Funny, but it won't get picked up by Jay Leno ....

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Weisenmiller [mailto:rbw@mrwassoc.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2002 4:16 PM
To: Comnes, Alan
Subject: Fwd: Enron Accounting Texas Style


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 >Delivered-To: mrwassoc@barney.sfrn.dnai.com
 >From: "Bill Marcus" <bill@jbsenergy.com>
 >To: "Alan Gering \(E-mail\)" <bradley@jps.net>,
 >    "Barry Bergman \(E-mail\)" <blbergman@rhphillips.com>,
 >    "Bob Finkelstein \(E-mail\)" <bfinkelstein@turn.org>,
 >    "Bob Kinosian \(E-mail\)" <gig@cpuc.ca.gov>,
 >    "Bob Weisenmiller \(E-mail\)" <rbw@mrwassoc.com>,
 >    "Cynthia Mitchell \(E-mail\)" <ckmitchell@powernet.net>,
 >    "David Argue \(E-mail\)" <david.argue@sympatico.ca>,
 >    "Don Fields \(E-mail 2\)" <flak2@aol.com>,
 >    "Eric Witkoski \(E-mail\)" <epwitkos@ag.state.nv.us>,
 >    "Eric Woychik \(E-mail\)" <estrategy@mindspring.com>,
 >    "Fred Schmidt \(E-mail\)" <fschmidt@halelane.com>,
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 >    "Jack Pous \(E-mail\)" <lduci@earthlink.net>,
 >    "Jan McFarland \(E-mail\)" <jmcfarland@worldnet.att.net>,
 >    "Jim Lazar \(E-mail\)" <jimlaz@callatg.com>,
 >    "Jim Scarff \(E-mail\)" <jes@cpuc.ca.gov>,
 >    "John Williams \(E-mail\)" <JWilliams@Genesis.Law.Pace.Edu>,
 >    "Lenny Goldberg \(E-mail\)" <lga@mother.com>,
 >    "Matt Brady \(E-mail\)" <bradylaw@pacbell.net>,
 >    "Mick Davies \(E-mail\)" <mick-d@telusplanet.com>,
 >    "Mike Florio \(E-mail\)" <mflorio@turn.org>,
 >    "Kirk Sisson \(E-mail\)" <kirk@swslawyers.com>,
 >    "Rachel and Barry \(E-mail\)" <orlins_bergman@msn.com>,
 >    "Sara Myers \(E-mail\)" <ssmyers@worldnet.att.net>,
 >    "Shawn McMurray \(E-mail\)" <ShawnM@ag.state.ar.us>,
 >    "Tom and Margie Bowman \(E-mail\)" <bowmani@mymailstation.com>,
 >    "Theresa Mueller \(E-mail\)" <theresa_mueller@ci.sf.ca.us>,
 >    "V. John White \(E-mail\)" <vjw@cleanpower.org>,
 >    "Tom Greene \(E-mail\)" <greenet@hdcdojnet.state.ca.us>,
 >    "Steve Ostrover \(E-mail\)" <sostrover@econone.com>,
 >    "Robert McCullough \(E-mail\)" <robert@mresearch.com>
 >Cc: "Energy Advocate List \(E-mail\)" <eadvocate-l@igc.topica.com>
 >Subject: Enron Accounting Texas Style
 >Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2002 15:28:43 -0800
 >X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook CWS, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2911.0)
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 >
 >(Courtesy of Public Utilities Fortnightly, quoting an anonymous e-mail)
 >
 >You have two cows.  You sell three of them to your publicly listed company
 >using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank.
 >
 >Then you execute a debt-equity swap with an associated general offer, so you
 >get all four cows back, with a tax-exemption on the fifth cow, of course.
 >
 >The estimated future value of the milk cash flow stream rights of the six
 >cows are monetized and transferred via an intermediary to the Cayman
 >Islands, secretly owned by a majority shareholder who sells the rights to
 >all seven cows back to your listed company, off-balance-sheet, of course.
 >
 >The annual report says the company owns eight cows and recognizes milk
 >revenue for its 20-year life of the cow.
 >
 >This is hedged with a derivative cow life insurance policy through a Cayman
 >Island bank and these hedges are done through EnronOnline's commodity
 >storefront with a option to buy one more cow, no balance sheet provided ...
 >
 >The company says it will file all footnotes to its financial statement at a
 >later date ...


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