No strings attached

A kick in the Fannie for credit spreads?

Accounting lapses have hit the headlines again. And this time the focus is on mortgage giant, Fannie Mae. The timing of the revelations is surprising considering it has been two years since the rest of corporate America indulged in a collective accounting confession and 12 months since sibling Freddie Mac endured its own public castigation on the matter. The efficacy of US financial reporting, the enforcement of accounting laws and the veracity of what is supposedly the best regulatory system in