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"The Most Transparent Capital Markets in the World"?
What "Transparent" Does -- and Does NOT -- Mean
The Economic Club of New York is the traditional forum for the government's pooh-bahs to announce their "agenda," and it was in this spirit that (then) recently-appointed Treasury Secretary Henry M.Paulson gave his speech to the club in November 2006.
"The Competitiveness of U.S. Capital Markets" was his topic, specifically the twin threats to U.S. markets posed by a "broken tort system" and a potential "thicket of regulation that impedes competitiveness." We'll consider these threats in in a follow-up tomorrow column, but first allow me to repeat a phrase that Secretary Paulson used to introduce his topic -- the phrase is a familiar one to any financial professional employed in the United.States.
"Our capital markets are the deepest, most efficient, and most transparent in the world" (emphasis added).
In this context, "transparent" (or "transparent market") means trustworthy, as in all relevant information about the market is readily available to the public. The more transparent the better, obviously, and best of all is "most transparent in the world." As I said, the phrase is often heard in the media, among economists, and on Wall Street.
Markets and opportunities may -- or may not -- be "transparent." What's more important is for you as an investor to think independently about your financial choices, and never assume that bureaucrats and policymakers will reduce your risk for you. Click here for independent analysis.
And as with any complete definition, the meaning of "most transparent" should identify practices that are not transparent -- such as financial institutions that:
- Treat assets that have no ready market as "securities" which go on the "capital" side of the accounting ledger.
- Unilaterally declare the value of those same assets (that have no ready market) which likewise goes on the "capital" side of the ledger.
- List subordinated debt (i.e. unsecured debt) on the "capital" side of the ledger.
- Include "assets" of the above kind as part of a grotesquely over-leveraged capital reserve.
No market that permitted such practices could be called "transparent." It's even less imaginable that in a transparent market, regulators and ratings agencies would endorse such practices.
Welcome to the unimaginable, dear reader. All the practices I describe above (and then some) are indeed the accounting norm among Wall Street's biggest broker-dealers, and those practices are indeed endorsed by the regulators and ratings agencies. The particulars were spelled out in a New York Times column this past weekend, based on a talk by a well-known hedge fund manager earlier this month. If you've wondered how the subprime debacle ever could have happened in our "transparent" markets, you've got part of the answer now. I'll continue this story on this page tomorrow.
Until then, the larger point is that when it comes to your portfolio and financial future, YOU are the best person to look after your OWN interests. We can help -- click here for more information.
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