On the recordJanuary 24, 2002
America has the most vibrant and dynamic economy in the world. The foundation of our economy is our capital markets, which are robust and resilient. But the success of these markets depends on the free flow of accurate, reliable information. Our markets are the envy of the world, because of the confidence investors have in the private and public institutions that produce, verify, and analyze this information. The collapse of Enron represents a dramatic failure of these institutions. Even sophisticated investors did not detect that Enron was in poor financial condition. We need to create greater transparency and an early warning system so investors can better protect themselves. One warning sign that a company may be in trouble is when its executives are selling large amounts of company stock, as occurred at Enron. I have learned, however, that information about insider sales of stock is not easily accessible.
Source
govinfo.gov
