India's Ponzi Scandal

Joe Nocera reports on an Indian version of the Madoff scandal. A respected entrepreneur is forced to reveal that his company has no assets. When credit was cheap he could borrow against shares to fund the company. With the credit crisis this is no longer possible and he has to report the fraud. The common thread is that easy credit allows one to cover up holes in balance sheets. The credit crisis -- which is trully global -- prevents this.