MBIA Shares Tumble Amid Accounting Probe
From Bloomberg News
Shares of MBIA Inc., the world’s biggest bond insurer, fell by the most in 2 1/2 years Thursday, a day after the company disclosed that New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer and the Securities and Exchange Commission sought new information about its accounting practices.
MBIA’s stock tumbled $4.36, or 7.7%, to $52.28 in New York Stock Exchange trading.
“They are subpoenaing everything, and everybody is really afraid,” said Michael Peterson of Pzena Investment Management in New York.
MBIA restated seven years of profit last month to correct improper accounting on reinsurance transactions in 1998. The transactions inflated earnings by $54 million and were the subject of previous subpoenas.
