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Business And Professional Ethics, 7th Edition Solution Manual

Business And Professional Ethics, 7th Edition Solution Manual helps you connect textbook theory with real-world applications.

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    Business & Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives & Accountants, 7 e Chapter 1 – Ethics Expectations Chapter Questions and Case Solutions Chapter Questions..................................................................2 Case Solutions.........................................................................5

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    Chapter Questions 1. Why have concerns over pollution become so important for management and Directors? Because the public perceive that our environment is finite and that our well - being is threatened. In turn they have influenced politicians to enact tougher laws and heavier penalties... up to $2 million/day, with the prospect of personal liability and jail. In addition, U.S. courts have agreed to hear lawsuits brought by foreigners for pollution on foreign soil (see Texaco: The Ecuador Issue). Finally, pollution can erode the trust necessary to preserve stakeholder support, and this will be seen by sta keholders with negative consequences in consumer and capital markets. 2. Why are we more concerned now than our parents were about fair treatment of employees? Our social consciousness is higher due to the reasons listed in Ch. 1. 3. What could professional accountants have done to prevent the development of the credibility gap and the expectations gap? See the discussion on the Treadway, Metcalf and Macdonald Commissions. Also see Arthur Andersen’s Troubles case in Chapter 2. 4. Why might ethical corporate behavior lead to higher profitability? Because attention to ethical concerns can keep corporations out of costly problems such as clean - up of pollution problems, fines, low morale, and loss of reputation and stakeholder support; and it can open up profitable opportunities such as developing green product lines. 5. Why is it important for the clients of professional accountants to be ethical? Because auditors don't check 100% of all transactions, and even if they did there would be conflicts of interest and other hidden issues which would be found only by fluke, making sure that clients are ethical provides assurance that they will not be hiding things from the auditors or engaging in unethical activities. The value of the auditor's opinion depends upon it. 6. How can corporations ensure that their employees behave ethically? By developing ethical corporate cultures based codes of conduct in place to provide guidance, training to provide awareness, understanding, monitoring to assure compliance, and rewards or sanctions to reinforce the desired behavior. Also, the top executives should set the best example possible. 7. Should executives and Directors be sent to jail for the acts of their corporation's employees? Yes, if they executives and Directors act negligently or without engaging in due diligence procedures which are designed to ensure that reasonable and proper actions are taken. 8. Why are the expectations of a corporation’s stakeholders important to the reputation of the corporation and to its profitability?

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    Without the support of key or primary stakeholders such as customers and employees the sustained profitability is not possible. A corporation’s reputation is based on the elements that such stakeholders find relevant to their support, including: credibility, reliability, trustworthiness and the taking of responsibility. 9. How can a corporation show respect for its stakeholders? By taking their interests into account (respecting them) when making decisions. 10. How can conflicts of interest between stakeholders be resolved by a corporation’s management? By displaying sensitivity to each side, ranking the interests involved and using this ranking to favor the most important as is discussed in Chapter 6. Stakeholders should be made aware of the ranking and decision process where possible. In the end, tough trade - off decisions may be involved, but stakeholders should have confidence in the process. 11. Why are philosophical approaches to ethical decision making relevant to modern corporations and professional accountants? The philosophical approaches to ethical decision making (utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics) are relevant because of the greater and growing ethical awareness, sensitivity and power of stakeholders that can make a difference to the reputations and fortunes of companies and of professional accountants. Their support is needed now more than ever. 12. What are the common elements of the three approaches to ethical decision making which are briefly outlined in the chapter? The common elements are measures of well - offness, fairness, right(ness), and virtues expected. 13. Is a professional accountant a businessperson pursuing a profit or a fiduciary that is to act in the public interest? Both, but when there is a conflict between these roles, the professional accountant must place fiduciary duty above personal profit. Otherwise the public interest will not be protected (which is the primary goal of a professional – see later chapters for discussion). 14. Why is it important for a professional accountant to understand the ethical trends discussed in this chapter? So that the expectations for business can be understood and advice given or actions screened with regard to what might be acceptable and desirable, now and in the future with regard to operations as well as financial matters. Also, the accounting profession is subject to the same set of expectations, and is expected to rise to higher standards of performance than business. 15. Why should a professional accountant be aware of the Ethics Code of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)?

