The Tycoon Report

Worldcom’s saga still continues…

10 Ex-Directors from Worldcom have agreed to pay $18 million of their own money to settle a class action lawsuit by disgruntled investors.

Why the investors themselves should now be on the hot seat.

CORPORATE AMERICA WATCH OUT - THERE'S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN.

They say he's tougher than N.Y. Attorney General Elliot Spitzer. More thoughtful than S.E.C. Chair William Donaldson. More dilligent than N.Y.C. Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

Put it together yet?

His name is "ACCOUNTABILITY."

That's right. Good old fashioned accountability. Asking tough questions of oneself. Being responsible for your actions. Looking hard in the mirror.

Yes, accountability is back. That's why I was so happy when I heard that the former fat cat directors of Worldcom PERSONALLY coughed up some dough to settle investor lawsuits. Yup, you heard me correctly.

They personally coughed up part of the settlement with investors burned by buying Worldcom (now MCI-SYM:MCIC) stock. Out of their own pockets. Above and beyond the directors insurance. So, by adding money from their own pockets to the settlement, they acknowledged some level of PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. That's big.

Big enough to send shivers down the spine of every other director looking for a reason to rub elbows instead of brains. Big enough to change the name of the game in corporate America.

But there was a problem with the settlement.

Something missing. I didn't notice Alan Hevesi's name on the defense list. Nope, the New York State Comptroller was nowhere to be found. The guy responsible for, among other things, investing for the largest State Pension fund in the country.

The guy responsible for investing in Worldcom stock. The guy responsible for suing the directors in the first place. The very same guy DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY!

Nope, in a typical political double standard, Alan Hevesi wants no part of accountability himself. And why should he? He only innocently made the mistake of investing retiree money into Worldcom stock. The very same Worldom that was competing in a commodity-type industry with rapidly declining prices.

The very same Worldcom that was making acquisitions seemingly daily and paying for them with large amounts of debt. The very same Worldcom that forget about the nature of the business cycle. Yea, Alan Hevesi wants accountability. Fair enough. So what should New York State Pension Investors demand of him then? His job? Maybe...but that has to happen at the Polls folks. His first-born?

Nope, we'll leave that for the high priests at Makur. How about this for a suggestion: Try the Tycoon Report, Alan. If you do you this is what you'll learn:

1. Don't invest in companies with lots of debt.
2. Don't invest in companies with low Returns on Invested Capital.
3. Don't invest in companies with low profit margins.

You want to know what's even better? We'll make at least one good equity recommendations per month. That's right. Just subscribe to the Tycoon Report and we'll make all the stock recommendations any prudent investor can handle in any given year.