How to Say "Enron" in Italian

[Dirk39]

"Casting new doubt on European corporate governance, leading Italian food group Parmalat announced last week the firm had a €4-billion discrepancy in its books. The accounting scandal is already being compared to Enron.


Parmalat, one of the world’s biggest dairy companies and a key part of corporate Italy, shocked the country on Friday by admitting €3.95 billion ($4.89 billion) supposedly held by its Bonlat financing unit in the Cayman Islands did not exist." more...

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1431_A_1066266_1_A,00.html

Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[arcane1]

1. interesting...

why do I have the feeling that there are many, many more cases like this, that are still on the safe side of the Enron cliff?

scary thought...

is the entire global financial system based on empty air? :shrug:

[Dirk39]

3. There are many of them for sure...

If you look at this graphic and compare the Finance, insurance, and real estate growth with the growth in manufacturing and start thinking about how many Enrons might be hidden there. Oops.

http://www.bea.gov/bea/dn2/gpoc.htm#1994-2001

Hi,
Dirk

[stevedeshazer]

2. From the article:

Over the weekend, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called the events at Parmalat “almost incredible,” but said Rome would do what was necessary to save as many of the company’s 35,000 jobs as possible.
 
“The government will intervene in order to secure the operating part of the firm and protect its jobs,” Berlusconi said. As Italy's eighth-largest company, active in more than 30 countries around the world, the economic impact of a Parmalat collapse would be considerable.
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With Enron, employees were dumped and their retirements were stolen from them. At least even in Italy, the government will act to preserve the jobs. That wouldn't happen today in the US. 

[Dirk39]

4. I wouldn't be too optimistic...

let's count the number of people, working there, in a year, when they are forgotten.
My scenario: they will pump a lot of tax-money into the company to restore it and, to use one of their euphemism: "restructure" it. Many will lose their job, later even more. The tax money is gone.
Dirk