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    Because the IFAC Code is the newly defined standard to which all IFAC members including the AICPA, CICA and ICAEW, IMA and SMAC have pledged to harmonize their Codes to during the next 5 years. The IFAC Code contains the common elements to which all professional accountants will adhere. 16. Why is an ethical corporate culture important? An ethical corporate culture is considered to be one of the most important aspects by which behavioral guidance in the form of corporate policies and compliance therewith can be passed on to employees and agents. Developing and maintaining an ethical corporate culture is now an expected facet of good governance, and therefore part of what directors and senior executives must ensure as part of their responsibilities and duties.

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    Case Solutions 1. Pedophile Priests in the Catholic Church What this case has to offer This case provides an understanding of recent instances of continued unchecked sexual abuse. This one affected a major religion with international scope, and resulted in an outraged church and public. Teaching Suggestions It might be wise to begin by asking whether anyone has been affected by this scandal, either personally, or through a friend or family member , or as a member of the Catholic Church. The discussion will be affected by the answers, and asking the question this way gives cover to those students who may have been personally affected, but do not wish to discuss it. In that event, they can contribute as members of the church. The Instructor’s discretion and sensitivity should help guide the discussion. Discussion of ethical issues 1. What are the responsibilities of employees who become aware of unethical behavior by their superiors? Employees who become aware of unethical behavior by their superiors should report it to the next higher superior, or to an ethics officer or other responsible officer. Employees are often reluctant to do so, however, because they are worried about personal repercussions to them, or they do not want to get involved, or because they do not want a reputation as a “snitch.” 2. What actions should be taken by corporate leaders when they receive reports of sexual abuse? Why? Corporate leaders should act on receiving such information, first, temporarily removing the alleged abuser from the alleged victims, second, to investigate and verif y it, then depending on the outcome, to take appropriate action. Doing nothing is the worst course of action , and endangers the group further. 3. If unethical or illegal behavior occurs within a business enterprise, how can employees bring about change when initial reports are ignored? The employee may have several options available: the employee can report to a superior higher up in the management of the firm; the employee can hire an attorney to advise how to proceed and to protect the employee from repercussions to the extent possible; the employee could report the behavior to a news organization. Whether any of these options is a good idea will depend upon the situation. 4. Why do you think that senior managers want to cover - up scandals that occur within their organizations? No manager wants to be held accountable for scandals that occurred while the manager was in charge. 5. What actions can senior managers take to repair the damaged reputations of their organizations after scandals become publicly known? Do you think that apologies are worthwhile? A great deal depends on whether the organization reported the scandal, or whether it was reported by others. If the organization, itself, reported the scandal, it has taken major steps towards repairing its reputation. It can show that it does not condone the bad conduct, that as soon as it learned of it, it took steps to stop it, that it reported the conduct to the public, and that it took all necessary steps to prevent

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    such a thing from happening again. Yes, apologies are worthwhile, especially when the organization has publicly reported the scandal. If the organization did not report the scandal, but someone else did, it will have a much harder time repairing its reputation, showing that it took steps to correct the conduct, and redeveloping trust on the part of the public. Unless made by someone unconnected to the scandal who had no knowledge of it, apologies in this instance are not likely to be well received, as the organization’s credibility will have been lost. It will be a long time, if ever, before the organization regains the trust it once h eld. 2. Sexual Abuse by a Penn State Football Coach What this case has to offer This case provides the ironic example of nondisclosure by those who wished to protect the reputation of the university, the irony being that its reputation was damaged far worse than it would have been had Sandusky been fired when his conduct first became known, and the matter disclosed to the public. It would have provided credibility from which the university could have more readily recovered. T eaching Suggestions As with the pedophile priests case, it would be wise to begin by finding out if anyone is a Penn State grad, was involved or knew someone that was involved. Discussion of ethical issues 1. Football is big business, raising millions and millions of dollars for American universities. Numerous administrators and officials at Pennsylvania State University put a higher value on college football than on the welfare of children. How would an organization develop such a misguided culture? It is likely that donations to the football program and the university took precedence over everything else. In addition, administrators were almost certainly reluctant to do anything that would or could damage the university’s reputation, as that would directly impact donations. 2. Louis Freeh discovered that a janitor saw Jerry Sandusky abusing a boy in the showers in 2000, but said nothing because he was afraid to “take on the football program.” Why do you think that certain organizational departments and programs develop a mystique such that their activities and behaviors cannot be challenged nor questioned? What can organizations do to prevent this from happening? Because the football program was the biggest money - maker for the university, it became untouchable. The way to change that kind of thinking was to institute a culture of integrity which would have made such conduct unthinkable, donations or not. 3. LIBOR Manipulations What this case has to offer This case reviews the huge impacts on those banks and their executives whose employees were found to have manipulated the information on which the LIBOR benchmark rate was based. It is an example of a systemic, industry - wide breach of ethics. T eaching Suggestions

