Congressional Research Service Reports - 105 Matching Results

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Campaign Financing: Highlights and Chronology of Current Federal Law

Description: This report summarizes major provisions of federal law and offers a chronology of key legislative and judicial actions which govern financial activity of federal election campaigns. The laws are based on two principal statutes: the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971, as amended in 1974, 1976, 1979, and 2002, and the Revenue Act of 1971.
Date: January 24, 2003
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Accounting Problems Reported in Major Companies Since Enron

Description: This report questions the increase in corporate accounting restatements made since the 1980s and early 1990s following the wake of the collapse of Enron. Moreover, the report summarizes the accounting problems of major corporations that have been reported since Enron. Finally, the report wonders if these issues are standard within American companies or if they have all only been isolated issues.
Date: January 28, 2003
Creator: Jickling, Mark
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Employer Stock in Retirement Plans: Investment Risk and Retirement Security

Description: This CRS Report begins by describing the shift from traditional defined benefit pensions to defined contribution plans – like the 401(k) – that has occurred over the last 20 to 25 years. It then summarizes recent research findings on the extent to which employees’ retirement savings are invested in employer stock. The third section of the report outlines the provisions of federal law that define an employer’s duty to manage its retirement plan in the best interest of the plan’s participants. Th… more
Date: January 28, 2003
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Enron and Stock Analyst Objectivity

Description: Stock analysts provide research on companies and make recommendations on their stocks. When analysts are employed by brokerage firms and provide information for the firms’ retail and institutional clients, they are called sell-side analysts. Analysts who work specifically for institutional investors like mutual and pension funds are known as buy-side analysts. Because of their widespread presence in the national media, sell-side analysts’ recommendations have become part of the public domain an… more
Date: January 29, 2003
Creator: Shorter, Gary
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Campaign Financing

Description: This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competi… more
Date: January 30, 2003
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Enron Collapse: An Overview of Financial Issues

Description: This report briefly examines the accounting system that failed to provide a clear picture of the firm’s true condition, the independent auditors and board members who were unwilling to challenge Enron’s management, the Wall Street stock analysts and bond raters who missed the trouble ahead, the rules governing employer stock in company pension plans, and the unregulated energy derivatives trading that was the core of Enron’s business. The report also describes related legislation that has recei… more
Date: January 30, 2003
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Export-Import Bank: Background and Legislative Issues

Description: This report discusses the Export-Import Bank (Ex-In Bank), the chief U.S. government agency that helps finance American exports of manufactured goods and services with the objective of contributing to the employment of U.S. workers.
Date: January 30, 2003
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Auditing and Its Regulators: Reforms After Enron

Description: Auditors are regulated by both governmental agencies and professional organizations, though many now question whether this oversight is adequate. Enron’s auditor, Arthur Andersen, has been investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), several congressional committees, and other agencies, and it is facing numerous law suits. A federal jury convicted the firm on obstruction of justice charges on June 15, 2002. Other corporations and their auditors are also under scrutiny. Num… more
Date: February 3, 2003
Creator: Lyke, Bob
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Commodity Futures Modernization Act (P.L. 106-554)

Description: The last act of the 106th Congress was to pass an omnibus bill that included the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (H.R. 5660; P.L. 106-554), the most significant amendments to the regulation of derivatives trading in 25 years. Derivative financial instruments are those that gain or lose value as some underlying rate, price, or other economic variable changes. The 106th Congress approved an overhaul of derivatives regulation which codified the unregulated status of certain derivatives, permit… more
Date: February 3, 2003
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Commodity Futures Modernization Act (P.L. 106-554)

Description: The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) enacted the most sweeping amendments to derivatives law since the creation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 1974. Provisions included major changes in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) regarding the regulation of exchange-traded futures contracts, over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, and “security futures,” contracts based on individual stocks (which were previously prohibited).
Date: February 3, 2003
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Commodity Futures Modernization Act (P.L. 106-554)

Description: The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) enacted the most sweeping amendments to derivatives law since the creation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 1974. Provisions included major changes in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) regarding the regulation of exchange-traded futures contracts, over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, and “security futures,” contracts based on individual stocks (which were previously prohibited).
Date: February 3, 2003
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt

Description: Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.
Date: February 27, 2003
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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