Enron

A Dictionary of Contemporary World History | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

Enron One of the most rapidly growing energy and financial services companies during the 1990s. Founded in 1985 and based in Houston, Texas, its dramatic growth was based on the deregulation of the energy markets in the 1980s, and a move into the futures markets for energy contracts. On 16 October 2001 it disclosed a loss of $618 million in the past quarter. On 8 November 2001 it admitted that it had falsified its earnings since 1997. The company's shares, which the company directors sold just before the announcements at about $80 per share, collapsed in the wake of these announcements, and Enron had to file for bankruptcy. The failure to report Enron's true financial position and the shredding of evidence put into doubt the future of one of the world's largest accounting firms, Arthur Anderson. It also threatened political repercussions, as a number of Democratic and Republican leaders, including Cheney and George W. Bush, had had close links with the company.

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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Enron." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Enron." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Enron.html

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Enron." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Enron.html

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