The credit crunch and poor management have resulted in some publicly traded corporations attempting to hide debt. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/3WaysCompaniesBuryTheirDebt.aspx
Shhh, we have secrets and we don't want our stockholders to know the truth. Here is a good article on evaluating company capital structure. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/06/capitalstructure.asp A short course in "stock scams." http://www.fraudbureau.com/investor/101/
