of bad conduct. Obviously oversight wanes where a Board of Directors is so closely tied with management. Yet breaking this aliance through a hostile takeover has been made more difficult since legislative changes in 1993. When is the last time you heard about a hostile takeover?
Jealously for the acheivements of KKR, Michael Milken and others coinciding with entrenched or populist interests in "jobs" made this possible, IMHO (Reuven Brenner discusses this brilliantly in "Force of Finance", which I commend to everyone).
Best,
RAM