Human Development Index: "Catalonia will rank higher than Spain"

"In several regions of the world, independence movements exist or have existed (e.g. Quebec). Purely for the sake of comparison we have included them in the human development score table on page 8. Given the prevailing interest, we calcúlate the HDI scores for Catalonia, Flanders, Wallonia, Quebec and Scotland. Quebec would rank the highest among these regions/countries and 13th globally, compared to 11 th for Canadá. However, based on our calculations, both Catalonia and Scotland will rank higher than Spain and the UK, respectively. Catalonia would rank 20th globally, while Spain ranks currently 23rd and would slip to 26th ex-Catalonia." [Credit Suisse Research Institute (PDF)]

The Crises That Nobody Could See Coming

"At the end of 2001, it was revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained substantially by institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud, known as the "Enron scandal". Enron has since become a popular symbol of willful corporate fraud and corruption. The scandal also brought into question the accounting practices and activities of many corporations throughout the United States and was a factor in the creation of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002. The scandal also affected the wider business world by causing the dissolution of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm." [Enron]

Already in 2004 there was a sign that bank policies were highly risky:

"Prudential Equity Group said lawsuits related to the rise and fall of Enron are an "ongoing concern" for big banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup unit Citibank. Yesterday, a Texas jury found former Merrill Lynch and Enron employees guilty of committing fraud at Enron" [Forbes]

But there was more:

"J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. was deeply involved in Enron Corp.'s finances, simultaneously investing in the company, buying Enron stock for funds it managed and recommending the energy company's stock to investors.

The bank's complex involvement with Enron was not unique. Citigroup, Merrill Lynch & Co., Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. are among firms that had many-sided relationships with Enron, according to Enron's records and those of the other companies." [High Beam]