November 2001 Topics
Bribe Payers Index (BPI),
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Examine, Gundeck, G.D., Pencil-whip, Radio-in, Laddering, Spike a Job,
Yo-Yo Deal, Spot Delivery, and
Conditional Spot Financing
 

Businesses in Sweden, Australia, and Canada are the least willing to pay bribes.
 

Bribe Payers Index (BPI) /
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
The Bribe Payers Index ranks 19 leading exporting countries in the degree to which their companies are perceived to be paying bribes to win international business. Businesses in Sweden, Australia, and Canada are the least willing to pay bribes in the 1999 BPI. The United States only ranks 9^th. China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Italy rank at the bottom because their businesses have the greatest propensity to pay bribes. The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks 99 countries in the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. Public officials in Finland, Denmark, and New Zealand are perceived as the least corrupt in the 2000 CPI. The United States ranks 14^th. Nigeria, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan rank as the most corrupt. Transparency International (TI) commissioned Gallup International to conduct thousands of in-depth interviews for the index surveys. Transparency International is a global anti-corruption organization founded in 1993. TI is based in Berlin and has national chapters in 70 countries.
www.transparency.org, June 20, 2001.
 

Examine
To analyze something in detail in order to understand or expose it. An old-fashioned balance scale has a pointed tongue in the center to indicate which tray outbalances the other. In Latin, the tongue of a scale is called examen or examinis. “To examine” means to watch this indicator and weigh in the balance.
Jordan Almond, Dictionary of Word Origins: A History of the Words, Expressions, and Clichés We Use, Citadel Press, New York, 1985, page 89.
Photo: http://www.gilai.com/scripts/items2/
scales_apothecary-Apothecary+Scales-no-1.html
 

Gundeck (G.D., Pencil-whip, Radio-in)
Navy slang meaning to hide something, to falsify a report, or to cut corners. In the 18^th century, naval officers and chiefs frequented the breezy main deck of a warship. To hide something from their superiors, sailors would bypass or avoid them by walking on the lower gun decks where the cannons were situated. Today, gundecking is committed by sailors, contractors, and vendors. A common motive for gundecking is to hide poor maintenance, shabby workmanship, or work that is never completed. “Pencil-whipping” refers to intentionally falsifying logs or records by filling in the blanks just before an inspection. “Radioing-in” refers to logging in work before it is performed.
Noel and Beach, Naval Terms Dictionary, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1966.
 

Laddering
A questionableWall Street practice that takes advantage of customers eager to gain access to an IPO (initial public offering) and subsequent hot IPOs. Underwriters require their customers to purchase additional shares of a company’s common stock in the aftermarket at predetermined prices, progressively higher than the IPO value. If a client wanted a block of 20,000 shares, an underwriter might insist the client buy a portion of the stock after the sale of the original offering, otherwise the client might only be allocated 5,000 shares. Laddering enables the underwriters and some of their customers to reap enormous profits by buying stock at the IPO price and then selling it later for a profit at artificially inflated aftermarket prices. The pattern is a modest IPO price followed by a fast price run-up, before a swift decline. Some banks and underwriters also require their customers to kick back a portion of their profits in the form of secret commissions. These excessive and undisclosed commissions are calculated after the fact, based on how much profit each investor had made from his IPO stock allocation. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned banks against tie-ins. Underwriters are prohibited from soliciting purchases of unregistered securities and aftermarket shares before an IPO has occurred.
Pete Gallo, “PlanetRx and Underwriters Sued by Hedge Fund Over IPO Laddering,” April 09, 2001, http://provider.hedgeworld.com/news/
read_news.cgi?section=dail&story=dail2596.html, June 20, 2001.
 

Spike a Job
To engage in a short con (a petty hustle) in which a crooked contractor starts work on a house without authorization and is then paid to finish the job.
Tom Dalzell, The Slang of Sin, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1998, pages 256, 269.
 

Yo-yo Deal (Spot Delivery, Conditional Spot Financing)
A financing scam frequently used by an unscrupulous auto dealer. “Drive it off today” is the sales pitch. A consumer signs all documents for the purchase or lease of a vehicle, and obtains insurance on the vehicle. The consumer gets any terms he wants, but is unaware of the fine print which allows the dealer to change them. The buyer takes immediate delivery “on the spot”, and drives off in the vehicle thinking the transaction is complete. But, the dealer does not finalize the transaction. The dealer calls him back 5 or 10 days later and says “I can’t get your financing approved, so you have to come in to sign a new financing contract.” When the consumer returns to the auto dealership, the dealer demands more down payment money and raises the interest rate and monthly payments considerably. If the consumer refuses to sign the new financing agreement, he must return the vehicle. Often the consumer is unable to recover his trade-in vehicle because the dealer quickly sold it. The consumer winds up with a more expensive financing agreement, a different car, or no car at all.
Bob Golfen, “Car Buyer’s Best Friend: “Bulldog” Takes a Bite Out of Auto Fraud,” Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Arizona, June 20, 2001, pages D1, D8.
 

ã Copyright 2001 Larry C. Adams.
All rights reserved.
 

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