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    Discussion of ethical issues 1. Which groups were most at fault for the LIBOR manipulations: brokers, traders, bank executives, bank boards of directors, or regulators? Why? Each group bears responsibility for the LIBOR manipulations. Brokers and traders manipulated the rates for their own personal benefit, bank executives either knew and permitted it, or should have had oversight measures in place to learn of it. When the 2008 financial crisis came, they requested manipulation of the LIBOR numbers to make the banks look more financially healthy than they were. Boards of directors have a fiduciary duty to the entities, but failed to exercise it. Regulators should have been awa re of what was happening, or were aware, and were slow to act. 2. What should the regulatory bodies do with the finds paid by these banks? Reduce tax rates for the general public? Use the funds to re - educate investment bankers? This question should produce a lively discussion among students. 3. Robert Diamond continues to receive his £2 million pension annually. Should he suffer financially by having to forfeit this pension because the LIBOR scandal occurred while he was CEO of Barclays? This question, too, will produce a lively discussion. To attribute blame (and punishment) to Diamond, some would require a showing that he knew and permitted the conduct, or that his leadership was so lax that it occurred because of his failure. During this discussion, it will be helpful to keep in mind that this was a systemic, industry - wide failure. Diamond was very much like the other CEOs. 4. Both Barclays and UBS reduced the bonuses of current employees to help pay part of the fines that occurred because of the actions of former employees. Is this fair? Another question for lively discussion. These provoke thinking about how we assign blame, and how we hold (or don’t hold) people accountable. 5. The rate manipulations seemed to be systemic to the industry because so many banks were involved. What can be done to curtail such widespread unethical practices within an industry? Government regulation must address these shortcomings, and provide adequate oversight to make sure they are compliant. But in a financial environment where the industry is more powerful than the government, this may be problematic. 6. Why weren’t the directors of the banks that had caused the scandal fined or jailed? Should they have been? This question again confronts the issue of how we assign blame, or don’t, and who we hold accountable for such failures. 7. Why should members of the public trust the banks that were involved in manipulating the LIBOR rate? If the “Occupy Wall Street” protests are indicative, the public does not trust the banks involved, or any banks. After the collapse of financial markets in 2008, public distrust of banks and financial institutions were at an all - time high.

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    4. Pepsi iPhone App Stereotypes Women What this case has to offer This case is an example of divergent beliefs among various stakeholders. Pepsi launched an iPhone application as part of an advertising campaign targeting young males which received a wave of criticisms since it was perceived as degrading and objectifying women. There are several interesting aspects of this case , such as the reasons why this app was launched in firs t place and the company’s response to social criticisms. Teaching suggestions A good way to start the class discussion is to ask what a company should do before launching a public media campaign. Following, I ask the students their opinion s about the AMP iPhone application and whether it should be considered harmless and funny or a serious public relations issue. Finally, I ask the students what a company should do if a media campaign becomes the center of criticisms and what do they think about Pepsi’s response. Discussion of ethical issues 1. Do you find it interesting that most of the critics were women and the media, but those who considered the app to be funny were young men? From a marketing perspective, this iPhone application was appealing to some target consumers. Clearly, what could be considered acceptable to some target consumers is not necessarily acceptable for all people. Male - centered marketing is a feature of AMP, promoting itself through male dominated extreme sports ( www.ampenergy.com ). The iPhone application may have appeared as a harmless way for guys trying to pick up women; however, its features stereotyped women and are offensive. This is an example of moral sensitivity as discussed in Chapter One. 2. The target market of AMP Energy is males between the ages of 18 and 24. If this group of consumers found the iPhone app to be funny and acceptable, then why did Pepsi withdraw the app? Pepsi’s intention was probably to attract some attention but this campaign ended up becoming a social media fiasco. An interesting aspect of this case is how divergent opinions spread very rapidly through blogs, twitter and other social media beyond the company’s control. Ultimately, the company responded to the interests of a large set of stakeholders . T he potential costs of keeping this campaign in terms of damaged reputation and loss of business outweighed the financial benefits of th e campaign. 3. Are advertising campaigns that are in bad taste also unethical? A number of factors might affect people’s reaction to an advertising campaign, for example how relevant the advertising is to the product and its target market, the campaign’s style and presentation , and where the advertisements appear. Although disrespectful references to gender , race, religion , or culture should never be allowed, it is sometimes difficult to draw a line between bad taste and unethical

