Skilling's fall from grace comes to this

Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was unrelentingly bullish on his company's outlook in early 2001 even as Wall Street worried.

Speculation was growing that Enron -- one of the world's largest companies and a Wall Street favorite -- was facing financial troubles. Talk was spreading that Enron's broadband and energy businesses were stumbling. Enron's stock had plunged to $60 a share from $80.

But during a March conference call with securities analysts, Skilling reassured them that he was "highly confident" about the company's prospects. "I know this is a bad stock market, but Enron's in good shape," he said during one briefing with analysts.

According to a grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday, Skilling knew that Enron's broadband unit was failing, jobs were getting cut and the broadband industry faced "a total meltdown." He also allegedly knew that California utilities owed Enron "hundreds of millions of dollars." ...