Crisis ratchets up

Crisis ratchets up
How will the subprime crisis end for Wall Street? UBS's news that it will take a $14 billion writedown is surely a sign that the woes are not over. You have to wonder if the mess will turn into a larger public referendum of sorts on Wall Street practices in general. Risk management is a huge issue, and you have to wonder if internal controls were adequate to control the iffy practices that have come to light. Recall that Sarbanes Oxley imposes some very bitter criminal medicine for executives found to be noncompliant. So the nerves are raw in the executive suites on Wall Street, as the FBI gets involved. The tension is thick. The stakes are high. A watershed moment no doubt. -Jim