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    advertisement. Companies may use surveys or focus groups before launching a mass media campaign to make sure it is considered acceptable for a wide audience.

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    5. Should Porn Be Sold by Cell Phone Companies? What this case has to offer This case permits students to discuss the trade - offs between activities that increase profits and activities that are socially responsible. It allows them to see that sometimes firms will forego profitable ventures if the ethics of the venture are questionable. Teaching suggestions This is a good case for discussing ethical relativism. Many students find ethical relativism appealing because it does not force them to say that anything is wrong. The theory is often used by students to eschew taking responsibility. So, a general discussion of ethical relativism should be conducted prior to discussing the facts of this case. Discussion of Ethical Issues 1. Adult content is profitable The argument in favor of permitting adult content on cell phones is ‘freedom of expression.’ Some students will try to use an ethical relativism approach. That is, they will argue that whatever is in the individual’s interest is ethically acceptable. That is, that ethics is simply a matter of personal choice. This is a good opportunity to point the flaws in ethical relativism. • This position would allow any practice to be ethically correct (such as slavery, torture, or genocide) if a number of people within that society thought that the practice was acceptable. • It does not admit that there is an absolute standard of right and wrong. There are many similarities in the ethical and moral codes of societies over time and through different cultures. Prohibitions about murder and other forms of violence are universal standards that would be abandoned under an ethical relativist approach. • Relativism admits of too many exceptions. “The ethical standard may apply to you, but not to me, because it would be inconvenient to me.” • It is very difficult to define a culture or a social group such that clear standards can be established for that group or sect. The implication of ethical relativism is that values become a function of or are causally dependent upon an individual’s culture. The implication is that ethical truth would be ‘relative’ to a specific culture and a specific time. Such a position essentially denies that there is any ethical truth. (See The Encyclopaedia of Philosophy , 1967, Paul Edwards (ed.), v. 3, pp. 75 - 78). Many people forget that having a right also entails having a responsibility. Adults may have a right to view and read anything that they want. But they also have responsibilities. • Pornography can be harmful to children and so we have a responsibility to not allow them to see such material until they are old enough to understand what the material represents. • Pornography tends to exploit women and the vulnerable. As such we have a responsibility to not encourage their exploitation.

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    • We have a responsibility to be sensitive to the values of others who may be offended by seeing pornography on their cell phones. 2. T he t rade - off between profitabl e and socially respons ible activi t ies Some will argue for a false dichotomy, that a firm can either be socially responsible or it can be profitable but it cannot be both. However, there is no strong empirical evidence to show that firms that are socially responsible are any less profitable than those firms that are not socially responsible. In fact there are strong reasons for firms to engage in socially responsible activities, many of which have an indirect economic impact. • Investments in socially responsible activities can increase the firm’s reputation, thereby creating an intangible asset for the firm. • Many young adults who are beginning their careers prefer to work for firms that are socially responsible. • Community stakeholders can be adversely impacted and lobby regulators to deny licensing permits. Ultimately, Telus, the mobile phone provider in the case, decided that the values signalled by the porn content service were incompatible with their desire to be “Canada’s premier corporate citizen” and withdrew the service. Useful Videos, Films & Links Mclean, Catherine (2007) “Why Telus ditched its plans to profit from porn” Globe and Mail, February 22. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report - on - business/article744437.ece Fournier, Chris (2007) “Telus Stops Selling Porn After Protests From Catholic Church” Bloomberg, February 21. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aqeEJ53nbyp0&refer=canada Austen, Ian (2007) “Canadian Company Offers Nude Photos via Cellphone” New York Times, February 19 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/business/worldbusiness/19cell.html?_r=1&ref=telus - corporation Carew, Sinead (2008) “Porn to spice up cell phones” Reuters, January 30 th http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN3030000720080130

