Letter to the Editor: The Enron Spin

Fortnightly Magazine - February 15 2002
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Dear Sir:

In your Jan. 1, 2002, issue ("A Wrinkle in Time", Frontlines, p. 4), you printed a humorous example of how Enron might have accounted for a portfolio of cows. 

In at least one respect, Enron took things further: Enron "made" markets. If a distributor of electricity wanted to buy power for a future period and a seller wanted to sell, Enron bought and resold the power, placing itself on both sides of the transaction. The New York Stock Exchange provides a market, but it does not own the stock that is bought and sold. 

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