They insist that the budget deficit, heroically cut from 6.7% in 1996 to 2.7% in 1997, fell because of tough budget choices, not financial window-dressing.
But while those are novel provisions for an international bailout, they represent a 30-degree tack, rather than the 180-degree turn-around that the Bush administration had once indicated it preferred when it came to repeat borrowers at the financial bailout window.
"Do financial institutions window-dress?
In its past financial year its Windows division accounted for about a quarter of its revenue of $73.7 billion; three-quarters of that came from sales of Windows to PC-makers for installation on new desk- and laptops.
"We've learned again and again that dedicated, trained people makes such a difference when helping customers," said Tami Reller, chief marketing officer and chief financial officer for Windows at Microsoft.
Some analysts are already assuming in their financial models that Windows Vista, the next version of the desktop operating system, will be delayed another three months or so beyond its scheduled introduction to consumers in January.
In a recent interview at Microsoft's headquarters, Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division, revealed that Windows Blue will be released this calendar year and will include modifications that make the software easier to learn, especially for people running it on computers without touch screens.
Finally, Tami Reller, corporate vice president and chief financial officer for the Windows business, announced the beta release of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1, as well as the second public beta of Windows Intune, a new offering that uses both Windows cloud services and Windows 7 to manage and help secure PCs.
New features include Moneyside, which displays financial information in a window at financial or e-commerce sites and can pass along data when you update bank accounts or shop online.
One of London's leading investors in financial firms complains of "window dressing and truth dodging" which, he thinks, "gives the lie to the complacent assumption that nothing like Japan in the 1990s could ever happen in the West".
Its financial statements provide a window into a business in which S.& P. has a 41percentt market share, Moody's has a 38percentt market share and Fitch has most of the remainder.