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    6. Virgin Mobile’s Strip2Clothe Campaign: Exploitive, Risqué, and Worthwhile What this case has to offer This case allows students to discuss the issue of freedom of expression, freedom of choice as well as pornography. More importantly, it provides an opportunity to illustrate that having a right also entails having an obligation. T eaching suggestions The class should begin with a general discuss of the pervasiveness of pornography. It is readily available to almost everyone at any time. Does the fact that it is readily available make it socially acceptable? The students should also discuss the exploitive and dehumanizing aspects of pornography (See the discussion of the Ethics Case Should Porn be Sold by Cell Phone Companies? above ). Discussion of ethical issues 1. The Strip2Clothe campaign may have been in questionable taste, but it did raise tens of thousands of pieces of clothing for the homeless. Does the end justify the means? T he theory that the end justifies the means is a political theory, often attributed to Nicole Machiavelli. However, it is not an ethical theory. Ethics involves treating people as ends in themselves, and not treating them simply as a means to an end. Providing clothes to homeless people is a very worthwhile end. However, the end is accomplished by exploiting people. Having vulnerable teenagers perform a striptease for the titillation of others is a form of exploitation. Exploitation (dehumanizing peop le) is not treating people with the respect and dignity they deserve by virtue of their humanity. As such, the end (clothing) does not justify the means (exploitation). 2. Virgin Mobile has a history of using cutting edge advertisements. It poked fun at religion in its 2004 holiday commercial Christmas - hanukwanzakah”, and it had the company’s founder, Sir Richard Branson, stand in a nude suit in New York’s Times Square as part of a “Nothing to Hide” campaign. Are marketing tactics that are tasteless and risqué also unethical? One of the purposes of marketing is to make a company or product known to potential consumers. Marketing that is in poor taste offends some stakeholder’s preferences or values. Tasteless advertising is justified on the basis that the consumer does not remember the advertisement, but does remember the product name. Tasteless advertisements are simply a means of communicating brand name information. But something that is in poor taste is not necessarily unethical. It becomes unethical when the advertisem ent uses people as a means to an end, or when the advertisement is designed to exploit vulnerable consumers. 3. Social awareness advertisements - Some years before, the Benetton Group S.p.A. developed the United Colors of Benetton Campaign, originally to draw attention to prejudice against black people.

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    The campaign broadened over time to include other prejudices and consist of a series of shocking pictures published in unexpected venues. For example, there were pictures of a nun kissing a priest, a bombed car in a street, a white dog kissing a black lamb, an AIDS activist on his death bed in front of a picture of a crucified Christ, and a white girl portrayed with an angelic halo and a black boy with hair like horns. Is the Virgin campaign substantively different that the Benetton campaign of 1992? Some advertisements not only market products but they also remind all of us of our ethnic diversity. The United Colors of Benetton drew attention to ethnic and cultural differences. There were not exploitive; they were not marketing to the vulnerable; and they were not ethically questionable. The Virgin Mobile advertising campaign, on the other hand, was exploitive of teenagers. They were encouraging teenagers to conduct a striptease for the voyeuristic gratification of others. A striptease tends to de humanize the participant and injures the dignity of the stripper. Virgin was also marketing to the vulnerable. The young are cognitively vulnerable because they have not yet reached their morally maturity. Exploitive advertisements that are marketed to the cognitively vulnerable are considered just as unethical as advertisements that are marketed to the physically vulnerable (medical remedies to those with allergies) or to the mentally vulnerable (children, or those grieving or serious ill). 4. What rule would you put forward that would differentiate ethical from unethical advertising campaigns ? The two rules that most advertisers follow are: 1. do not market to the vulnerable, and 2. do not use people in an exploitive manner. Useful Videos, Films & Links Lavallee, Andrew (2008) “Virgin Mobile Pulls Back Racy Campaign” The Wall Street Journal, July 21 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121660673649869421.html?mod=djemPJ

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    4. Goldman Sachs and the Greek Veil What this case has to offer This case constitutes an example of a company aiding a client to enter into a business transaction that appears legal, but is not necessarily ethical. Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to set up structured finance transactions that reduced the book value of Greece’s national debt and resulted in an immediate cash windfall from the securitization of future cash inflows from airport landing fees and lottery revenue. These transactions enabled the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit and to legally comply with European Union rules for its member countries. Teaching suggestions An interesting way to introduce this case is to talk about the size and potential consequences of Greece’s bail - out. In May 2010, the European Union members and the IMF agreed on a 110bn - euro ($146.2bn) three - year bail - out package to rescue Greece's embattled economy. Next, I ask students what the potential causes of Greece’s crisis were and whether or not it was an avoidable problem. Ultimately, this case highlights how a combination of inefficient oversight, ambiguous accounting rules, and complex financi al transactions allowed the Greek government to borrow and spen d beyond its means. Discussion of ethical issues 1. Did Goldman Sachs do anything wrong legally or ethically? Explain your answer. Structured finance transactions are part of normal government treasury operations. European governments obtain funds from investors around the world by issuing bonds in yen, dollar or Swiss francs; however, each government needs euros to pay salaries and other expenses. Years later the bonds are repaid in the original foreign denominations. Investment banks help their government clients to hedge currency - related and other financial risks, Goldman Sachs acted in behalf of the Greek government in a series of legitimate financial transactions. Goldman Sachs was only one of several investment banks that worked with the Greek government. Moreover, i n their own defense, the firm claimed that these transactions had a "minimal effect on the country's overall fiscal situation." However , the intention of these transactions could have been to deceive the European Union rules. It seems somehow unethical to profit by aiding a client to circumvent rules that are in place to ensure the monetary stability of the European Union countries. Finally, Goldman Sachs did not only profit from these transactions, but also from helping the Greek government to restructure its debt i n 2010, as well as from proprietary trades that essentially bet against the country's ability to manage its problems. This may also constitute an ethical dilemma given that the investment bank indirectly contributed to the Greek crisis and later on profited from this

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    country’s financial debacle. It would be hard to argue that these transactions were acceptable or ethical practice because of their highly negative social consequences. It would appear that Goldman Sachs best guess was that their services to Greece would prove unsuccessful in changing the fundamental financial situation in Greece. Perhaps investment advisers/banks etc. should be required to disclose when they are betting against a product/client. 2. Would it make a difference if other investment bankers were also providing such services? Arguably, if Goldman Sachs had not aided Greece’s government to set up these transactions, some other Bank would have done it. Most large investment banks offer these services to public and private clients. A recent article by the New York Times highlights that “Instruments developed by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and a wide range of other banks enabled politicians to mask additional borrowing in Greece, Italy and possibly elsewhere.” 1 It is very poor ethical reasoning to argue that “someone else will do it if we don’t”, or that “everyone is doing it” because either approach can justify virtually any action. These rationales do not refer to any fundamental ethical principles. Ultimately, a corporation that is interested in its ethical reputation should base its actions on ethical principles, not on what their competitors are doing. 3. What subsequent impacts could the transactions described above have on Goldman Sachs? B ecause these deals were not recorded as government loans, they may have misled investors and regulators about the depth of the Greece’ s liabilities. The credit swap enabled Greece to improve its budget and meet a target needed to remain within the region’s single currency. Knowledge of Greece’s true financial position may have changed investors’ perception of the risk associated with this country, and the price they may have been willing to pay for the country’s securities. Investment banks have a fiduciary duty while issuing public securities, if Goldman Sachs was aware of Greece’s potential financial risks and failed to disclose them while issuing securities, the investment bank may be subject to legal actions. At the very least, clients should begin to question Goldman Sachs’ loyalty and whether the firm can be trusted. In addition, t here can be additional reputational and legal costs for the investment bank. The U.S. Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission are currently examining financial deals that Goldman Sachs and other banking companies made with Greece before the country's debt crisis, creating potentially more public relations troubles for Wall Street firms, already troubled by their role in the U.S. financial crisis of 2008. Useful Videos, Films & Links 1 “ Wall St. Helped to Mask Debt Fueling Europe’s Crisis ” Louise Story , Landon Thomas Jr. And Nelson D. Schwartz , Published: February 13, 201 0, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/global/14debt.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

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